July 7 Radio History

In 1940...Beatle Ringo Starr was born.


In 194?...Radio personality Joey Reynolds was born.  Reynolds' broadcasting career started on TV- in Buffalo at WGR TV 2 his first radio job was WWOL in Buffalo with Dick Purtan then WKWK, Wheeling,WV after that he continued at several venerable stations, including WKBW in Buffalo, New York, WHTZ and WNBC in New York City, KQV in Pittsburgh, KMPC and KRTH in Los Angeles, WDRC in Hartford, WIXY in Cleveland, and WIBG and WFIL in Philadelphia.

In 1944...legendary DJ, Bobby Ocean, was born. He worked primarily on the West Coast. As you might expect Bobby Ocean is not his real name.  His real is...Johnny! Johnny Ocean!

However, his first radio job was WDLP, Panama City, FL in 1963 using the name Ray Farrell.

He also used the on-air handles of 'Radio Ray' and 'Captain Turntable'.  He first used the name Bobby Ocean at KGB 1360 AM, in San Diego, CA in 1968.

Best known for his work at KFRC 610 AM San Fransisco and KHJ 930 AM Los Angeles.


In 1949...the program "Dragnet" debuted on the NBC Radio Network.  The program was the first to dramatize cases from actual police files.  Dragnet went to television in January 1952 after a successful TV preview on Chesterfield Sound-Off Time a few weeks earlier. The show actually ran simultaneously on radio and TV from 1952 – 1956, continuing on television through 1959. After a seven-year hiatus, it returned as Dragnet ’67 to distinguish itself from its own reruns. This first major real-life police drama series was so successful that it remains in syndication almost 60 years later.


In 1974...“The Dr. Demento Radio Show” began national syndication, starring Barry Hansen who had created the good Doctor four years earlier on Los Angeles’ KPPC FM.


In 1989...Compact discs began to outsell vinyl records for the first time. The dominance of CDs practically wiped out the 45 RPM single format since nothing came along to replace it. The 3½-inch CD single failed to gain favor with the public partly because record companies refused to offer them at a reasonable price.

Bill Cullen

In 1990...radio/TV game show host & panellist Bill Cullen, who hosted the first TV Price is Right, and was a longtime panel member on I’ve Got a Secret & then To Tell the Truth, lost his battle with lung cancer at age 70. He’d begun in radio as host of Quick as a Flash and Hit the Jackpot, and hosted a total of 23 TV game shows, more than anyone else in broadcast history.


In 2009…After an earlier private funeral, Michael Jackson's family and fans said farewell to the King of Pop at a memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Berry Gordy, who signed the Jackson 5 to Motown Records in 1968, closed his eulogy by saying "Michael, thank you for the joy, thank you for the love. You will live in my heart forever."


In 2015…Longtime Chicago radio personality/executive (WVON) Moses "Lucky" Cordell died of injuries suffered in a fire at his home. He was 86.