July 19 Radio History

WRC in the Trans Lux Building

First Home Riggs Bank

➦In 1923...WRC-AM, Washington, DC  began broadcasting.  WRC started out in the Riggs Bank building at 14th. And Park Road.The entire operation was self contained there with offices, studio, transmitter, and an antenna on the roof.

WRC started at 640 AM and share the frequency with WCAP.

WRC was owned and oeprated by RCA.  By the 1930, 500 watt WRC moved to 950 AM and was part of the NBC's Red Network. The station moved to 980 AM in the lates 1940s.

The two stations WRC and now WMAL were located in the Trans Lux Building at 14th & New York Ave.

In 1972,  NBC made the decision to take the MOR station to a Top 40 format and challenge DC champ WPGC in the ratings game.

The birth of The Great 98 had a lot of help from some Philly radio vets.  Lee Sherwood was brought in as PD and Bob Gross was Promotions Director.  Both were from WFIL.  The original on air team consisted of Johnny Andrews, Bobby McGee, Simon Trane, James Michael Wilson and Ron Starr.

Being an NBC O&O had its drawbacks:  NBC Hourly News, NBC Monitor on weekends, special features (Graham Kerr, Gene Shalit, etc) had to be carried.

Eve Arden, Dick Crenna and Gloria McMillian at CBS Mic

➦In 1948...Our Miss Brooks, starring Eve Arden and Gale Gordon, debuted on CBS radio. Arden played the role of Connie Brooks. The program stayed on radio until 1957, running simultaneously on TV from 1952 to 1956. Miss Brooks taught English at Madison High School. Her pal, the bashful, biology teacher Philip Boynton, was played first by Jeff Chandler and then by Robert Rockwell. The crusty, blustery principal of Madison High, Osgood Conklin, was none other than Gale Gordon. Also supporting Eve Arden was Jane Morgan as Miss Brooks’ landlady, Mrs. Davis. The main problem child in the classroom, the somewhat dimwitted Walter Denton was played by Richard Crenna.


➦In 1970...radio singer Barry Wood, who headlined radio’s Your Hit Parade just before Sinatra took over in 1943, and who hosted/emceed several shows in the early days of TV, died at age 61.


➦In 2012…Radio programmer/manager (KHJ and KIIS in Los Angeles, KFRC-San Francisco, CKLW-Detroit, WOL-Washington, WTAE, WWSW, WXMP in Pittsburgh, KROY-Sacramento, KLAK, KIMN, KBTR, KDAB in Denver, KUDL, WHB in Kansas City) Ted J. Atkins died of pancreatic cancer at age 72.

Ted began in radio in Denver at KLAK in 1957.

➦In 2017...Iconic Twin Cities Radio Showman Bill Diehl died at age 91.