October 9 Radio History

In 1890...Aimee Semple McPherson was born. She was a Pentecostal evangelist and radio preacher.


In 1935...the "Cavalcade of America" was first broadcast on he CBS Radio Network.  The CBS show (until moving to NBC 1939-53) featured some of Hollywood and Broadway’s most famous stars in leading roles in the half hour dramas about obscure incidents and people in American history.

The DuPont Company introduced its slogan on “Cavalcade of America” …”Better things for better living through chemistry.”


In 1943...The radio fantasy series "Land of the Lost," starring Betty Jane Tyler and Ray Ives, began its five-year run, first on the ABC Blue Network, then on the Mutual Broadcasting System for a year beginning in 1945, and back to ABC until the final broadcast in July 1948. The opening phrase for the show was, “In that wonderful kingdom at the bottom of the sea…” This children’s adventure-fantasy serial took the audience underwater where the main characters, Isabel and Jimmy, were guided by their friend, a red fish named Red Lantern and played at first by Junius Matthews and later, by Art Carney. Land of the Lost found a large audience and remained on the air until 1948.

In 1962...The BBC bans Bobby "Boris" Pickett's hit "Monster Mash," feeling the subject matter -- comical as it is -- may be deemed grotesque or otherwise tasteless to some listeners




In 1967...Legendary New York DJ Murray The K is fired from station WOR-FM, where he had moved to take advantage of the new free-form format of FM radio, when the station's new owners decided to move to a set playlist.  He was fired because of his "inability to live with direction."

When WOR switched to the tighter Drake format where DJ's weren't allowed to pick the music and talk as much, Murray the K left New York radio to host programs in Toronto - on CHUM 1050 AM -and on WHFS 102.3 FM in Bethesda, MD in 1972. He returned to New York after his short stint on WHFS on the weekend show NBC Monitor and as a fill-in morning dj, and then in 1972 moved to a regular evening weekend program on WNBC radio where Don Imus was broadcasting; he was joined there by the legendary Wolfman Jack, a year later. Although it was low-key, Murray's WNBC show featured his own innovative trademark programming style, including telling stories that were illustrated by selected songs, his unique segues, and his pairing cuts by theme or idiosyncratic associations.

In early 1975, he was brought on for a brief stint at Long Island alternative rock station WLIR, and his final New York radio show ran later that year on WKTU-FM after which — already in ill health — he moved to Los Angeles. The syndicated show Soundtrack of the 60s mentioned below was heard in New York City on WCBS-FM. Gary Owens succeeded Murray as its host.

Kaufman died of cancer a week after his 60th birthday on February 21, 1982.




In 1969...BBC's Top Of The Pops refuses to play the Number One hit in the country for the first time. The song, Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus," is considered one of the first "orgasm records," that is, one of the first to feature heavy female breathing and moaning.


In 1979...Howard Stern began his first morning show on WCCC in Hartford Conn. From 1976 to 1982, Stern developed his on-air personality through morning positions at WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, New York, WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut, WWWW in Detroit, Michigan, and WWDC in Washington, D.C. Stern worked afternoons at WNBC in New York City from 1982 until his firing in 1985.

In 1985, Stern began a 20-year run at WXRK in New York City; his morning show entered syndication in 1986 and aired in 60 markets and attracted 20 million listeners at its peak. Stern won numerous industry awards, including Billboard’s Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year eight consecutive times, and is the first to have the number one morning show in New York City and Los Angeles simultaneously. He became the most fined radio host when the Federal Communications Commission issued fines totaling $2.5 million to station owners for content it deemed indecent. Stern became one of the highest paid radio figures after signing a five-year deal with Sirius in 2004 worth $500 million


In 1990...radio stations around the world played "Imagine" to honor John Lennon on his birthdate. He was born in 1940 in the middle of an air raid at the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital in Liverpool, England; was shot to death in New York City on December 8, 1980.




In 2011…New York City disc jockey (WCBS-FM for parts of five decades) Bill Brown died at age 69.

In 1969, WCBS-FM traded in their easy listening 'Young Sound' format for an album rock format similar to WABC-FM (later WPLJ) and WNEW-FM. Brown was on the original airstaff.

Unfortunately, WCBS-FM did could not lay claim to sizable ratings in the New York City radio market while other stations such as WNEW-FM and WPLJ gained most of the rock n'roll radio audience. After research and several years of very low ratings WCBS-FM dropped the AOR format on July 7, 1972 at 6 AM and began playing Oldies from 1955 to then current product. Initially the station played both rock and roll songs and non rock songs of the 1950s and early 60's and only softer rock and pop hits of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Brown stayed on with the Oldies format. By the end of 1972, Brown was on the station weekdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

In 1975, Brown also became Program Director of WCBS-FM. For a few months he gave up his midday airshift. By the end of 1976, Brown was on from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays along with his Saturday morning shift. Under Brown, WCBS-FM moved away from easy listening and began to play more 60's rock. In 1978, Brown gave up his program director position but retained his airshifts. His shift was still 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturdays.

In 1984, when Ron Lundy arrived, Brown was moved to 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. while Ron moved to the 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. slot. Harry Harrison now aired from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. (previously he was on 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.). Bill's Saturday shift was then 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. every second week. Bill Brown also continued doing voiceovers for many commercials airing on WCBS FM and other radio stations.

Brown continued on consistently from noon to 3 p.m until 2005, when his airshift was moved to 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. With his years of service, age, and retirements of other well known staffers it was speculated that his retirement was not far off.

Bill Brown remained at WCBS-FM until June 3, 2005. Although ratings were decent and the station was profitable, CBS executives abruptly laid off the entire airstaff at 4 p.m. that day. Bill Brown was the last live air personality to sign off several minutes before 4 p.m.. He came out of Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett and played Rescue Me by Fontella Bass. It was unclear whether or not he knew the end was happening from his last statement, though he did not say a typical goodbye. His last words were, "CBS-FM 101.1, Fontella Bass... Do you ever feel the urge to just kinda scream, "RESCUE ME!?"... I'm beginning to get that feeling, here's Fontella Bass."

Brown then retired from CBS-FM after 33 years of playing oldies, as well as nearly 36 years of service. He is the only air personality to be with the station through their entire first run using live on-air personalities. He did one of their first shifts the day WCBS-FM adopted the rock format in 1969 and the very last live airshift doing oldies in 2005.


In 2012…Longtime Detroit radio and TV announcer (WWJ, WXYZ, WJR, CKLW)/Michigan Sports Hall of Famer Budd Lynch died at age 95. He was the radio voice of the Detroit Red Wings from 1949 to 1975, their public address announcer starting in 1985, and served as the team's public and community relations director.