The 1940s saw a brief audacious experiment in mass entertainment: a jukebox with a screen. Patrons could insert a dime, then listen to and watch such popular entertainers as Nat "King" Cole, Gene Krupa, Cab Calloway or Les Paul. A number of companies offered these tuneful delights, but the most successful was the Mills Novelty Company and its three-minute musical shorts called Soundies. This book is a complete filmography of 1,880 Soundies: the musicians heard and seen on screen, recording and filming dates, arrangers, soloists, dancers, entertainment trade reviews and more. Additional filmographies cover more than 80 subjects produced by other companies. There are 125 photos taken on film sets, along with advertising images and production documents. More than 75 interviews narrate the firsthand experiences and recollections of Soundies directors and participants. Forty years before MTV, the Soundies were there for those who loved the popular music of the 1940s. This was truly "music for the eyes."

This richly detailed examination of two forms of American entertainment focuses on the various ways that radio stations and air personalities have been depicted in motion pictures, from 1926's The Radio Detective to more recent films like 2022's Halloween Ends. Newly updated and revised chapters cover the cinematic portrayals of various aspects of radio, including disc jockeys, sports broadcasts, religious programs and abnormal personalities on the air. Such films as The Big Broadcast (1932), Reveille with Beverly (1943), Mister Rock and Roll (1957), WUSA (1970), Radio Days (1987), Private Parts (1997), We Are Marshall (2006) and Straight Outta Compton (2015) provide fascinating insights into not only their own times but also the historical eras that some of these films have attempted to recreate.