December 6 Radio History

➦In 1877...Thomas Edison made his first recording of a human voice, reciting the nursery rhyme "Mary had a little lamb," on the first tinfoil cylinder phonograph.

➦In 1923...The White House was brought fully into the modern age of communication when Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) made the first presidential radio broadcast from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on this day in 1923. The next year, he made history again in by appearing in the first sound film of an American President.

In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) spoke on the telephone to the instrument’s inventor, Alexander Graham Bell. Two years later, Hayes had his own telephone in the White House, but the invention was so new that very few homes or offices in Washington had phones, so Hayes had few people to talk to. In fact, the president’s telephone number was "1".

➦In 1943...the prestigious hour-long drama show “Theatre Guild On the Air” began an almost ten-year run, debuting on CBS radio.  For much of its run it was known as “The United States Steel Hour” first on ABC and then NBC radio, before moving to TV in 1953.

➦In 1957...Elvis Presley met two of his music idols, R&B singers Little Junior Parker and Bobby "Blue" Bland, while visiting Memphis radio station WDIA.

➦In 1960...Gene Autry was attending the baseball winter meetings hoping to secure a broadcasting contract for KMPC, his Los Angeles radio station. The “Singing Cowboy” wound up as the owner of the expansion Los Angeles Angels (when no one came forward to bid for the team, Autry made a bid of his own). The team became the showpiece for KMPC.



➦In 1963...The Beatles began a tradition of releasing a spoken-word and musical message Christmas recording for fans. One such record was issued each year from 1963–1969 and a compilation of all seven in 1970.

➦In 1971…The single "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," credited to John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir, was released in North America.




➦In 1980...In an interview with BBC Radio 1, John Lennon said the great thing about living in New York City was that people left him alone.

➦In 1993...actor Don Ameche died of prostate cancer at age 85.  The movie star was first a star of bigtime radio, with such program credits as Betty & Bob, Grand Hotel, First Nighter, The (Battling) Bickersons, & the Charlie McCarthy Show.  On TV the Frances Langford-Don Ameche Show ran just one season.

➦In 1994...WRKS NYC changes format to classic soul

➦In 2003...Pat St. John first show at WAXQ.

➦In 2015…Longtime Washington, DC radio sports talk host (WTEM, WMAL) Ken Beatrice died of complications from pneumonia at age 72.