August 12 Radio History

In 1877...Edison invented the phonograph.

The phonograph, also called gramophone,  is a device introduced in 1877 for the recording and reproduction of sound recordings. The sound vibration waveforms are preseved in the form of a groove engraved into the surface of a rotating cylinder or disc. As the recorded surface rotates, a playback stylus traces the waveforms and vibrates to reproduce the recorded sound waves.

While other inventors had produced devices that could record sounds, Edison's phonograph was the first to be able to reproduce the recorded sound. His phonograph originally recorded sound onto a tinfoil sheet phonograph cylinder, and could both record and reproduce sounds. Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory made several improvements in the 1880s, including the use of wax-coated cardboard cylinders, and a cutting stylus that moved from side to side in a "zig zag" pattern across the record.



In the 1890s, Emile Berliner initiated the transition from phonograph cylinders to flat discs with a spiral groove running from the periphery to near the center. Other improvements were made throughout the years, including modifications to the turntable and its drive system, the stylus or needle, and the sound and equalization systems.

The disc phonograph record was the dominant audio recording format throughout most of the 20th century. From the mid-1980s, phonograph use declined sharply because of the rise of the compact disc and other digital recording formats. While no longer mass-market items, modest numbers of phonographs and phonograph records continue to be produced in the second decade of the 21st century.

In 1937…Comedian Red Skelton made his network radio debut on NBC's "Rudy Vallee Show."


In 1977...Cousin Brucie did last show at WNBC 660 AM,


In 2001...XM Satellite Radio began broadcasting in the US.


In 2003...longtime Richmond, Virginia DJ, Eric E. Stanley, died after a 3-year battle with cancer. He was 53. He was known for his program, "The Bebop, Boogie, and Blues Revue" heard first on WRXL, then WVGO and later on WJMO.




In 2004...NYC personality Chuck Leonard - WWRL, WABC, WXLO, WRKS, WBLS, WQEW, WNSW - died.

Leonard began at ABC's flagship New York radio station, Musicradio 77 WABC, under program director Rick Sklar in 1965. He broke the color barrier for all who followed — the first African-American to cross over from black R&B radio to (then-mostly white) mass-appeal radio.

Leonard began in the 11 p.m. to midnight slot, and continued working late nights and Sundays at the station until November 27, 1979. He did the 10:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. shift following “Cousin” Bruce Morrow and later George Michael. He also gladly handled weekend and fill-in work.

Leonard was the host of "Sneak Preview," a five-minute Monday-through-Saturday evening program on ABC's American Contemporary Radio Network, which featured newly released songs. He stayed at WABC until 1979, before moving to WXLO and WRKS.

In 2005...Newsradio KNX 1070 Newsradio in Los Angeles, left its studios at the CBS Columbia Square broadcast center and moved to 5670 Wilshire Blvd to join other locally owned Infinity radio stations.

KNX-AM had been housed at the CBS Columbia Square building for 67 years, in the heart of Hollywood.


In 2009...Rock WBCN in Boston closed its doors after 41 years on the air, and 98.5 "The Sports Hub" debuted immediately afterwards.



In 2011...WEMP 101.9 FM switched to FM News