July 27 Radio History

In 1940...Billboard published first recorded music sales chart



In 2003...Bob Hope, (born Leslie Townes Hope) died at age 100.

Jerry Colonna, Bob Hope

Hope was an English-born American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, author, and athlete who appeared on Broadway, in vaudeville, movies, television, and on the radio. He was noted for his numerous United Service Organizations (USO) shows entertaining American military personnel—he made 57 tours for the USO between 1941 and 1991. Throughout his long career, he was honored for this work. In 1997, the U.S. Congress declared him the "first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces."

With a career spanning over 60 years, Hope appeared in over 70 films and shorts, including a series of "Road" movies co-starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. In addition to hosting the Academy Awards fourteen times (the most of any host), he appeared in many stage productions and television roles, and was the author of fourteen books. He participated in the sports of golf and boxing, and owned a small stake in his hometown baseball team, the Cleveland Indians. He was married to performer Dolores Hope for 69 years.

In 2005... Progressive talk-formatted KNRC 1150 AM, Denver, went silent. 22 people lost jobs and the station went up for sale. Syndicated conservative host Bill O'Reilly's was the last voice heard on KNRC, which went silent at 10:12 a.m.

Today the frequency is home to Spanish KNRV.


In 2013...Former radio/television news reporter Herbert Kaplow, who was a correspondent for ABC and NBC between 1951 and 1994, died following a stroke at the age of 86.