The Word "Radio" Itself

I've spent over a year now telling you all about the events that led up to you listening to your radio. Where tubes, transistors, DJs, formats and all manner of things radio originate. I realized only this morning I had not yet discussed the origin of the word radio itself.

It has many definitions, so I will dryly begin there:

ra·di·o (rd-)n. pl. ra·di·os
1. The wireless transmission through space of electromagnetic waves in the approximate frequency range from 10 kilohertz to 300,000 megahertz.
2. Communication of audible signals encoded in electromagnetic waves.
3. Transmission of programs for the public by radio broadcast.
4. An apparatus used to transmit radio signals; a transmitter.
-An apparatus used to receive radio signals; a receiver.
-A complex of equipment capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals.
-A station for radio transmitting.
-A radio broadcasting organization or network of affiliated organizations.
5. The radio broadcasting industry.
6. A message sent by radio.

The word radio isn't much older than radio itself. It began to appear in 1907, abstracted from earlier combinations using the word such as radiophone (1881) and radio-telegraphy (1898). These words were only marginally older, and themselves originate with the liberal use of the prefix "rad" from the word radiation.

The root word Radiation is much older, coming into common use in 1555 as an Anglo adaptation of the Greek verb radiare , meaning "to shine or beam." That word comes from The earlier Latin Radius, meaning "staff, spoke of a wheel, beam of light." Its origin is unknown but may be the older Latin word radix meaning root. Possibly the Sanskrit word vardhate "rises, makes grow," or the ancient Greek ardis meaning "sharp point."

*The term Wireless dates back only to 1894 beginning as a direct reference to the lack of a telegraph wire. By 1903 it was being used to refer to radio, and radios.

The first use of the word radio to mean "radio-receiver" was only in 1917, and its use meaning "broadcasting medium" only in 1922! Prior to that the term Wireless remained far more dominant. It was not until WWII that the military's preference for the word radio over wireless changed the preference.

So that's it. Radio begins as a reference to wheel spokes and now has nothing to do with wheels spokes, beams of light, or sharp points... except for car radios, fiber optics routers, and .. dang I cant think of a pointy thing.

...and a DJ at gunpoint

This one is a tad arcane. I cant find the call letters, so add salt where needed. If anyone can fill in the details let me know.

After the release of their fourth album, "Strangeways Here We Come", the Smiths made a controversial move to major label EMI in 1987, upsetting their more indie paste-eating fans. The major label money exerted pressures on the band members and eventually after the release of their 10th album, they split.

It was in that year "a distressed young man" in Denver, Colorado, walked into his local radio station and took the Disc Jockey and other staff hostage. He insisted, at gunpoint, that they play nothing but Smiths records. This Smiths-a-thon lasted for over four hours.

The people of Denver were at first confused, and slowly became depressed by the power of the Smiths. they dyed their hair black in great numbers some even becoming goth overnight. People suffered seizures. Somewhere in time Arbitron noticed a subtle shift in TSL. Eventually, the police arrived and persuaded the unhappy young man to wash off his makeup and give himself up. The story  is cited in numerous places but I've found no versions that date prior to 2003 which brings it's veracity into question.

Regardless, Morrissey decided to embark hastily on a solo career.

Smilin' Jack's Old-Time Radio Trivia Quiz

Go here.

Take Smilin' Jack's Old-Time Radio Trivia Quiz

I thought I knew my old time radio serials but I got slaughtered. My score was only 35%. Think you can you do better? Jack French kicked my ass.

it's all about the old 15-30 minute programs that ran on the radio right after kids got out of school. They were called "Juvenile Adventure" shows. typically the hero is left in a precarious situation at the end of each episode (like modern soaps but more manly) so you'll tune in tomorrow.

Hadacol and radio

One of the FTC's least favorite "customers" during the summer of 1950 was a Louisiana state senator named Dudley J. LeBlanc, an opponent to the infamous Huey P. Long. He had a scheme, involving the massive power of radio advertising and Hadacol. It became the most popular snake-oil [non-homeopathic ] product ever.

It proved to be an elixir of 12 per cent alcohol, plus some of the B complex vitamins, iron, calcium, and phosphorus, dilute hydrochloric acid, and honey. he claimed the alcohol was a preservative. LeBlanc mixed the first batches in big barrels behind his Abbeville, Louisiana, barn, nearby farmers' daughters stirring it with boat oars. He charged $3.50 for a bottle of Hadacol. (With 12% alcohol by volume In some areas of the South, dry by local option, druggists sold Hadacol by the shot)

Dudley decided to bombard rural America with Hadacol advertisements and endorsements on the radio. Hadacol sponsored Hank Williams on Health and Happiness shows, broadcast daily across the airwaves in the early 1950s. The senator boosted sales for his own product throughout the Cajun country by reading testimonials in French over a radio stations like KAOK. LeBlanc even guested on Groucho Marx's radio program...

Half a dozen bands were "inspired/bribed to write odes to it. Country music recording artist Slim Willett wrote a song about Hadacol Corner, about an Upton County, Texas town supposedly almost named for the elixir. Bill Nettles and his Dixieland playboys wrote a big band tune about it as well. The Treniers wrote Hadacol (That's All), Professor Longhair wrote Hadacol Bounce, Little Willie wrote "Drinking' Hadacol", the Cajun artist Harry Choates even wrote a tune in french called Valse de Hadacol... you can hear that one here: http://npmusic.org/Happy_Fats_Valse_de_Hadacol.mp3

In entering new markets, LeBlanc blanketed the area with radio spots before he shipped any of Hadacol to the city. He ran a radio contest, which required the listener to identify "Dixie," and winners were sent coupons good for a bottle of Hadacol...

The Hadacol bubble began to expand enormously, growing out from the romantic delta land to cover the broader South. Lafayette became a boom town, as LeBlanc tore down houses and a school to enlarge his plant. Experts at promotion were hired from major proprietary concerns in the East. And as sales grew fast, LeBlanc's advertising campaign grew faster. Toward the end of 1949, he found he owed a tremendous tax bill which be did not have the ready cash to pay. So LeBlanc told his advertising manager to wipe out the bill by plunging the whole sum in new advertising. LeBlanc's advertising bill ran to a million dollars a month running ads on as many as 528 radio stations including WCIC, WSM in Nashville, WWVA in Wheeling, WCKY in Cincinnati in addition to a slew of stations in LeBlancs own Arcadian backyard.

Toward the close of the year, LeBlanc's advertising bill ran to a million dollars a month, taking in about 700 daily papers and 4,700 weeklies and 528 radio stations. Then Leblanc sold the whole company to the cash to run for Governor of Louisiana against Huey Long. More Dudley here.

Lafayette, Travel Misive #5

Continental Airlines emailed me a little love note just to say that due to the over-blown neo-con milked minor terrorist problem in England, I need to arrive at the airport 3 hours early, and I cannot bring any liquids thru bag check.

I am fine with the liquids. Should have happened already. But the 3 hour early arrival is just more time wasted in addition to the flight delays I already know will occur. Tomorrow I will get up before the sun, and I will not return home until after the sun goes down.

Anyway... Lafayette was also the name of an early manufacturer of radio parts and transistors. They're based in Sossyet. They also made retail radio radios like the Lafayette KT-135, a four band regenerative receiver. It was one the last regenerative radios made before E.H. Armstrong revolutionized reception with the regenerative feedback circuit. (before superheterodyne) More here.

The Super Heterodyne took a radio signal and feeding it back into the same tube repeatedly, creating gain, thereby strengthening the signal. the simple regenerative receiver could not do this,. The result of trying to turn up the regeneration control for more gain would eventually cause the receiver to break into a oscillation i.e bad noises. Speaking of bad noises, I've already listened to what the local dial has to offer:
88.7 KRVS -Triple A
101.1 KBON -Americana/Cajun
960 KROF-AM -Nostalgia
1240 KANE-AM -Cajun
1450 KSIG-AM -Nostalgia
1520 KFXZ -Gospel

I had been looking forward to hearing KJCB-AM 770 which has been described as a full-service variety station buts its all been Soft Ac so far as I've heard. KRVS has a reggae show on now, which is reason enough to turn the radio off.

http://www.daveswebshop.com/lafayetteradio.shtml