September 20, 21 In Radio History

On the 20th in 1921...KDKA in Pittsburgh established the world's first radio newsroom and started one of the first daily radio newscasts in the country, reporting from the city desk of The Pittsburgh Post.

On the 21st in 1941..."The Second Mrs. Burton" premiered on the CBS Radio Network.

On the 21st in 1943...WNYC FM call letters debut

On the 21st in 1948..."Life With Luigi" debuted on the CBS Radio Network.


On the 20th in 1953...Jimmy Stewart debuted NBC's radio western, "The Six Shooter".



On the 21st in 1968...The Crazy World of Arthur Brown roared up the chart from 60 to 15 with "Fire".

On the 21st in 1968...Harry Harrison does last show at WMCA 570 AM. He's headed 77 WABC

From '65...

Circa 1969

On the 20th in 1969...Frustrated by what he sees as a lack of artistic fulfillment, John Lennon announces privately to the rest of the Beatles that he will be leaving the band. The announcement, which comes at one of several grueling financial meetings designed to untangle the band's mismanaged assets, comes abruptly and takes everyone by surprise: when Paul announces that the band should go out on tour anonymously, playing small clubs to get back the feel of band unity, Lennon declares "I think you’re daft. I want a divorce." The band realizes they cannot go on without him, but agrees to delay the announcement until after the release of the Let It Be soundtrack -- an agreement Paul will break. On the same day, ATV (Associated Television) of Britain buys up controlling interest in the Beatles' songwriting catalog.

On the 20th in 1970...Bob Grant does first show at WMCA 570 AM as WMCA flips from Top40 to Talk.

On the 20th in 1973...The great Jim Croce, who was on the verge of superstardom, died at age 30 when his light plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

On the 21st in 1985...The Album Charts...Dire Straits continued to hold on to #1 on the album chart with Brothers in Arms.  Sting was stuck at 2 with The Dream of the Blue Turtles while Tears For Fears owned #3--Songs From the Big Chair.  Bruce Springsteen was in his 66th week with Born in the U.S.A. and Bryan Adams' Reckless was still at #5 after 44 weeks of release.

The rest of a great Top 10:  Phil Collins and No Jacket Required, Billy Joel with Greatest Hits, Volume I & Volume II, Whitney Houston's debut at #8, the self-titled Heart at 9 and Motley Crue was bringing up the rear with Theatre of Pain.

On the 20th in 1986...Billboard's Hot 100...Huey Lewis & the News grabbed the #1 spot with "Stuck with You" but Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson were close behind with their song "Friends and Lovers".  Lionel Richie fell after peaking at 2 with "Dancing on the Ceiling".

The rest of the Top 10:  Run-D.M.C. with their remake of the Aerosmith classic "Walk This Way" (never remake classics...).  The rest of the Top 10:  Canada's Glass Tiger with "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)", Daryl Hall's solo hit "Dreamtime", Janet Jackson had "When I Think of You" which moved from 14 to 7, Stacey Q and "Two of Hearts", Berlin was down with their former #1 "Take My Breath Away" and Billy Ocean's sixth but next-to-last Top 10 "Love Zone" was #10.


On the 21st in 1994...First mobile AM HD Radio reception; transmitted from Xetron, Cincinnati over a distance of about 6 miles


On the 20th in 1997…Bob Hudson, of the radio and recording comedy duo Hudson & Landry, died at age 66.

Bob Hudson

"Emperor" Bob Hudson (born Robert Howard Holmes on October 7, 1929 in Erie, Pennsylvania) got his start in radio while serving in the United States Air Force in Anchorage, Alaska. He began his civilian career in radio during the mid-fifties first in Erie, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and San Francisco before settling in the Los Angeles area.

He was consistently ranked among the top 10 DJs in Southern California from 1957 until his retirement in 1988. Hudson worked at a variety of LA radio stations, including KFWB, KBLA, KEZY, KFI and KGBS, and came to prominence when he replaced Bob Eubanks as morning man on KRLA in 1963. In 1966, Billboard ranked Hudson #1 in his morning drive time slot.

After Hudson & Landry split up, Hudson continued working in radio, including a stint at WMEX, later WITS, in Boston, until his retirement.