October 3 Radio History

In 1901...The first record company, The Victor Talking Machine Company, is incorporated, later merging with the Radio Corporation of America to become RCA-Victor.

The famous Victrola phonograph logo, with Nipper the dog, and the words “His Master’s Voice”, appeared on all RCA-Victor phonographs and record labels.


In 1946...singer Dennis Day  started his own radio show on NBC. Dennis, a popular tenor featured on The Jack Benny Show, played the same naive young bachelor he played on the Benny show. “A Day in the Life of Dennis Day” aired for five years.


In 1949...radio staion WERD, the first black-owned radio station, went on the air in Atlanta, Georgia.





In 1952...The long-running radio hit The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet , now featuring a 12-year-old Ricky Nelson, debuts on CBS-TV, where it will run for another 14 years, bringing the total life of the show to 22 years.


In 1954…After five years on radio, "Father Knows Best," starring Robert Young, began its eight-year run on television, first on CBS, then moving to NBC in 1956. Young was the radio show's only cast member to make the transition to the TV version. He was joined by actors Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin who played Anderson family members Margaret, Betty, Bud and Kathy, respectively.


In 1960...a program called "Flair" premiered on radio featuring with Dick Van Dyke.


In 1985...CBS radio/TV newsman Charles Collingwood, one of Edward R. “Murrow’s Boys” for more than 40 years, died of cancer at age 68, three years after retiring.  For two years he hosted the celebrity interview program ‘Person to Person’ after Murrow left CBS in 1959. Collingwood was plagued for years with longtime alcohol & gambling addictions.

In 1987...The Hot 100"Didn't We Almost Have It All" by Whitney Houston was #1 with Whitesnake in the bridesmaid's position with "Here I Go Again".  Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam were back with the #3 song "Lost In Emotion", followed by "I Heard A Rumour" by Bananarama and Europe's "Carrie".

The rest of the Top 10:  Prince and Sheena Easton with "U (sic) Got the Look", Heart's 23rd career hit "Who Will You Run To", which cleared the Top 10 moving 13-8, "When Smokey Sings" from ABC, John Cougar Mellencamp and his 16th hit "Paper in FIre" and Smokey Robinson in person with "One Heartbeat".

In 2011…Arthur C. Nielsen, Jr., who transformed the company his father founded in 1923 into an international leader in market research, its name synonymous with television ratings, died at the age of 92.


In 2014...legendary programmer Kevin Metheny died suddenly. He was 60-years-old and apparently died from a heart attack. He was found unresponsive at his desk.

Metheny was Operations Manager of KGO 810 AM and KSFO 560 AM in San Francisco at the time of his death.