August 19 Radio History

In 1903...writer Fran Striker was born in Buffalo New York. He was best known for creating the Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon characters for young listeners with half-hour melodramas aired from the studios of George W. Trendle’s WXYZ Detroit, from the early 1930’s into the TV era.  At his peak Striker was writing 156 Lone Ranger scripts a year. He died in a car crash while moving with his family Sept. 4th 1962 at age 59.


In 1929…"Amos 'n' Andy," the comedy program starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, heard in Chicago and then in syndication since March 1928, made its network debut on NBC Radio. The program stayed on the air in different lengths and forms, switching networks to CBS in 1939, until November 1960.



In 1955...1010 WINS radio, announces it will not play "copy" white cover versions of R&B (DJs must play Fats Domino's "Ain't It A Shame," not Pat Boone's)


In 1974...Cousin Brucie started at WNBC 660 AM.

He served at WABC for 13 years and 4,014 broadcasts until August 1974, when he jumped to rival station WNBC; after three years there, he left the airwaves to team with entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman to become the owner of the Sillerman Morrow group of stations.


In 1975...WQIV 104.3 FM NYC ended it AOR format at 2:00 PM

WQIV was a short-lived FM rock station (November 7, 1974 - August 25, 1975) owned by Starr Broadcasting that replaced classical WNCN. The station was called WQIV because it broadcast in quadraphonic stereo sound (although very few people had quad-capable receivers.)

The move to a rock format was highly controversial and was challenged in court. A Chicago group headed by William Benton forced Starr to accept an offer from GAF Broadcasting of $3 million for the station or risk a license challenge before the FCC. GAF returned the station to a classical music format. However, GAF itself was under upheaval and when a new chairman was elected, he sold WNCN to Clear Channel for $100 million. In December of 1993, the call letters were changed to WAXQ.

In 1983...Having been sporadic since it was originally shut down in 1968, "pirate radio" station Radio Caroline makes its comeback on board the ship Ross Revenge in the North Sea's international waters. Six years to the day later, it would be shut down again.