KDKA Group photo

 

1950s? group KDKA image

The prettier postcard style image below lacks a list of names but the Pittsburgh Press published every name. I've seen the original, it's an 8x10 glossy promotional photo they put in their press kit. There's one on Ebay right now actually. [LINK] and [LINK] Sources generally date it to the 1950s but lets see if we can improve that. But let's list off all the names first:

TOP ROW: Homer Martz, Al Azzaro, Kenny Newton, Slim Bryant, Loppy Bryant, Jerry Wallace and Neal Wallace.

CENTER ROW: Bill Newsbit, Johnny Boyer, Janet Ross,  John Stewart, and Ed Schaughency. 

BOTTOM ROW: Bernie Armstrong, Paul Shannon, Elaine Beverly, Aneurin Bodycombe, Evelyn Gardiner, and Jim Westover

 

The text clearly states that this is an enlarged photograph of 1020 KDKA-AM's staff of entertainers and that listeners who donate to the old newsboys fund will get one. It is sometimes labeled as their "TV Team" which is not accurate. That is probably based on one of two errors of assumption. Slim Bryant and the Wildcats did have a TV show (later) but also that staff were wholly separate between TV and radio, which they were not. 

What I'd like you to understand most is that this isn't even the entire staff. There were also engineers and transcription staff, librarians, and management. Today a whole station cluster in a major market has fewer staff than is pictured just here. 

TOP ROW

Homer Martz - Martz was the Farm Director and hosted the Home and Farm Hour. It's editor was E.S. Bayard as late as 1946. [SOURCE] KDKA was broadcasting farm market reports from Washington and the Chicago hog and feed markets as early as 1921. [SOURCE] He was still producing farm marketing programming as late as 1951. He appears a few time in the book Farm Broadcasting by John C. Baker.

Al Azzaro - Azzaro was a member of Slim Bryant and his Wild Cats. Don't let the accordion fool you. That was absolutely standard kit in a country band back then. He's credited on some Majestic 78s with Slim Bryant's group, and some Italian dance music LPs. In 1947 he copyrighted two songs, the PIttzburgh Polka and one named "Echo Polka" which tells us that Azzaro did pen some of the groups songs. A 1945 issue of the Warren Times Mirror reported that "...the wildcats Are heard daily on KDKA during the farm hour 6-7 AM."  His name disappears from the trades in the early 1950s, a mention that he was vacationing in Ocean City. 

Kenny Newton -  Newton was the fiddle player for the original Georgia Wildcats under Clayton "Pappy" McMichen in 1937.  Newton joined Slim Bryant and his Wild Cats in 1937 [SOURCE] A 1947 issue of Billboard described him as a "singing violinist from the hills of Pennsylvania." The last time I found his name in print was the Radio Television Daily of 1952 on a road trip through the Midewest while the band was taking time off.

Thomas Hoyt "Slim" Bryant - Slim Bryant was the vocalist and lead guitarist for the Wild cats. They performed on the Farm Hour weekdays 6:15 to 6:30 Monday Wednesday and Friday in the mid 1940s.  He died in 2010 at the age of 101. Slim really was from Georgia, and really was 6' 4". His band played regularly on KDKA for 19 years starting in 1941 running through about 1959.  He and his wire ran a gift shop starting in the 1960s, then later taught guitar lessons.

 

Raymond "Loppy" Bryant - Brother of Slim and founding member of the Wildcats. One of the last recordings for the Wild cats was a Square Dance mono LP on MGM/Lion  released in 1958. Loppy is credited as the dance caller. He retired to DormontPa and became a city councilman.

Jerry Wallace - Jerry played guitar backing up slim. In their more iconic photos he played an amplified Gibson L-5, where Slim usually played a Gibson L-5. He has virtually no press aside from the Wildcats. I should note he is not the same Jerry Wallace who recorded as "Jerry Wallace With The Jewels" in the late fifties, though with that guitar work you might think so.

Neal Wallace - A March 1946 issue of Broadcasting describes him  as the "Chief Announcer on KFBC.  Neal next appears in and Billboard 1946-1947 Encyclopedia of music as as announcing two shows: The Benny Goodman show and Musical Showcase both on KFBC, Cheyenne, WY.  A June, 1951 issue of Broadcasting, has him leaving KFBC in for KDKA to replace Bud Powell. A February, 1953 issue of Cashbox still lists Neal as a DJ at KDKA. It appears he left the station in 1955. Cash Box states "Neal Wallace, All Nite guy at KDKA-Pittsburegh, Pa.; taking a vacation from his 50,000 watts and platters." 

 

CENTER ROW

Bill Nesbitt - This name is more common than you might think. There was our Nesbitt at KDKA, the announcer for the DCSA Organ Melodies (Dairyman's Cooperative Sales Organization). Variety has him taking over the night time "Party Line program in June of 1956. Then Broadcasting magazine reports that he joined the WCAE staff in 1957 to host "Easy Listenin'".  In 1958 Variety records him still on staff at WCAE but on vacation, then in March of 1959 switching to nights.

Johnny Boyer -  A 1942 Movie and Radio Guide lists him on KDKA at 10:00 PM as "Jolly Johnny Boyer." In the 1946 KDKA Station Album Johnny Boyer appears on the news schedule at 11:15 PM after Bill Stern. Elsewhere in that same pamphlet he's described as a sportscaster. He had that slow at least a year earlier per Broadcasting magazine, [SOURCE] which they called a "Whirl Around the World of Sports." The same print ad was running with Boyer on it through at least 1950. I did find a Farm Hour glossy promo photo with Boyer and Homer Martz  as floating heads on the Wildcats. it implies that Boyer did some announcing on that program as well. A 1958 issue of Variety puts him on WCAE but still doing sports. 

Janet Ross - In 1946 Ross is listed in a KDKA album as the host of "Shopping Circle" Mon - Sat mornings. The program started before 1938 and ran until at last 1953. A 1943 issue of "The Beam" trade journal of the Association of Women Directors of NAB, (AWD) records that she spoke at one of their events with a bevy of other women directors working in radio.  [SOURCE] She was named Advertising Woman of the Year by the Pittsburgh Adclum for her 25th anniversary with KDKA in 1956. That puts her start around 1931. She remained with the station until at least 1957.

John Stewart -  He has his own show Program PM which ran from 8:00 to 10:00 PM and he was the announcer on Party Line. The hosts of that show were Ed and Windy King. The trio worked together through at least 1957. But a 1965 issue of Billboard lists Stewart on KDKA 9:00-10:00 M-Sat hosting "Program PM" doing interviews and reports. Sounds like a News Magazine program.

Ed Schaughency - The Uncle Ed Shaughency Show was launched in 1932 and continued until 1980. He also hosted the Starlets on Parade program in the 1940s. Uncle Ed was with KDKA radio for 48 years. He was survived by his widow Gertrude and his brother Paul. [LINK]  TV show 1957

BOTTOM ROW

Bernie Armstrong - Bernie was the bandmaster on the Musical Clock, a program hosted by Bill Hinds who's not pictured. He was also the conductor on The Duquene Show, a vocal ensemble with an orchestra and Singing Strings a 30 minute string ensemble program. Armstrong and Bodycombe chose the music and arrangements for programs. 

Paul Shannon - Host of Adventuress in Research, a program co-host with Dr. Phillips Thomas of Westinghouse. He also read poetry on a program called "The Dreamweaver." The show has been compared to Moon River on WLW. He also hosted the syndicated science-focused program Adventures in Research with Thomas Phillips. [SOURCE]  He went to WTAE-TV in 1958 to host a children's program "Adventuretime" which ran until 1979. He retired in 1975, and died in 1990.

Elaine Beverly - Born in Akron, OH she attended Duquesne University and began singing and dancing on a KDKA variety show named "Brunch." She and her husband Joe Mann married in 1946 and together why co-hosted a live daily half hour variety show "Meet Your Neighbor on KDKA-TV from 1951 to 1957. Her name change from Fierman to Mann helps date this image to before 1946. The couple moved on to performing on cruise ships. Joe died in 1971. Elaine got a straight job managing a retirement home in 1979. She died in 2004. 

Aneurin "Red" Bodycombe - A composer and organist at the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh. He worked at Pittsburgh radio station KDKA starting in 1926. (some sources say 1929) He was born in 1899 in Wales and immigrated to the US after WWI. IN 1938 he directed the Stainless Steel Singers. KDKA gave up live programs in the late 1950s and he switched to sales. He retired from KDKA in 1964 and died in 1951. [SOURCE] He is known to have only recorded on one 78 rpm record with vocalist Bob carter. More here.

Radio Digest May 1930 

Evelyn Gardiner - Radio Digest puts Gardiner on KDKA as early as 1930. She was KDKA's resident Home Economist and host of The Home Forum and often made appearances with Janet Ross as she did with the AWD.  A 1937 issue of Motion Picture Daily Dorothy Allen was hired to assist her in her "Home Forum" broadcasts. A 1944 NAB report places her at KDKA running a Home Prize contest with Ross. A 1955 issue of Variety reports her resignation from KDKA after 25 years. She and her husband, composer Victor Saudek relocated to San Diego. A 1956 issue of Variety puts her at La Jolla High School teaching English and Journalism. Saudek directed the KDKA Little Symphony Orchestra beginning in 1922. 

Jim Westover - In 1947 he's mentioned among the staff of the comedy program "King for a Minute."  In 1949 he was selected as the announcer for the show "Americans, Speak Up! In 1951 he emceed Cinderella Weekend on KDKA. In 1962 he's mentioned in a US Steelworkers program on KDKA in passing. 1961 another passing reference narrating part of a special on Pearl Harbor. He was still with the station in 1958. In 1960 Radio TV Mirror describes him  "Noted for one of the finest voices in broadcasting, Jim Westover gathers and writes news as well."  There was also  Jim Westover on WGL in Ft. Wayne  IN. He was promoted to Chief announcer in 1945. They might be the same gentleman. (But the one on WEEI in the late sixties can't be him.) 

The Whistling Brakeman

No, not the Singing Brakeman, that's Jimmie Rodgers. This is the lesser known Whistling Brakeman, George E. Nearpass III. Sources alternately give his middle name as Edward or Edwin. His gravestone just uses the initial. Nearpass was born March 5th, 1886 in Hart, MI. He really was a railroad brakeman. reputedly, he began working for the Pennsylvania railroad in 1900 as a newsboy at the age of 12. There's a little family information here. 

Overall, there isn't much information online for Nearpass. The earliest print reference I've found to Nearpass is in a 1925 issue of Traffic World, a railway journal. It reports as follows:

"The entertainment features were provided by an orchestra from Plymouth, Ind., the Broadway Quartet, composed of Pennsylvania employees in the Pittsburgh office, and George E. Nearpass, the “whistling brakeman,’ an employee of the Pennsylvania at Butler, Ind. "

The earliest radio appearance that I found documented was in a 1928 issue of Railway Age. It describes George performing on 720 WCCO-AM in St. Paul, MN on October 31st. The station was only 3 years old at the time, and had only change calls from WLAG a year earlier. Two years later it would join the NBC Red network. 

I found a promotional postcard for "Mr. Geo. E. Nearpass." It's stamped KFNF, and date stamped from April of 1929. The recipient is in Kansas City, MO.  This was the original 920 KFNF-AM in Shenandoah, IA and owned by the Henry Field Seed Co. It signed on in 1924. The stamped call letters suggest they were stamped for the different appearances and the same post cards shipped from each. There are some which are not stamped at all. More here and here. 

In addition to the radio performances they are even more dinner performances, conventions, banquets, and other small venues. One 1930 newspaper article described him as a vaudeville entertainer which is very apt. Some articles describe him as being able to whistle three tones at the same time, impossibly imitating a banjo while playing air banjo. [There's a phrase I never thought I'd write.]

 The Indianapolis Times of April 1929 describes one of these appearances.

"George E. Nearpass, 1429 East Vermont Street, known as “The Whistling Brakeman,” who recently has returned from a twenty-state radio broadcasting tour, will appear at the April dinner of the John H Holliday Jr. post, American Legion, at the First Presbyterian church, Tuesday evening.

Nearpass, who is a Pennsylvania brakeman between Indianapolis and South Bend, when he is not on broadcasting trips, has been heard over WLW, WLS, KDKA and other big stations, in his original monologue, “A Trip on the Punkin Vine Limited." 

In 1930 The Railroad Brakemans' Journal published a short bio which confirmed that Nearpass was employed as a regular brakeman on a daily passenger run between Indianapolis and South Bend. It further explains that he has broadcast from nearly fifty radio stations, listing off KDKA, WLW, WCCO, WSB and WLS. But it also notes that he gained the most attention through a monologue "A Trip on the Punkin' Vine Limited." It's exact contents may be lost to time but we know from news articles that the monologue describes a real train line in Indiana which operated until 1980. [SOURCE] 

Another promo postcard from 1924 puts Nearpass on KDKA at 8:30 PM doing barnyard imitations. This may be the Punkin' Vine Ltd. There are more sources that corroborate this. A 1930 issue of the Rushville Republican does explain it's contents:

"In taking his listeners on a "Trip on the Punkin Vine Limited" George describes his daily work on this train loading and unloading pigs, chickens, cows, caves, and what-not in and out of the express car. Nearpass makes with his mouth all the various noises in the car as he hustles the express."

By all appearances his radio career was short, perhaps just 6 years.  But his railroad career continued for decades more. A 1947 issue of the Railroad Trainman reported that George had retired from his work on the railroad. He would have been about 61 at the time. He died September 10th, 1963. His son, George Nearpass IV, also went to work for the railroad.

It's worth noting there were more Whistling Brakemen over the years. The most well known was a Canadian man in named Roy Thoreson. [SOURCE] According to one talent guide he performed on the Tonight Show. He seems to have been active from about 1980 to 1995.He was a regular on the Calgary Stampede, a rodeo. In 1993 he even met with then president of the soviet union, Mikail Gorbechev. He died in 2015.

Earl Fatha Hines on KDKA

I have written often about the beginnings of black radio: the first appearances of African Americans in broadcasts that also demographically target African Americans. There were blacks portrayed on Amos & Andy but no one could honestly refer to it as black radio. But outside documented appearances we have some that are more apocryphal... such as this. But the site Pittsburgh Music History flat out claims "He and Lois Deppe were the first African American musicians ever to perform on radio in 1921. "

Thus it is reputed that Earl "Fatha" Hines performed on KDKA-AM as early as 1921. It it can be firmly corroborated it would make him one of the first African Americans on radio ever. The KDKA call sign was assigned in November of 1920, So it is just this side of possible. But the first problem is that Earl Kenneth Hines was only born on December 28, 1903. That would have made him just 18 years old at the time of the broadcast. But the plausibility meter ticks upward from there.

Hines was born in Duquesne, PA; just 12 miles from Pittsburgh. Earl's father was a musician, his mother a church organist. Hines took lessons from an early age and by the time he was eleven he was playing organ at his local church. By the time he was 17 he'd left home to play with Lois Deppe & his Symphonian Serenaders. This band toured regionally and played New York City. It was this group that broadcast over KDKA.

Defining "firsts" in the earliest days of radio is a very dubious proposition. Earl Hines makes the claim in his autobiography The World of Earl Hines (written with Stanley Dance). Academic journals such as the African American Review have repeated the claim. The definitive text on black radio, Voice Over: The Making of Black Radio by William Barlow also makes the same claim and further quotes Deppe describing the community reaction "the street was all blocked with people and we were just mobbed..."

But the most reputable claim is often the oldest. A July 1953 issue of Jet Magazine shows Hines and Deppe celebrating the 32nd anniversary of their appearance on KDKA. The article gives the date of that appearance as Saturday, July 9th 1921. The article also claims they are "The first Negros to appear on an American radio station."It's not a contemporary reference. So far as I have ever found it's only stated by one prior publication: a 1951 issue of Negro Digest. It's 30 years after the fact but the consistency of the statements over time gives it a lot of credence.

The Things They Do To Tradio.

Half a century ago it was also the brand name of a coin-operated hotel radio.  Today Tradio  is a portmanteau of "trade" and "radio." That word describes the program format as well. People call in to the program offering to buy or sell items. I've encountered various programs over the years, usually in tertiary markets on AM stations with callers selling livestock, trailers, tires, waffle irons.. it's the flea market of broadcasting. The first Tradio program was supposedly started in 1950 by an appliance store owner in Seguin, TX buying airtime in 1580 KWED-AM. More here.

The name Tradio has been trademarked by Simply Local Broadcasting, owners of 106.3 WRIL in Pineville, KY. So other stations have turned to synonyms like Swap Shop, the Trading Post or the like. One notable major market outlet is Wheelin' and Dealin' with Dave Ramos on WTAM-AM in Cleveland, OH. KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh, PA airs Tradio from 4:00 -7:00 PM every Saturday. WCCO-AM in Minneapolis tried out The Great Garage sale in 2008. But typically these shows are found in small metros.


What makes the format more notable is that for years now it has been the comedic target of of the Howard Stern Show.

I have no idea how this started. But open phone lines and live radio have always been a target for cranks. In this case the culprits are often Stern staffers Richard Christy and Sal Governale, but just as often it's clearly a random fan. While they all also prank call weathermen, public tv outlets and other morning shows there's something kind of wrong about pranking these more hapless, small-market Tradio programs and those in particular seem a tad more worthy of our sympathy.

1160 Club

At the height of his radio career, Dave Garroway hosted a late-night jazz program on WMAQ-AM in Chicago. It was one of the most important programs in the history of Chicago Jazz and is hard to over-rate in it's significance. He had a deep smooth voice and it matched his taste in music. He followed that with wild success in television. More here.

Garroway wasn't a Chicago local. He was born in Schenectady, NY in 1913. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and became a lab assistant. that didn't work out so he tried being a salesman. While pedaling books in New York he had a chance meeting with a woman who ran the pages at NBC. He signed up in 1938 and was running errands in no time. While there he attended NBC's school for announcers. It's been said that he graduated almost dead last in his class; 23rd in a class of 24.

After graduating in 1939, Garroway dumped his page gig got a job at KDKA-AM. He got a reputation there as a roving announcer. He did stories from hot air balloons, a U.S. Navy submarine in the Ohio River, and from inside a coal mine. But in 1941 like many others he enlisted in the Navy in WWII. . While stationed in Honolulu, he hosted a jazz radio show when off duty.

After he returned from WWII, Garroway became a DJ at WMAQ-AM. There he hosted a series of radio programs: The 1160 Club in 1946, the Dave Garroway Show in 1948, Reserved for Garroway in 1952, and Dial Dave Garroway from 1950 to 1953. In 1954 he started another program Fridays with Dave Garroway that ran into 1955. But it wasn't just broadcasting that made Garroway. He also hustled hard to organize jazz concerts, creating what's now described as a "Jazz Circuit" of local clubs in 1947. He brought jazz to a level of prominence in Chicago that it had in few other cities. From 1949 to 1954 he hosted Garroway At Large. a somewhat experimental TV variety program. NBC carried it live from Chicago. In 1951, he became the first host of NBC's Today Show which had had to co-host with a monkey. He stayed on until 1961 despite being bitten by the monkey. He went back to radio and hosted the NBC program Monitor.

He was voted the best DJ in America in Billboard magazine in 1948, 1949, and 1951. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But despite the success and accolades he suffered form depression. He shot himself  on July 21, 1982. He was 69 years old.

Hollywood Walk of Fame: S - Z

At long last this research project has come to an end. I have asked the question repeatedly why these people are famous within radio and the answer appears to be that some of them were not. Though the walk even includes some misspelled names, cartoon characters and animals, there are no erroneous inclusions. There is always a reason, it's just not always apparent, though it is sometimes a parent. No doubt these oddities will spawn many future posts.(and corrections)

Julia Sanderson - Julia Sanderson and her husband Frank Crumit were a comedy and singing duo in 1928 on CBS as the "Singing Sweethearts" even though they were already divorced. In 1930 they started co-hosting a quiz show called "The Battle of the Sexes", which ran 13 years.

Vin Scully - starting out at WFUV as a student DJ, he graduated and got a job filling in at WTOP. He did well enough there to get a better job doing college football coverage on the CBS Radio Network. He currently does Play-by-play for the Los Angeles Dodgers on KLAC.

Ryan Seacrest - An internship at WSTR turned into an overnight shift which inexplicably parlayed into a Hollywood career hosting vapid reality TV programs. In 2004 he took over American Top 40 from a retiring Casey Casem, and later that year starting doing "On Air With Ryan Seacrest" mornings on KIIS.

Dinah Shore - By all reports her radio debut was actually on the Grand Ole Opry on WSM-AM with a Vanderbilt singing troupe. She left for New York and began singing on WNEW. There she sang with Frank Sinatra and for Xavier Cugat which began her recording career.

Ginny Simms - She was in the Kay Kyser band circa the Kollege of Musical Knowledge. The Ginny Simms show ran from 1941 to 1942 on CBS went thru a couple changes becoming the Purple Heart Show, and Talent Theater around 1945. She sang on many other programs including The Pause That Refreshes, The Bob Burns show, and others.

Penny Singleton - He fame originate in one character, Blondie of the comic strip of the same name. She played opposite Arthur Lake (as Dagwood) starting in 1939 on their radio show until it ended in 1950. In 1967 she famously led the Rockettes in a strike against Radio City Music Hall.

Red Skelton - His first appearance on the Rudy Valee show was in 1937. the appearance went so well that in 1938 1938, Skelton replaced Red Foley as the host of "Avalon Time" on NBC. He started doing MGM films and did another radio show "The Raleigh Cigarettes Program" starting in 1941. It lasted until 1953. He moved on to a 3-year syndicate deal with Ziv radio. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1994

Smilin' Jack Smith - (Not to be confused with "Whispering" Jack Smith) He first appeared on KFRC with Anson Weeks and His Hotel Mark Hopkins Orchestra. More radio work followed and he guested on The Kate Smith Show, and The Prudential Hour. Jack got his own radio show in 1945 and it lasted until 1952. He moved into TV afterwards.

Kate Smith - See previous post here.

Phil Spitalny - See previous post here.

Hanley Stafford - His most popular role was as Lancelot Higgins on The Baby Snooks Show. He also played parts on several classic programs such as Popeye, Flash Gordon, Calling All Cars, Jungle Jim, and "The Shadow of Fu Manchu."
Jo Stafford

The Real Don Steele - As a Boss Jock he became nationally-known during his run on KHJ which lasted from 1965 to 1973. (He hosted a TV version from 1965 to 1975 on KHJ-TV.) He also spent time on KIQQ, KTNQ, KRLA, KODJ, KCBS-FM and KRTH.

Bill Stern - Known by me only for announcing the nation's "first" remote sports broadcast. He started out doing play-by-play in 1925 on WHAM-AM. Then was hired by NBC Blue in 1937 to host The Colgate Sports Newsreel as well as Friday night boxing on radio. It ran until 1956. He later did sports commentaries for Mutual. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.

Cliffie Stone - See previous post here.

Ezra Stone - His biggest role was as Henry Aldrich in t"The Aldrich Family" which ran 1939-1953. The Aldrich family sketch started out in a stage show, then was reworked to a bit for both Rudy Vallée and Kate Smith's shows. NBC brought it in to develop into a 30 minute program. He went on to direct programs.

Gale Storm - She beat all the odds and won a 1939 "Gateway to Hollywood" radio contest and got a 2-year contract with CBS. She appeared on variety programs like The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, Lux Radio Theater, Family Theatre, My Little Margie and a number of feature films.

Igor Stravinsky - (There are multiple alternate spellings) I can fine no records of live radio broadcast US performances. His inclusion appears to be dubious.

Alec Templeton - He played with several orchestras and played on piano on The Rudy Vallée Show, The Chase and Sanborn Hour, Kraft Music Hall and The Magic Key of RCA. His own program, Alec Templeton Time ran from 1939 to 1941.

Jay Thomas - Best known for a reoccurring role on Mork & Mindy he started in radio as a high school football announcer. He went on to KPWR, WXLO, WKTU and many others. Billboard magazine like to refer to him as semi-legendary. He now hosts the Jay Thomas Show on XM/Sirius.

Lowell Thomas - In 1930 he became a news commentator with the CBS radio. He switched to NBC and in late 1930 he hosted the first-ever television-news broadcast. He came back to CBS in 1947. He retired in 1976. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1989.

Bill Thompson - Starting in 1934, he was a regular on Don McNeill's morning show "The Breakfast Club" He was also in the choir on "The Sinclair Weiner Minstrels" in 1937. He was also a regular in the cast of "Fibber McGee and Molly." In the 1950s he was in several episodes of CBS Radio Workshop. He went on to do voice over for Walt Disney cartoons.

Tommy & Betty Lou Riggs - In 1931 Riggs was running a poultry business and Tommy was a pianist-vocalist on WCAE-AM. Then they began doing the Tom and Betty bit together on WCAE's. Tommy voiced both himself and a 7-year old girl... which is creepy. the program moved to KDKA, then WTAM then WLW in 1937. They did a stretch on Rudy Vallée's Royal Gelatin Hour. they also did the Kate Smith Show and were a summer replacement for Burns and Allen in 1942. In 1950 Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou ran for one season on CBS.

Arturo Toscanini - He conducted Operas and led the NBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1963, NBC Radio broadcast a weekly series of programs entitled Toscanini: The Man Behind The Legend, commemorating Toscanini's career. Like Stravinski this is a dubious inclusion. The series was rebroadcast by PBS radio in the late 1970s.

Charlie Tuna - See previous post here.

Lurene Tuttle - Another claimant to the title of "The First Lady of Radio," she was reputed to be appearing in 15 programs a week at her peak. She did play virtually every female character "The Adventures of Sam Spade" in addition to appearing on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and the Great Gildersleeve. She was in a slew of soap operas, The Red Skelton Show, Hollywood Hotel, The Restless Gun, Dragnet, Lux Radio Theater, The Screen Guild Theater, Suspense... the list seems to go on forever.

Vera Vague - Barbara Jo Allen got her star in the name of a fictional spinster-type character she created and portrayed on radio and in film. After Vera was introduced in 1939 on "NBC Matinee," she became a regular on Bob Hope's show around 1941. In 1937, she had debuted in network radio as Beth Holly on NBC's "One Man's Family." She also did roles in "Death Valley Days," "I Love a Mystery" and others. In 1952, still in the role of Vera, she hosted her own television series "Follow the Leader" on CBS.

Rudy Vallée - See previous post here.

Harry von Zell - His first radio gig was as an announcer for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra program, then he relocated to New York There he got a job as a CBS staff announcer and announced for Fred Allen, Phil Baker, Eddie Cantor, Eddy Duchin, Ed Wynn and others. He later headlined his own show "The Smiths of Hollywood" which lasted 1946 - 1947.

Mark Wallengren & Kim Amidon - In 1986, Mark Wallengren and Kim Amidon debuted their new eponymous morning show on KOST. Following a 2007 purchase by Clear Channel Amidon left the show and was replaced. Amidon was last known to be doing fill-ins on KTWV.

Jimmy Wallington - He was the announcer for several popular NBC radio shows including Carnation Contented Hour, Eddie Cantor, Fred Allen, the Screen Directors Playhouse, Jimmy Durante, The Big Show, and many others. He also announced for Voice of America for years.

Fred Waring - See previous post here.

Willard Waterman - His biggest role was in replacing Harold Peary as the title character of The Great Gildersleeve from 1950 to 1957. At the same time he had a recurring role as Mr. Merriweather in "The Halls of Ivy." Prior to all that he was on soap operas and a variety show called Chicago Theater of the Air .

Jack Webb - See previous post here.

Orson Welles - See previous post here.

Paul Whiteman - He started on the Old Gold Hour in 1930 but Whiteman had several radio shows, including The Philco Hour, Kraft Music Hall, the Chesterfield hour and Paul Whiteman's Musical Varieties on WJZ. He semi-retired in the late 1940s but He continued to perform on air and was also the music director for the ABC Radio Network.

Dick Whittinghill - He spent 30 years as a DJ at KMPC-AM starting in 1950. He also later did a the afternoon drive slot at KPRZ. He had previously DJ'd at AFRN, KPFA in Helena, MT, KIEV and KGFJ.

Tex Williams - His last appearance on radio was by phone from his hospital bed on Bill Aken's radio program "The Country Call Line" two days before he died. He was a western swing musician who had appeared on WSM at the"Grand Ole Opry," "The National Barn Dance" and Gene Autry's Melody Ranch. Williams also hosted his own radio program, "Riverside Rancho" in 1949.

Meredith Willson - A conductor and songwriter who in 1929 became the concert director for radio station KFRC then became the musical director for the NBC radio. He also appeared on on Good News, Maxwell House Coffee Time, Burns and Allen, and The Big Show. He later hosted his own variety show, the Musical revue which ran 1935-1953.

Don Wilson - Probably best remembered as the fat guy who announced on The Jack Benny show. But his career went back further than Benny's. Don started out singing on KFEL-AM in Denver in 1923. He had also been a sportscaster doing the Olympics in 1932. He also announced for Alan Young, Bing Crosby, Ginny Simms, Music by Gershwin and Baby Snooks.

Marie Wilson - Starting on Broadway she gained national prominence playing the lead role of a dumb blonde in My Friend Irma on film, TV and radio. The TV show and the radio show ran concurrently. The radio series ran from 1947 to 1954.

Paul Winchell - A ventriloquist, singer and comedian, whose he had many guest appearances on various radio programs starting in 1936, on Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour. He had a season as WOR-AM in 1943, then again as 1948 Summer fill-in. He later did voice over on numerous cartoons and had a TV program where the ventriloquist thing makes more sense.

Walter Winchell - See previous post here.

Charles Winninger - A vaudeville actor who got typecast as a a riverboat captain and eventually ended up playing it on the NBC Maxwell House Show Boat program. He also made appearances on Lux Radio Theater.

Ed Wynn - He was the host of The Fire Chief on NBC from 1938 to 1949. In 1933 he founded his own radio network the Amalgamated Broadcasting System, which lasted only five weeks. He moved onto television. Also notable that He was once knocked unconscious by W.C. Fields with a pool stick.

Alan Young - His biggest roles were in television playing Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed, and as was the voice of Scrooge McDuck. He actually started out on the CBC in Canada, then in 1944 did a summer fill-in show, The Alan Young Show on NBC which was a hit. It ran for nine years 1944-1949 and then crossed over to television.

Carleton G. Young - He played many roles on may different soap operas such as "The Heinz Magazine of the air." He also played parts in some classic mystery and suspense programs. He played the character Phillip Galt on the suspense series "The Whisperer" in 1951, and "Jim Laughton" in Hollywood Mystery Time.

Robert Young - He always seemed to be playing doctors. He acted in "The Doctor Fights" in 1944, and played ones on TV as well. His biggest roles was as Jim Anderson, in "Father Knows Best" which ran on NBC radio1949 - 1953. Prior to that he acted on the CBS Studio One program, which ran 1947 - 1948 and "Passport for Adams which started back in 1944.

The National Farm and Home Hour

The National Farm and Home Hour was a variety show which began broadcasting on NBC Blue Network in 1929. The show was broadcast at noon live from 670 WMAQ-AM. It had a studio audience and a band opening daily with Sousa march "Stars and Stripes Forever."  John Dunning's On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio has it airing locally on KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh in 1928. That may seem incongruous but at the time NBC had an agricultural programming director at WMAQ, Frank Mullen the founder of KDKA. somehow Louise Margaret Benjamin skips that link in her book The NBC Advisory Council and Radio Programming. She only connects it back to an experimental radio pilot called the Dinner Bell Hour on NBC. It's also worth noting that the Bibliography on Educational Broadcasting  by Isabella Mitchell Cooper also credits Frank Mullen on KDKA via a citation to a 1935 article printed by NBC, "Radio For the Farm Folks, How the Farm Hour Started.That's a solid source.

The program would continue to run for three decades.  It was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and American Farm Bureau, 4-H Club, Farmers Union, Montgomery Ward, The Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the National Grange.  It's not surprising to see them on a list together, but the program was intended for rural listeners in farming communities. For context try to remember that Rural Free Delivery was only adopted in 1902, and rural electrification only began in 1932. It was a civic-minded era, and the Secretary of Agriculture liked to broadcast the occasional speech from time to time as well.

The program was a true variety show. It had an orchestra, musical guests, comedy skits and a re-occurring park ranger  character played by Don Ameche. But it's core was weather and agricultural news which is how  the secretary of the Dept of Agriculture coudl act as it's producer. In June of 1945 NBC Blue became ABC and the National Farm and Home Hour  moved to NBC as a 30 minute program. It was still being carried on over 100 stations. It remained there until 1958 with Allis-Chalmers as it's primary sponsor. It died with a whimper spending it's last 3 years as a segment on NBC's weekend anthology Monitor.  The program was cancelled in 1958.

It's most famous host was Everett Mitchell. He was on the program from 1932 onward. His trademark line was "It's a beautiful day in Chicago!" Mitchell was a former insurance claim adjustor who broke into radio singing part-time at radio station WENR-AM. A belligerent manager made him choose between radio and insurance. He picked the latter.  Nemorino writes that over the course of his career he also spent time on WQJ, WEBH, and WHT.

It's hard to find citations but WQJ was a short-lived dayshare with WMAQ owned by the Calumet Baking Powder Company and a local Chicago venue, the Rainbo Gardens Ballroom. WMAQ bought them out in 1927. WEBH was another Chicago station, this one owned by the Edgewater Beach Hotel. WEBH is even more fleeting, a dayshare with WDAP.  They signed on in 1923 and were deleted in 1928. (That license became WGN.) WHT was owned by the Radiophone Broadcasting Corporation, in Deerfield, IL a suburb of Chicago. They operated just in 1927 and 1926 as far as I can tell.  But it shows that he had at most a few years experience before landing that job as host of the Farm Hour. years after the program ended, in 1967 Mitchell received the Great Service to America Award and retired that year. He died in 1990. Frank Mullen died in 1977 and farm radio continues to wither to this day.

Will Rogers and his famous Alarm Clock

Will Rogers first appeared on the radio in February of 1922 at KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh, PA. He was accompanied by the Ziegfeld Girls, from Ziegfeld Follies. Ziegfeld Follies were a Broadway show that ran in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in their own right in 1932 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air. It ran until about 1936 and Rogers did occasionally make a guest appearance.  KDKA wasn't exactly new, it had been on air as 8XK as early as 1916. Founder Frank Conrad received the call letters KDKA in 1921. This was a pivotal time in radio history.  Radio was a new medium, and really before 1922, it was just a hobby. Will Rogers arrived in that crucial window when radio was first able to create national celebrity.  More on KDKA here.

Will Rogers was the first king of all media. In 1922 Rogers was recording monologues for Victor records,and he'd already published two books:  The Cowboy Philosopher on the Peace Conference and The Cowboy Philosopher on Prohibition. In late 1922 he began writing a weekly piece for the McNaught syndicate, who distributed his column to 5 hundred newspapers. He'd already been in his first film in 1918. So by 1922, At that point in time, Rogers had more to offer radio than radio had to offer to him. But in November of 1922, Rogers appears on a syndicated broadcast on NBC that reached an estimated 8 million homes. That was bigger than Broadway.

He started making his first regularly scheduled broadcasts in the spring of 1933. His program, The Gulf Headliners was sponsored by  the Gulf Oil Company. Also called the Good Gulf Show was broadcast from 640 KFI-AM in Los Angeles. It ran for half an hour on Sunday evenings and by 1935 was ranked nationally among the top fifteen radio programs. It was said that he often lost track of time and was often cut off in mid-sentence. To compensate for his wandering mind, he brought in a wind-up alarm clock, cued him to wrap it up. By 1935, the show was sometimes referred to as "Will Rogers and his famous Alarm Clock." There were a total of 53 episodes.

Technically, it was actually his second try at a weekly radio series. Previously, the pharmaceutical company Squibb had sponsored a series of 15-minute monologues at KFI-AM in April of 1930. There were only 12 broadcasts before the series ended.

But getting back to the Gulf Headliners, its popularity led to certain problems. In January 1934, Rogers used the word “nigger” in a radio skit, referring to a song as a “nigger spiritual” and possibly up to a total of four instances. This was not the first time he'd used the word, Rogers had used it in print in his syndicated newspaper column as well.But this was the first time he had used it on the radio. Roy Ottoway Wilkins at the NAACP launched a telegram-and letter-writing protest campaign against the comedian. In response, Rogers switched to the marginally less offensive term "darky." (It sounds pathetic now, but prior to the civil rights of 1964 you could honestly call that a victory)

Rogers died in 1935 with aviator Wiley Post, when their small airplane crashed near Barrow, Alaska Territory. He was 56 years old. For more information, I recommend the book Radio Broadcasts Of Will Rogers by the Will Rogers Memorial Commission and Oklahoma State University.  It's available here. It is a compendium of the actual transcripts of many of his radio shows.

Hard knocks at WNOX

KDKA-AM is almost always credited as the first radio station in America. Despite the meager veracity of the claim it's become the accepted history. But after there was a first, there was a second, and a third... so on and so forth. Interestingly Nobody advertises their status as number two, there is something about the American character that prohibits that. Number ten however, 990 WNOX-AM takes the title proudly. (Though in print they sometimes claim they are number eight.)

Sixteen-year-old Stuart Adcock first signed on the 50 watt station as WNAV-AM in 1921.  He worked for People's Telephone and telegraph Co. the station lasted three years and was then destroyed in a fire. Adcock rebuilt, that same year.  He sold it about a year later to the Sterchi Brothers Furniture Company. In 1929 he bought another local station 1450 WNBJ-AM, it was two years old and owned by the Baptist church of Koxville.  He bought a 2-year old station and  set up WNOX's first local competition. Sterchi sold more than furniture, they also sold records. They leveraged that to get better bookings. In 1926 the brothers changed the calls to WNOX-AM and bumped the power to 100 watts.  In 1929 at WNBJ-AM PD Caswell "Cas" Walker created a variety show known as the Farm and Home Hour. In 1930, the station was bought by the Stuart Broadcast Co. and moved to 1310 AM. In 1931 they changed calls to WROL-AM.  More here.

In 1935 WNOX was sold to the E.W. Scripps Company which also owned the local newspaper, the Knoxville Sentinel. The Scripps Company hired announcer Lowell Blanchard in 1936 to and told him to hire more hillbilly performers. It was probably their plan to compete better with the upstart WROL. He began the variety program called the Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round. It became an institution. It mixed comedy, dixieland, swing and live Hillbilly performers. It was not a pure country program by any stretch but it went head-to-head with the Farm and Home Hour on WROL. In 1936 it's star Roy Acuff quit to work at WROL. They were now rivals, not just competitors.That would last into the 1940s.  In March 1941, WROL moved to 620 AM;  they changed calls to WATE and began doing more news.

1936 was also the year they hired Archie Campbell.  He graduated that Spring from Mars Hill College in North Carolina and got a job at WNOX. He performed on a program called on the Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round with country music artists like Roy Acuff, Cowboy Copas, Flatt and Scruggs, and Carl Smith. He left for a job at WDOD in Chattanooga a few years later. He stayed there until 1941 when he began his service in WWII under the U.S. Navy.  It is sometimes written that he created the Tennessee Barn Dance.  That program debuted in 1942, a which time he had already left WNOX, but also had left war.

It seems incongruous but actually the way the program began was as an outgrowth of the Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round.  It's performers were rounded up to play an evening program on Saturdays at Market Hall. It was initially called the WNOX Carnival. It was merely renamed in 1942. By then he had already made his "Grandpappy" character famous. After WWII ended Campbell returned briefly to WNOX before moving to 1490 WROL-AM in 1952.  He developed two more country variety shows: Country Playhouse and Dinner Bell. It went well enough that on WROL-TV he helped produce Knoxville's first country music TV program; the Country Playhouse, that premiered in 1952 and ran until 1958. He left in 1956 for the Grand Ole Opry. (He wrote a very readable biography in 1981) More here.

In 1962 WNOX dropped country for Top 40. Lowell Blanchard stayed on and focused on emceeing and announcing.  He began doing play-by play on local baseball games. He died following one in 1968.  In 1977 he was inducted into the Country Radio hall of Fame. In 1971, WATE became WETE and they moved to an AC format. In 1976, WETE-AM became  WRJZ-AM and they went top-40 going back to their old fight with WNOX. In 1981 WNOX was sold and it flipped back to a country music format. It was a return to their roots as they had pioneered the format in the1930s. In 1982 WRJZ followed suit. But then it sputtered and went off air. WNOX had won.

In 1988 WNOX flipped calls to WTNZ-AM and it was sold to Dick Broadcasting who changed the calls to WIVK-AM. They segued in the 1980s into an all News Talk format which persisted for decades. Shamefully WNOX-AM changed calls to WNML-AM In May of 2005 as part of a Sports Talk re-branding.  It simulcasts on 99.1 WNML-FM.  The WNOX heritage calls live on at 100.3 the old WOKI-FM, formerly a AAA outlet.

8XK, 8XS, W8XK

It was 8XS in Saxonburg that transmitted the first international broadcast, to Europe via England, on New Year's Eve in 1923. 86 years ago 8XS was owned by Westinghouse. An article in "What's on the Air" from February, 1931 lists their frequency as 19.72 Kilocycles; broadcasting Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7:00 am to 11:00 am. It aired programs from NBC's international network called "the White Network" by some. It ran all religious content.
I was going to go into the history a bit but I'll take this opportunity to shill for Fybush and jsut quote the master directly:

"At Saxonburg, KDKA experimented with shortwave broadcasting, with medium-wave power levels as high as 400 kW and with several antenna designs that were complex (and apparently unsuccessful) prototypes of today's low-profile antenna designs, such as the Kinstar and Paran antennas. The Saxonburg site remained in use for shortwave (under the W8XK calls) until the end of the war, and was eventually donated to the nuclear physics program at [Carnegie Mellon.]"

8XK was Dr. Frank Conrad's old experimental call from 1916 it was canceled in 1917 and re-licensed as 8XK in 1920. He began broadcasting KDKA programs on shortwave in 1923 as 8XS. Westinghouse was attached to the calls so when they launched a WBZ in Boston, it's first experimental calls were W1XK, and WBOS which became W2XK. In the 1930s all shortwave was still experimental and all of them started with experimental calls in this era. All experimental calls consisted of the letter "W" followed by a number representing the "radio district" then an "X" then two or three letters. More here.

Westinghouse had to hand over the reins to The Government in WWII for operation under the Voice of America network. In 1939 the experimental W1XK calls were replaced with the more traditional calls WPIT.

The Berlin Convention

In the U.S. we didn't license any radio stations until KDKA in 1920. But that was by no means the birth of radio. Even that single station had been previously granted the experimental calls 8XK. Which is more to the point: broadcasting regulation co-existed with radio from the beginning. (I'm sure Murphy law includes some special corollary about bureaucrats.)

One of the very earliest regulations regarding broadcast came about from the Berlin convention. In 1903 the nation of Germany sponsored a "preliminary conference concerning wireless telegraphy..." They treated it as a developing technology with a frightening level of foresight. Thomas H. White summarized it thusly:

"Although the conference found some areas of agreement, there were still unresolved disputes, especially about intercommunication between stations owned by different companies. "

The Conference ended as many do.. by calling for another conference to clear up the issues left unresolved at the conclusion of the first conference. That sequel convened in 1906. The result of that second conference was impressive. Much of the document regarded shito-to-ship and ship-to-shore transmissions. the document also formed the International Wireless Telegraph Convention aka (Convention Radiotélégraphique Internationale) effective July 1, 1908. the pdf is here.

Also crucial but overlooked is the implication that telegraph lines, whether on land or submarine, were of neutral jurisdiction. It's conceptually complicated but the 1910 Grafton book of International law immediately grasped the ramifications. Essentially it brought into civil law that which had been declared under the Hague convention.

"Submarine cables, connecting belligerent with neutral points, were liable to such treatment outside of neutral jurisdiction as the necessities of war might require, though at the close of the war damages might be assessed...Submarine cables connecting an occupied territory with a neutral territory shall not be seized or destroyed except in the case of absolute necessity. They must likewise be restored, and compensation fixed when peace is made."

The story gets twisted. The U.S. Representatives that attended the conference signed the agreement in 1906. Actually in the document they're called plenipotentiaries... But the U.S. Senate did not ratify it for another 6 years. Just in time to ramp up for WWI.

FM overtakes AM

Today FM enjoys a huge dominance over AM radio. In every market the number of FM stations both outnumbers the AM stations and overall carry superior ratings. It is a rare market that an AM station of any format remains dominant over a comparable FM. At one point in recent history FM radio overtook AM in popularity. FM overtook AM in terms in total number of stations, and in ratings. let's consider the progression...The first commercial radio license ever issued went to KDKA October 27th 1920. Only about a year later the FRC had licensed 62 licenses... all AM obviously, by 1929 they had licensed 143. Growth continued steadily. FM didn't begin licensing until 1937. That year W1XOJ was the first FM radio station, to be granted a CP from the FCC. In 1937 there were 704 AM radio stations, a growth of over 400%.

In 1946 we were up to 62 FM radio stations. This fulfilled what was then a plan to allocate only 70 licenses for commercial FM and 20 for non-commercial. Almost all of the 600 FM applications were filed based on the original FM rules, which they had promptly changed. They denied most of them. The Annual report of 1946 clearly notes that 250 FM applications are pending. The start was shaky.

In 1963 docket 14185 adopted most technical FM rules and really established a nation wide tabel of FM assignments. At this time the FCC was openly considering a ban between FM /FM simulcasts as an "a waste of valuable spectrum space." By 1965 at least 7,570,000 homes had FM radios. This leaned heavily toward urban areas. New York City had a penetration of over 50%. There were 4,097 Am stations at that time and 1628 FM stations. You can see the gap closing at least in terms of raw numbers.

The magic year was 1978. That year AM became a ratings minority. Of Arbitron's 500 top 10 stations in the top 50 markets, AM only had 240 stations. To quote from the Broadcasting cable article written that year:

"Take the number-one market, New York, where WBLS, WRFM, WPLJ, and WXLO, all show up in the top 10. Tehre are also four in Chicago (WLOO, WLAK, WBMX, and WCLR) and three in Los Angeles (KJOI, KMET, and KLOS). Rounding out the top-10 markets-Detroit has six, Philadelphia has five Sanfrancisco four, Boston Five Dallas-Ft. Worth six, Pittsburgh six including one AM-FM simulcast combination and Washington eight (including one combo)."

That same year there were only 3,896 FM stations to compete with 4,495 AM stations.

Groundhogs Day

I'll set this straight now and state for the record that I think this is asinine, and somewhat mean to the rodent. Strangely, like an echo of the Bill Murray film, Groundhogs Day really has become a major media event. The holiday has been celebrated in Punxsutawney since 1886. When I checked their website I found that they even have a video feed.

Event: Groundhog Day Date: February 2nd, 2009 Time: 05:45 to 08:30 (Eastern) (30 Minute Soft Out) Satellite AMC - 5 (KU-Band Digital) Transponder K 08 Channel: A (9Mhz) Sym Rate: 6.380 msps FEC: 5/6 Bit Rate: 9.799348 Downlink Pol: Horizontal Downlink Freq: 11912.50 Mhz Audio: 6.2/6.8

Radio warmed to Phil-the-groundhog early on. In 1928, the groundhog's prediction was carried live on a program at KDKA-AM with Punx'y Rotary Club. KDKA stuck with the feature and in 1948 interviewed the President of the Groundhog Club on the "Brunch With Bill" program. In 1953 Punxsutawney got it's own local radio station, daytimer WPME on 1540 AM. They dutifully arrived at gobblers knob each year. In 1973 they got a local FM as well 104.1 WPME. Renda Broadcasting acquired the stations in 1981, but still cover Phil.


Today the holiday is covered essentially everywhere. WGN-AM has carried it dutifully for decades. The programming is silly and wholesome and part of what leaves radio freeze-dried in the past and why your cynical grand kids don't listen to the radio any more. Sadly this is still how radio staff are trained to look at radio. The 2004 text book "Radio" By Steve Warren had this to say:

"Make Groundhog day a big day. Plan a Groundhog day party, if not really then at least on air. Talk about Groundhog day decorations festooning the radio station. Get listeners involved with a Groundhog's day Happy Hour after work at a local restaurant or bar hosted by station personel. Have the bartender concoct a special drink like Groundhog Martini. Rename bar food Groundhog Burgers, groundhog Wings or Groundhog nuggetts..."

Adventures in Research

 No, not my Adventures in Research. Most of my research is kind of erratic and highly partisan. I refer to Westinghouse's radio series "Adventures in Research". It was a documentary-style radio series from the 1940s that was focused on science and research. Of course, they too are partisan. In one biographical episode they actually lionize George Westinghouse. In another they claim that radio broadcasting began on KDKA-AM.
Slightly self-aggrandizing, but usually informative it was described both as a celebration of "Yankee Ingenuity", and also as a Public Service Program. It ran from The 1942 to 1954 producing at least 75 different fifteen minute episodes. The episode about KDKA is #49596. though inaccurate to a fault, it's recreation the election returns broadcast was great radio. Of course the Adventures in Research program was being created in the studios of KDKA, so that one is perhaps more partisan than any other. **AUDIO EXPIRED** 

Other topics included rural electrification, Morse code, the telegraph, modernization of agriculture, radio navigation, penicillin and many others. The first programs are more stiff consisting largely of Q&A sessions with Paul Shannon asking the questions, and Dr. Phillips Thomas answering. The later programs included dramatizations that were much more engaging for listeners. It was a wise format change considering the young audience they were aiming for.

Host Paul Shannon was a Pennsylvania native, born near Washington, PA in 1909. He worked at KDKA-AM for years eventually leaving for a gig at WTAE-TV doing children's programming including the locally popular "Adventuretime". Throughout the 1950's and 1960's he continued to do similar shows, hosting reruns of youth-oriented programs. He retired in 1975, and died in 1990. More here.

Dr. Phillips Thomas was a research physicist for Westinghouse. His position historically is somewhat unclear. He's often sighted in magazines of the day demonstrating electronic gizmos like photoelectric marimbas, and a "vortex gun." He was a real member of the research department but seems to have segued into a spokesperson of some kind.

Their Adventuretime programs are available from OTR in a nice CD-R package here or download some from Archive.org. for free.

The first stations in each state

I didn't do the research on this, but I did check their list twice. I also re-sorted it into chronological order. This is a list of the first licensed radio stations in each U.S. state. Well all know KDKA, and WQAM, and WBZ but the rest are surprises. Also surprising is how long some states took to get it together. It's very interesting, and the rest of the National Radio Club website is also well worth the browsing. http://www.nrcdxas.org/

I've tried to space it out to be more readable in Blogger but I've been thwarted by it's "smart corrections" at each attempt. I recommend you click the header to see their work in it's original and more readable glory.

1. KDKA Pittsburgh, PA Oct 27, 1920
2. KQL Los Angeles, CA Oct 13, 1921
3. WCJ New Haven, CT Sep 29, 1921
4. WQAM Miami, FL Feb 1921
5. WDZ Tuscola, IL Mar 17, 1921
6. WGAZ South Bend, IN Sep 25, 1921
7. WBZ Springfield, MO Sep 15, 1921
8. WWJ Detroit, MI Oct 13, 1921 
9. WEW St. Louis, MO Apr 26, 1921
10. WOU Omaha, NE Dec 29, 1921
11. WJZ Newark, NJ Jun 1, 1921
12. WJX New York, NY Oct 13, 1921
13. WLW Cincinnati, OH Mar 3, 1921
14. WKY Oklahoma, OK City Apr 21, 1921
15. WRR Dallas, TX Feb, 1921
16. KFC Seattle, WA Dec 8 1921
17. KFXZ Logan, UT 1922, (moved to ID)
18. WGH Montgomery, AL Feb 3, 1922
19. KFAD Phoenix, AZ Jun 21, 1922
20. WOK Pine Bluff, AR Feb 10, 1922
21. KLZ Denver, CO Mar 10, 1922
22. WHAV Wilmington, DE Jul 30, 1922
23. WSB Atlanta, GA Mar 15, 1922
24. KGU Honolulu, HI May, 1922
25. KFXD Logan, UT 1922
26. WOC Davenport, IA Feb 18, 1922 
27. WEY Wichita, KS Mar 23, 1922
28. WHAS Louisville, KY Jul 18, 1922
29. WWL New Orleans, LA Mar 31, 1922
30. WKC Baltimore, MD Mar 23, 1922
31. WLB Minneapolis, MN Jan 13, 1922
32. KFBB Great Falls, MT Jul 11, 1922
33. WKAV Laconia, NH Aug, 1922
34. KOB Albuquerque, NM May, 1922
35. WBT Charlotte, NC Apr 10, 1922
36. WDAY Fargo, ND May 23, 1922
37. KGG Portland, OR Mar 15, 1922
38. WEAN Providence, RI Jun 5, 1922
39. WCAT Rapid City, SD May 9, 1922
40. WKN Memphis, TN Mar 23, 1922 
41. WCAX Burlington, VT June, 1922 
42. WHD Morgantown, WV Mar 16, 1922 
43. WHA Madison, WI Jan 13, 1922
44. WTAR Norfolk, VA Sep 21, 1923
45. KFQD Anchorage, AK Apr, 1924 
46. WCSH Portland, OR Jul 24, 1925
47. WDBT Hattiesburg, MS May 1, 1925
48. KOH Reno, NV Oct 25, 1928
49. WSPA Spartanburg, SC Nov, 1929
50. KDFN Casper, WY Jan 2, 1930
    

a mysterious 1 khz tone

Interference is a constant in the universe. It varies in quality and quantity but there is always some. It's ever-present, and is just part of the deal in radio. Noise happens. Most interference when it appears has a pretty clear source, or is at least only audible over a small area. The source may be novel , or mundane but the list of interference sources is fairly manageable.

In November of last year we had a mystery on our hands in radioland. There was a 1Khz tone reported on the frequency of 590 kHz on November 27. Then a day later it moved to 1610 AM. Apparently unhappy messing up WIBG-AM in the expanded band, the tone moved 1020 kHz. While the tone interfered with little other than CHHA-AM on 1610 in Toronto, and was a minor offender on 590. On 1020 it was a problem. While initially reported in New England, it was also reported as far away as Florida, Oregon, Arkansas, and Scandanavia!.

Engineers and DXers began to examing the tone, and take signal bearings to locate it's source. Guesses ranged from New Jersey to North Carolina. As the geeks moved in, it moved out. The tone jumped from 1610 to the far more problematic 1020. It now interfered with the 50,000 watt powerhours KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh.

There have been reports that it's an experiment by the goverment on co-channel interference, it's a psyops project, it's a propaganda transmission to Cuba, it's an alien message! The oogily Boogily stuff is amusing, but I can say that this is unusual in it's total lack of any kind of ID. the FCC does approve experimental broadcasts on the AM band. But these are limited to the 0100-0600 hours, and the ID is mandatory.

I've seen no paper work on it but it's been reported that BAE Systems had applied for an experimental license for testing mobile broadcasting systems. The original application had requested 590, 1020 and 1600 kHz using 10 kw of power from Fort A.P. Hill, near Bowling Green VA. Thsi is as yet unconfirmed...

The Presidential Radio Address

We all heard George W. Bush say the word "Internets" on the national news. It was not an impressive moment, but my dad's not so great with computers either. ...And to that point, American presidents have been very slow to take to new technology. While most of you know, the first licensed radio broadcast was on KDKA-AM and for announcing the presidential election returns, the president wasn't involved. It was years before the President of the United States was on the radio, and many years more before it became a fixture.

Coolidge racked up a number of Presidential radio firsts. President Coolidge's inauguration was the first presidential inauguration broadcast on radio. He made history when the largest radio audience ever tuned in to the broadcast of his final campaign speech. Coolidge won the election easily, and in March, Americans listened for the first time to their president take the oath of office on the radio. There are some recordings of Coolidge on the radio, these may or may not be recreations.

It's arcane but he's also said to have made a plea on the radio to find his lost cat "Tiger." "The President's cat is missing," the audience of WCAP-AM was told. He described the cat, told how the cat answered to the call of "Tiger", and gave the White House phone number. A navy captain named Edward Bryant found Tiger at a millitary building about a quarter mile from the white house.

On 6 December 1923, Coolidge was the first President whose address to Congress was broadcast on radio It was on February 22, 1924 that president Calvin Coolidge gave the very first Presedential radio address. The address was made form the Whitehouse and while not a regular feature, Coolidge's address for George Washington's birthday was heard on 42 stations from coast to coast.

Presidents were good media consumers. President Warren G. Harding had a Radio installed in the White House February 8, 1922. It was the entry of mass media into the white house. This White House was on the technological cutting edge, already having an edison turntable. http://www.historyplace.com/specials/sounds-prez/

Became a regular event with: Franklin D. Roosevelt. He marked the 4th of July in 1941- with a live address to the nation from theRoosevelt Library at Hyde Park.

Before that historic broadcast, radio had played a big role in Coolidge's victory in the 1924 presidential election. The night before the election, Coolidge made history when the largest radio audience ever tuned in to the broadcast of his final campaign speech. Coolidge won the election easily, and in March, Americans listened for the first time to their president take the oath of office on the radio.

The first president to speak on college radio was Dwight D. Eisenhower. On December 10, 1952, the voice of Dwight D. Eisenhower welcomed Winter Park's first FM radio station WPRK through 10 tiny watts on 88.1 FM.