November 12 Radio History

➦In 1917...singer Jo Stafford was born in Coalinga Calif.  As a member of The Stafford Sisters she had a gig at LA radio station KHJ, then joined The Pied Pipers, who became part of the Tommy Dorsey performing family.  Her solo hits include Shrimp Boats Are A-Comin’, Jambalaya, Long Ago and Far Away, You Belong to Me, & Make Love to Me.

She died July 16 2008 at age 90.

➦In1931…In London, the Abbey Road recording studios were opened by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of the British music company EMI, its current owner.

Originally a nine-bedroom Georgian townhouse built in the 1830s, the structure was used as an apartment building before its conversion to a recording facility.

After decades of officially being titled as EMI Studios, in 1970 EMI changed the name to Abbey Road Studios, the name by which they had been informally called throughout the 1960s when they were the venue for memorable recordings by the Beatles, Badfinger, and Pink Floyd, among others.

➦In 1947...KPO-AM San Francisco changed its call sign to KNBC. (Today the station is KNBR)

KNBR began life on April 17, 1922, as KPO, a 100-watt station owned by the Hale Brothers department store. In 1925, the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper bought half-interest in the operation.  Originally located in the Hale store at Market and 5th (now the site of Nordstrom), its horizontal wire antenna on the roof was so efficient it immediately attracted the attention of audiences all over the Pacific Coast.

In 1927, KPO became an affiliate of the new NBC radio network.

In 1933, KPO was sold to NBC's parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA),  and its operation was consolidated into that of its co-owned KGO at the Hunter-Dulin Building, 111 Sutter Street. From there, NBC operated its West Coast network, feeding dozens of stations and operating a news bureau to serve NBC. As NBC's flagship station on the West Coast, it had a full-time orchestra, five studios, and produced many live shows. During the rise of Hollywood, NBC's radio operation was moved to Los Angeles.

In 1941, just before World War II, NBC constructed Radio City at 420 Taylor Street, considered one of the best radio facilities built during radio's golden age. However, with the network control having been moved to Los Angeles, the San Francisco NBC building was never fully utilized.

During World War II, KPO's news bureau was the major source for NBC of news about the war in the Pacific, and operated shortwave radio stations (transmitters located in Dixon) serving the world. It was at the KPO (RCA) shortwave facility that the message was received that Japanese emperor Hirohito had surrendered, ending World War II.

On November 12, 1947, the Federal Communications Commission approved NBC's application to change the call sign from KPO to KNBC, to shore up its reputation as an NBC station (and the only radio station NBC ever owned on the West Coast). This change lasted until 1962, when the network moved the call sign to its television station in Los Angeles and the radio station was renamed KNBR.

➦1955...Billboard begins its "Top 100" chart, with the first Number One listed as "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" by the Four Aces. The magazine wouldn't resolve all its pop charts into one until 1959.

➦In 1988...The Hot 100..The Escape Club had the new #1 song--"Wild, Wild West", taking over from the Beach Boys with "Kokomo".  Kylie Minogue's version of the song written by Stanley, Idaho's Carole King--"The Loco-Motion" took the opportunity to move up to #3 and Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine" was right behind her.

The rest of the Top 10:  Whitney Houston and "One Moment iI Time", U2 and the live "Desire" was at #6, Phil Collins was on the way down with "Groovy Kind Of Love", Will to Power cracked the list with "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley", the fifth consecutive Top 10 song from George Michael's Faith album--"Kissing A Fool" moved from 15 to 9 and Inxs wrapped up the list with "Never Tear Us Apart".

➦In 1988...The Album Chart..1988:  U2 reached #1 on the Album chart with the Soundtrack to "Rattle and Hum" while Guns N' Roses had the #2 album after 64 weeks of release with Appetite for Destruction.  The previous #1--New Jersey by Bon Jovi was down to #3 and the "Cocktail" Soundtrack and Def Leppard's Hysteria were also bumped down a notch.

The rest of the Top 10:  Don't Be Cruel from Bobby Brown, Anita Baker moved from 22 to 7 in just her second week with the album Giving You the Best That I Got, George Michael was still at #8 with Faith after 52 weeks, Bobby McFerrin had Simple Pleasures and Cinderella jumped into the Top 10 with Long Cold Winter.

Singleton as Blondie with Arthur Lake

➦In 2003...Actress Penny Singleton, forever immortalized as Blondie in the movies & on radio, who was the voice of Jane Jetson on TV`s The Jetsons, died at age 95 after a stroke.

➦In 2005...Paul McCartney became the first musician to broadcast live music into space when a segment of his Anaheim concert was beamed, via NASA, to the International Space Station 220 miles above the Earth.

➦In 2012…Veteran Los Angeles media personality (KLAC-AM for 40 years, KTTV-TV)/commercial pitchman Sam Benson died at the age of 90.