July 16 Radio History

➦In 1934...the NBC Red radio network premiered the musical drama, 'Dreams Come True'. The show concerned the lives of baritone singer Barry McKinley and his novelist sweetheart.

➦In 1981...Harry Forster Chapin died in a traffic accident on the Log Island Expressway after suffering a heart attack (Born -  December 7, 1942).  He was a singer-songwriter, humanitarian, and producer best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs, who achieved worldwide success in the 1970s and became one of the most popular artists and highest paid performers. Chapin is also one of the best charting musical artists in the United States. Chapin, a Grammy Award winning artist and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, has sold over 16 million records worldwide and has been described as one of the most beloved performers in music history.

Chapin recorded a total of 11 albums from 1972 until his death in 1981. All 14 singles that he released became hit singles on at least one national music chart.  Chapin was best known for “Taxi,” a top-20 hit in 1972, and “Cat’s in the Cradle,” which hit number-one in ’74.

As a dedicated humanitarian, Chapin fought to end world hunger; he was a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977. Chapin is credited with being the most politically and socially active American performer of the 1970s. In 1987, Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his humanitarian work.




➦In 1990..DJ Rick Dees debuted his TV show "Into The Night" on ABC-TV.





➦In 1991…Radio announcer Dwight Weist died of a heart attack at age 81.  He announced on radio shows such as Inner Sanctum Mysteries), Mr. District Attorney, The Shadow and March of Time.  He was known as the "Man of 1,000 Voices." He also narrated countless film documentaries from the 1930s through the 1950s.




➦In 2003…Baltimore radio, TV personality Buddy Dean died from the effects of a stoke at age 78.

The Buddy Deane Show aired on WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland from 1957 until 1964. It was similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand.

Many top acts of the day appeared on The Buddy Deane Show. Acts that appeared on the show first were reportedly barred from appearing on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, but if they had been on Bandstand first they could still be on The Buddy Deane Show. The rivalry with Dick Clark meant that Deane urged all his performers not to mention American Bandstand or visits to Clark in Philadelphia.

Although WJZ-TV, owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting (now CBS), was an ABC affiliate, the station "blacked out" the network broadcast of American Bandstand in Baltimore and broadcast the Deane program instead, reportedly because Bandstand showed black teenagers dancing on the show (although black and white teenagers were not allowed to dance together until the show was moved to California in 1964). The Deane program set aside every other Friday for a show featuring only black teenagers. For the rest of the time, the show's participants were all white.