Old Radio

October 18, 1922: On this day, BBC (The British Broadcasting Corporation) formally established. BBC's function is monitoring the development of the radio business in Great Britain. The British realized the potential of radio broadcasting in their country after observed how radio business growth in US. BBC was owned by the world's first national broadcasting organization and was established as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd. The original company was founded by six companies which are Marconi's telecommunications companies group, Radio Communication Company, Metropolitan-Vickers (MetroVick), General Electric, Western Electric, and British Thomson-Houston. BBC was established for broadcasting experimental radio services. The first transmission held at Marconi House, London on 14 November of that year.

October 17, 1938: The story about the captain who was fought crime with his single engine plane, was aired for the first time on Mutual. In  Captain Midnight   the main character, Captain Jim "Red" Albright, was a U.S. Army aviator during the First World War . The code name Captain Midnight   was given to him by a General who assigned him to a mission that he was able to complete at exactly 12:00 midnight. During its run, the show was very popular among many radio listeners, most of whom were adults. It was also the favorite show of U.S. Air Force crews.

October 16, 1939: The Right to Happiness , a 15 minute drama , turned out to be one of the longest running shows of its kind. It was first welcomed on the Blue Network by radio listeners. "Song of the Soul," the radio show's theme song , seemed to be a cast of thousands.  The Right to Happiness  moved over to CBS in 1941 before it moved back to NBC in 1942. Fourteen years later,  The Right to Happiness  returned to CBS, where it stayed until its last days in 1960. Over its 21 year period, it took many different actors to play the various roles. The story focused on the life of Carolyn Allen, the daughter of a magazine editor, and the mistakes and tragedies that she went through. For 21-years, Proctor and Gamble remained as the show's main sponsor.

On October 14, 1943: Radio Corporation of America sold NBC Blue network to businessman Edward J. Noble who gave it the new name as ABC. It sold for upwards of eight million dollars.  The company continued to produce quality radio dramas during the golden age of radio . After purchasing the Blue Network, Noble founded the American Broadcasting Company and he also became the co-founder of the Life Savers Corporation.

October 5, 1930:  A red letter day for CBS. After the above-mentioned orchestra broadcast, Fighting Priest Father Coughlin gave his first network radio broadcast. His oratory filled the airwaves for more than a decade. His voice first graced the airwaves through WJR Detroit in 1926. Priest Coughlin was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and was ordained to the priesthood in Toronto in 1916.  He began his radio broadcasts on station WJR in 1926 by giving a weekly hour long radio program in response to cross burnings by the Ku Klux Klan on the grounds of his church. Father Coughlin mainly covered religious topics in his weekly radio addresses until the beginning of the Depression . His program was in contrast to the political topics which dominated his radio speeches throughout the 1930s. Later he followed the trend topics at that time which is political message. He vocally opposed communism and socialism. Known as an outspoken anti-communist, in July 1930 he received star billing as a

  October 4, 1948:   The Railroad Hour was presented for the first time on ABC, starring Gordon MacRae . The show’s title song was ‘I've Been Working on the Railroad’. With the Association of American Railroads as its sponsor, The Railroad Hour   was a 45-minute variety show that featured radio musical comedies and dramas. During its run, which was from the 1940s until the mid-1950s, the show had produced a total of 299 episodes. Aside from Gordon MacRae , the stars of the show also included Doris Day, Jane Powell, Lucille Norman, Dorothy Warenskjold, and Dorothy Kirsten.

October 3, 1901: The Victor Talking Machine Company (1901-1929) officially started their operation on this day.  They were the leading American producer of  phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at that time. The founder, Eldridge R. Johnson, had previously made phonographs to play Emile Berliner's Gramophone records.  The company trademark was the fox terrior, Nipper, listening to a Berliner Gramophone. The logo and words "His Master's Voice" existed on all record players and record labels from the Victor Talking Machine Company.

  October 1, 1942: Hosed by Art Baker , People are Funny debuted on the radio for the first time! The precursor to today's reality TV show,  People are Funny   went on its initial broadcast over NBC. The game show featured hilarious stunts from its  contestants and, at times, the audience. The show had two hosts during its 18 years on the airwaves but it was Al Baker people remember the most.

September 29, 1930: Bing Crosby, America's premier crooner for decades , married Dixie Lee. In June 1930 after the premiere of Bing Crosby and his band , King of Jazz at New York City’s Roxy Theatre, they received offers to appear in films . They had contracts with Pathe, Ripstitch the Tailor and Two Plus Fours (1930).  They also appeared in the features of various shows. Bing started focusing on his solo career at the Coconut Grove to the detriment of The Rhythm Boys spots. His partner, Barris, was more focussed about composing, supplying Crosby with some of the best material during his early career.  He went on to have success as a radio producer.  He would later produce television as well. Bing met and wooed Dixie Lee (aka Wilma Winnifred Wyatt), During the Grove residency. Dixie Lee was a young actress felt by many film insiders to possess the potential to become the next blonde bombshell. Their marriage  brought such newspaper headlines as: "20th Century Fox Star M

September 29, 1920: Joseph Horne Company's department stores sell radios that are already equipped with headphones and a button for tuning. In The Pittsburgh Sun the price is stated to be $10 or equivalent to over a hundred dollars today. In 1920 the tuned radio frequency receiver (TRF) had a major improvement.The local oscilator and audio amplifier that were invented around that time were milestone improvements for the radio receiver.  The radio receiver became simpler and cheaper than before because the loud speaker could now be integrated with the chassis of radio.

  September 27, 1933: Waltz Time was transmitted for the first time on NBC. The orchestra of Abe Lyman was heard regularly on the program until 1948. Abe Lyman who was a drummer who led the popular Abe Lyman Orchestra. They used to perform at the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. In 1930 they performed on one of Warner Brothers's film, Hold Everything. Later they performed for other films. In 1933 He moved to New York City. Lyman and his orchestra started their debut on radio by performing on the radio network series Waltz Time. In 1937 Lyman and the orchestra had a chance to perform on the popular Your Hit Parade. He remained with Brunswick until 1936, then worked for Decca, and finally made Bluebird records for RCA Victor. He died in Beverly Hills, California.