February 2 Radio History

Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll

➦In 1890...Charles James Correll born (died September 26, 1972). He was an early radio comedian, actor and writer, known best for his work for the radio series Amos 'n' Andy with Freeman Gosden. Correll voiced the main character Andy Brown, along with various lesser characters.

The two developed ‘Sam & Henry’ in 1926 for WGN Chicago, which they renamed ‘Amos ‘n’ Andy’ when they jumped to WMAQ in 1928.



➦In 1940...Frank Sinatra made his singing debut with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide

➦In 1946...Twenty Questions, first broadcast at 8pm, Saturday, February 2, 1946, on the Mutual Broadcasting System from New York's Longacre Theatre on West 48th Street.

Radio listeners sent in subjects for the panelists to guess in 20 questions.  On the early shows, listeners who stumped the panel won a lifetime subscription to Pageant. From 1946 to 1951, the program was sponsored by Ronson lighters. In 1952-53, Wildroot Cream-Oil was the sponsor.

➦In 1957...Early rocker Dale Hawkins recorded 'Susie Q' in a studio at KWKH Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana.  James Burton featured on guitar.

➦In 1958...‘Frontier Gentleman‘ starring John Dehner debuted on CBS Radio. Frontier Gentleman is a short-lived radio Western series originally broadcast from February 2 to November 16, 1958,

➦In 1959...Early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson gave their last performances at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Tickerts were $1.25. On September 6, 2011, The Surf Ballroom was added to the National Register of Historic Places

Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly

Holly, Valens and Richardson left The Surf immediately after the show, going to the nearby Mason City airport and chartering a small plane to take them to Fargo, North Dakota to prepare for their next show at the Moorhead Armory in Moorhead, Minnesota.

The plane took off at 12:55 AM Central Time on Tuesday February 3, 1959. Shortly after takeoff, young pilot Roger Peterson, in a combination of spatial disorientation and misinterpretion of a flight instrument, flew the plane into the ground, killing everyone aboard. According to the report, Peterson was not certificated to fly commercially at night, nor was he qualified to fly in the adverse weather (IFR) conditions which prevailed at the time of the flight. Although Peterson underwent formal IFR training, he failed his final checkride weeks before the accident.

A concrete monument was erected outside The Surf, and the ballroom is adorned with large pictures of the three musicians. A street flanking the facility's east property line is named Buddy Holly Place in his honor.
.

➦In 1975...Joe McCoy started as a disc jockey at WCBS 101.1 FM in NYC.

He eventually became Program Director.  In his 23 years as Program Director at WCBS-FM in New York City the station was # 1 (12+) 5 times as well as a leader for many years in the all-important 25-54 demo. He is now retired.


➦In 1985...FLASHBACK...From The Pages of Radio&Records R&R....

Birch Advances

➦In 1992...radio/TV host Bert Parks died from lung cancer at age 77.  Parks entered radio broadcasting at age 16, for Atlanta's WGST. Three years later, he moved to New York City and was hired as a singer and straight man on The Eddie Cantor Show, then becoming a CBS Radio staff announcer. Parks was the host of Break the Bank, which premiered on radio in 1945 and was telecast from 1948 to 1957, as well as Stop the Music on radio in 1948 and television from 1949 to 1952. With other celebrities, he hosted NBC radio's Monitor during the 1960s. He is best remembered as the singing host of The Miss America Pageant on TV for 25 years. (“There she is, Miss America….”)

➦In 1995...Actor Willard Waterman died at age 80.  Waterman replaced Harold Peary, on "The Great Gildersleeve," radio program after Peary was unable to convince sponsor and show owner Kraft Cheese to allow him an ownership stake in the show. He also began his radio career at WIBA in Madison, singing in a quartet that performed "musical interludes between programs." and came to NBC in Chicago in early 1936.  Waterman was a founding member of the radio union now known as the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

➦In 2009...Laurie Cantillo started as PD at WABC.  She moved on to  PD at News WTOP-FM in Washington.  As Cantillo told the Business Journals May 2014, "When I was a victim of consolidation after working in New York at WABC, the very first email I got after the story came out in Radio Inc. was from Jim Farley, and he said, “Anything I can do to help?” And I said, “Sure, hire me,” with a smiley-face, kinda just kidding. He wrote back and said, “Well, we may have something, why don’t you come down to see us.” So I jumped on the train. I was so impressed with the team here, and what they told me was a transition plan that would allow him to retire."

Cantillo now works for NASA in DC

➦In 2016…Radio and comedian Bob Elliott died in Cundy's Harbor, Maine on February 2, 2016, from throat cancer at the age of 92. He was part of the the Bob and Ray comedy. Ray Goulding died in 1990.

➦In 2017...Entercom announced that it had agreed to merge with CBS Radio stations, but not its radio networks. The purchase will give Entercom operations in 23 of the top 25 markets, and make it the second-largest owner of radio stations in the United States, behind only iHeartMedia;

The company also shut down KDND in Sacramento and returned its license returned to the FCC, with its programming moved to sister station KUDL. The FCC had designated that the renewal of KDND's license would be subject to a hearing over allegations it had failed to operate in the public interest.

➦Click Here For More Historical Events That Happened on February 2.