Very few radio disc jockeys ever achieve much in the way of fame and fortune beyond their local markets. Sure, there is "King of All Media" Howard Stern, and back in the early days of rock 'n' roll we had such characters as Murray The K and Alan Freed. But in terms of household names, these are the exceptions that prove the rule.
Through his stubborn promotion of heavy metal and hard rock through the years, Eddie Trunk has become one of the most respected non-musicians in the field. His unwavering loyalty to the form brought him out of the swamps of New Jersey radio and into the largest market in the States, New York City. Despite his "perfect for radio" appearance (the guy is pretty chubby, as he readily admits), Trunk's That Metal Show on VH1 Classic has become one of the biggest hits the station has ever had.
For all these reasons and more, Eddie Trunk holds a special place in metal fan's and musician's hearts. So much so in fact, that for his 25th anniversary in radio, Judas Priest played an invitation-only party for him at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York. In fact, Rob Halford even wrote the Foreword to his new book, Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. While there are tons of these types of collections on the market these days, Eddie brings something different to the task. Rather than simply offering short biographical sketches of the major bands in the genre, as most do, Trunk adds his personal reflections about the groups. It makes a big difference.
Most fans know the basics about groups like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but reading stories of Eddie's personal encounters with the artists adds a whole new dimension. This type of writing could have easily degenerated into name-dropping and starfucking, but he does not come off that way. As a fan, his reactions mirror that of what any of his listeners would probably feel. It is a fine line to straddle, but Trunk makes it work.
The book contains 35 entries, arranged alphabetically. These include Metallica, Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, and Iron Maiden - just to name a few. But the ones that are obviously close to Eddie's heart are the interesting choices. I don't think I have ever seen one of these books (especially one with only 35 artists) include Billy Squire as one of the essentials. But it Trunk's his book after all.
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