Jean Shepherd: Ticket to Ride

In October 1964, as the "British Invasion" of pop music came into its own, Playboy Magazine assignedJean Shepherdto travel with, and interview, the Beatles on their tour of the United Kingdom. Shepherd also took advantage of his assignment to further travel the UK on his own, exploring from Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands to London with a portable recorder to record material for use on his own syndicated radio program. The result is a fascinating audio documentary of the UK at a distinct point in time, with Shepherd offering commentary and musings uniquely his own on the popular culture and mores of the day. The radio programs in this collection, long lost and forgotten, were created in the mid 1960s by Shepherd for radio and television syndicator, Hartwest Productions, in the format heard on Shepherd's WOR shows of the day, right down to his familiar Bahn Frei theme music. They are indistinguishable from the WOR shows except for the commercials.

Included with these never-before-released digitally remastered and restored recordings is a Program Guide by Eugene B. Bergmann, author of Excelsior, You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd.