January 20 In Radio History

In 1920...Ernst Alexanderson granted US patent for magnetic amplifier




In 1930....1st radio broadcast of "Lone Ranger" (WXYZ-Detroit)

In 1954...America's first black-owned radio network, the National Negro Network, was founded by W. Leonard Evans, Jr. During its brief existence, the network provided up to 45 affiliate stations with programming that included the soap opera, "The Story of Ruby Valentine," starring Juanita Hall and Ruby Dee, as well as the series "It's a Mystery Man," featuring Cab Calloway.



In 1958…Disc jockeys at St. Louis radio station KWK gave every rock 'n' roll record in the station library a "farewell spin" before smashing them all to pieces. Station manager Robert T. Convey said rock 'n' roll had dominated the airwaves long enough and called the action "a simple weeding out of undesirable music."

In 1964...Capitol Records released the album "Meet the Beatles."




In 1965...DJ Alan Freed, (WINS, WABC in New York City, WJW-Cleveland, WAKR-Akron)/concert promoter/movie actor (Rock Around the Clock, Go Johnny Go!, Rock Rock Rock!, Don't Knock the Rock, Mister Rock and Roll), the person credited with coining the term rock 'n' roll, died of uremia and cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 43. Initially interred at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, his ashes were moved in 2002 to their present location in Cleveland, Ohio at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1996...WPAT 93.1 FM, New York, switched from beautiful music to and English-Spanish format Suave

In 1997...the Howard Stern Radio Show premiered on KKND-FM in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In 2000...the FCC established a new noncommercial licensing category for Low Power FM radio stations (LPFMs), with transmitter power limited to 100 watts, signals reaching from three to five miles, and initially confined to small markets and rural communities.