Collection ID: SC 87
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Castleberry, Eddie, 1928-2009
Abstract:
The collection consists of personal papers, photographs, and a video documenting the career Ed Castleberry, a pioneering black radio disc jockey and newscaster.
Extent:
1 document case (0.21 linear feet), 26 photographs , and 1 Videocassette (VHS)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

Ed Castleberry Collection, SC 87, Archives of African American Music and Culture, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Ed "Eddie" Castleberry was a pioneering radio personality, newscaster and columnist whose career spanned over forty years. A native of Alabama, he attended Miles College in Birmingham for one year before serving in the U.S. Navy. After returning home to Birmingham in 1950 he auditioned for and was subsequently hired by radio station WEDR.

Castleberry quickly made a name for himself as an on-air personality, and as one of the nation's first black disc jockeys to program rhythm and blues music. He was also known for introducing new talent, conducting live interviews, hosting news broadcasts and promoting numerous products. He created entertainment departments at two news networks and served as music and program director at two radio stations.

Castleberry was active in major markets throughout the South, Midwest, and Northeastern U.S. His radio station experience included positions as a disc jockey at WEDR and WJLD (Birmingham, AL), WQOK (Greenville, SC), WMBM (Miami, FL), WCIN (Cincinnati, OH), WABQ (Cleveland, OH), WVKO (Columbus, OH), WHAT (Philadelphia, PA), WEBB and WJL-TV (Baltimore, MD), and WASH (DC). He was one of the first news anchors at the Mutual Black Network (Washington, DC) when it went on the air in 1972, and then spent fourteen years at the National Black Network (now the American Urban Radio Network) in New York where he hosted a popular entertainment show notable for interviews with a wide range of celebrity guests.

Over the course of his career, Castleberry received numerous public service awards and was honored by the Alabama House of Representatives. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for Promoting Jazz on the Radio in 1986, and in 1993 was inducted into the Black Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Castleberry retired from radio in the early 1990s and died in New York in 2009 at the age of 81.

Scope and Content:

The collection consists of three series documenting the career of Ed Castleberry. Series 1 contains personal papers including a resume, several articles authored by Castleberry, and various clippings and biographical articles. Series 2 contains 26 photographs of publicity shots of disc jockeys, radio stations, and events sponsored by black radio stations, primarily WVKO (Columbus, OH), WMBM (Miami, FL), and WEDR (Birmingham, AL). Series 3 contains one video, the television documentary Southern Dials . . Southern Styles about black radio pioneers, which includes an interview with Castleberry.

Acquisition information:
Gifts from Ed Castleberry in 1991 and 2000.
Processing information:

Processed by AAAMC staff. Completed in 2012.

Arrangement:

Arranged in three series:

Series 1: Personal Papers
Series 2: Photographs
Series 3: Videos
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

Use of time-based media materials (audio and video) may require production of listening or viewing copies.

Access to streaming audio, moving image, and full resolution digital image materials may currently be restricted to researchers who can authenticate with an IU account or who are physically present on campus. Remote streaming to individual researchers may be allowed with the completion of applicable forms.

For further information about access to online audiovisual materials, contact AAAMC staff at aaamc@indiana.edu.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, including but not limited to the Indiana Public Records Act (5-14-3-2 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Indiana University assumes no responsibility.

Copyright is retained by the creators/authors of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. All requests for copying and publishing materials must be submitted in writing to the Archives of African American Music and Culture, and may require the written permission of the creator(s)/author(s) or donor(s).

PREFERRED CITATION:

Ed Castleberry Collection, SC 87, Archives of African American Music and Culture, Indiana University, Bloomington.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Smith Research Center, Rooms 180-181
2805 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47408-2601, United States
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
812-855-8547
aaamc@indiana.edu