This paper presents a rapid method of detecting live versus dead pathogenic bacteria. The method combines phage-coated magnetoelastic (ME) biosensors and a wireless planar coil detector, enabling real-time monitoring of the growth and viability of specific bacteria in a nutrient broth. The ME biosensor used in this investigation is composed of a strip-shaped ME resonator (1 mm x 0.2 mm x 30 um) upon which a landscape phage is coated to capture specific bacteria. E2 phage with high binding affinity for Salmonella Typhimurium was used as a model study. The specificity of E2 phage has been reported to be 200 in 10⁸ background bacteria. When the binding of Salmonella occurs, the mass of the biosensor increases, which simultaneously results in a decrease in the biosensor's resonant frequency. Monitoring of this mass-induced resonant frequency change allows for the instantaneous detection and quantification of Salmonella. ME biosensors with a pre-determined resonant frequency were first exposed to a low-concentration Salmonella suspension to capture a small but detectable amount of the bacteria on the sensor surface. The wireless coil detector was then used to measure the resonant frequency changes of the biosensors as a function of time in a nutrient broth. Live cells can grow, while dead ones can't, which leads to distinct differences in the resonant frequency changes over time. Hence, this methodology offers direct, real-time detection, quantification, and viability determination of specific bacteria.