Pope Brock biography

Interview

Pope Brock explains what drew him to spend two years of his life writing Charlatan, a book about John Brinkley, arguably the biggest con-man in American history who accidentally changed the face of American music.

Why did you decide to tell this story?

I had never heard of John Brinkley before, but within two minutes after stumbling on his name – on museumofhoaxes.com – I was hooked. Any guy who would build the biggest radio station in the world to convince other men to get goat-testicle transplants is a pretty unusual character. He made millions of dollars at this during the Depression – even had women coming in for goat ovaries, which he plugged as a wrinkle-reducer and bust developer. When I learned he was also a pioneer in radio, in advertising, in politics, I knew what I'd be doing for the next two or three years.


What surprised you most about Brinkley's story?

I suppose his enormous impact on pop culture, which he's never gotten credit for. He's like Shoeless Joe Jackson: he's been kept out of the Hall of Fame because he's regarded as a crook. But John Brinkley seized on radio in its infancy with a sort of evil glee, before corporate America had any idea what to do with it, and showed the world the huge potential of broadcast advertising. He also accidentally changed the American pop music scene by giving country music, and later the blues, its first national audience. When he ran ...