January 21 In Radio History

In 1927...the first opera broadcast on a national Radio network occured. Radio listeners in Chicago, Illinois heard music from Faust.



In 1938...Legendary radio disc jockey Wolfman Jack was born Robert Smith. He died July 1, 1995 at 57.

In 1946..."The Fat Man" debuted on the ABC Radio Network.



In 1978...the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever reached number one on the album chart.

In 1989...Ted Nugent married his second wife, former radio traffic reporter for WLLZ-FM in Detroit, Shemane Deziel. They have a son together.

In 1997..."Colonel" Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager for 22 years (and briefly before that managed Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow) died following a stroke at 87.

In 1996...WYNY 103.5 FM NYC confirms rumors that they are dropping country

In 1998...WNSR 105.1 FM BYC becomes WBIX “Big 105"

In 2004...FCC Chairman, Michael Powell, anounced his resignation - 2 years before his term was to be up.

In 2005...College DJ, Dave Plotkin, from Rollins College's WPRK-FM in Winter Park, Florida, set a record for the world's longest continuous broadcast by a single DJ. He stayed on the air for 110 hours.


In 2006...Country music singer Kix Brooks replaced Bob Kingsley as host of the syndicated radio show "American Country Countdown."

In 2010...WWRL drops “Air America” format - 2010

In 2013...WRXP 94.7 FM NYC becomes Country “Nash FM”