Reagan was raised in a poor family in small towns of northern Illinois. He graduated from Eureka College in 1932, Reagan drove to Iowa, where he held jobs as a radio announcer at several stations. He moved to WHO radio in Des Moines as an announcer for Chicago Cubs baseball games. His specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of games using only basic descriptions that the station received by wire as the games were in progress. While traveling with the Cubs in California in 1937, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers studios
➦In 1924…The British Broadcasting Corporation in England aired radio's first-ever worship service. It originated from St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London.
➦In 1925…WMCA began regular transmissions on February 1, 1925, broadcasting on 428.6 meters wavelength (700 kHz) with a power of 500 watts. The station was the 13th radio station to begin operations in New York City and was owned by broadcasting pioneer Donald Flamm. The station's original studios and antenna were atop the Hotel McAlpin, located on Herald Square and from which WMCA's call letters derive. In 1928 it moved to the 570 kHz frequency, sharing time for the next three years with municipally-owned WNYC.
On April 19, 1932, the Federal Radio Commission approved WMCA's application to broadcast full-time on 570 kHz.
Through its early decades WMCA had a varied programming history, playing music, hosting dramas, and broadcasting New York Giants baseball games. In 1943, it was acquired by the Straus family when Edward J. Noble acquired the Blue Network and its owned-and-operated stations from NBC, including WJZ (now WABC) in New York; the Blue Network would later be renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).
In 1945, host Barry Gray began dropping music and adding talk with celebrities and later call-in listeners; he is thus sometimes considered "The Father of Talk Radio", and his show lasted on WMCA through several decades and format changes.
WMCA began playing hit music in the late 1950s with a Top 40 format. Among its disc jockey staff were future legends Scott Muni, Frankie Crocker, Harry Harrison and Murray "the K" Kaufman.
On April 19, 1932, the Federal Radio Commission approved WMCA's application to broadcast full-time on 570 kHz.Through its early decades WMCA had a varied programming history, playing music, hosting dramas, and broadcasting New York Giants baseball games. In 1943, it was acquired by the Straus family when Edward J. Noble acquired the Blue Network and its owned-and-operated stations from NBC, including WJZ (now WABC) in New York; the Blue Network would later be renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).
In 1945, host Barry Gray began dropping music and adding talk with celebrities and later call-in listeners; he is thus sometimes considered "The Father of Talk Radio", and his show lasted on WMCA through several decades and format changes.
WMCA began playing hit music in the late 1950s with a Top 40 format. Among its disc jockey staff were future legends Scott Muni, Frankie Crocker, Harry Harrison and Murray "the K" Kaufman.
Led by
program director Ruth Meyer, the first woman to hold the position in New York
City radio, this was the era of the high-profile Top 40 disc jockey with an
exuberant personality aimed at a certain audience segment. With the advent of
the Good Guys format, WMCA became more"on top" of new music and
started to become known for "playing the hits."
In the early 1960s, the top 40 format was still young, and
the field was crowded in New York City. Two major 50,000-watt stations, WMGM
1050 AM (now WEPN) and WINS 1010 AM, had battled each other for years. Then in
1960, WABC 770 am joined the fray and started featuring top 40 music.
Ultimately, it was WMCA's earnest competition with rival WABC that forced WMGM
(in early 1962) and then WINS (in spring 1965) to abandon the top-40 format.
There was so much attention on the high-profile WMCA-WABC battle that WMGM and
WINS were each summarily forced to find a new niche.
➦In 1926..Flashback 91-years and find out what was going on with radio...Click Here
➦In 1926..Flashback 91-years and find out what was going on with radio...Click Here
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| Courtesy of American Radio History |
➦In 1929…the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs (including the famous "Victrola") and phonograph records. The company then became RCA Victor. In absorbing Victor, RCA acquired the New World rights to the famous Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark.
In September 1931, RCA Victor introduced the first 33⅓ rpm records sold to the public, calling them "Program Transcriptions". These used a shallower and more closely spaced implementation of the large "standard groove" found on contemporary 78 rpm records, rather than the "microgroove" used for post-World War II 33⅓ rpm "LP" (long play) records. The format was a commercial failure, partly because the new Victrolas with two-speed turntables designed to play these records were exorbitantly priced, the least expensive model retailing for $395.00 in the depths of the Great Depression. The format was abandoned by 1933 and two-speed turntables were no longer offered, but some Program Transcriptions lingered in the Victor record catalog until the end of the 1930s.
➦In 1943…Frank Sinatra made his first appearance as a singer. He performed on on the CBS radio Network's "Your Hit Parade."
➦In 1950...“Dangerous Assignment” became a weekly show on the NBC radio network. It started as a summer replacement show in 1949. The show's star Brian Donlevy was also the narrator, giving the show "a suspenseful immediacy."
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| Paul Harvey |
➦In 1986...Radio programming consultant Bob Hattrick was found stabbed to death at his St. Louis home. Get the news and Flashback to 1986 through the pages of Radio&Records..Click Here
➦In 1991..Radio-TV personality Danny Thomas, whose career spanned five decades, died of a heart attack at age 76.
Thomas first reached mass audiences on network radio in the 1940s playing shifty brother-in-law Amos in The Bickersons, which began as sketches on the music-comedy show Drene Time, co-hosted by Don Ameche and Frances Langford. Thomas also portrayed himself as a scatterbrained Lothario on this show. His other network radio work included a stint as Jerry Dingle the postman on Fanny Brice's The Baby Snooks Show, and appearances on the popular NBC variety program, The Big Show, hosted by stage legend Tallulah Bankhead.
Thomas also had his own radio program, The Danny Thomas Show. The 30-minute weekly variety show was on ABC in 1942-43 and on CBS in 1947-48.
As a "starving actor", Thomas had made a vow: If he found success, he would open a shrine dedicated to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. Thomas never forgot his promise to St. Jude, and after becoming a successful actor in the early 1950s, his wife joined him and began traveling the United States to help raise funds to build his dream - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He fervently believed “no child should die in the dawn of life.” With help from Dr. Lemuel Diggs and close friend, Anthony Abraham, an auto magnate in Miami, Florida, Thomas founded the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1962. Since its inception, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world, continuing the mission of finding cures and saving children.
➦In 1998...Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys Carl died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family, on February 6, 1998, just two months after the death of his mother. He was 51 and a lifelong smoker.
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| Courtesy of American Radio History |
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| Danny, daughter Marlo Thomas - 1960 |
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| Danny Thomas and Doris Day 1952 |
Thomas also had his own radio program, The Danny Thomas Show. The 30-minute weekly variety show was on ABC in 1942-43 and on CBS in 1947-48.
As a "starving actor", Thomas had made a vow: If he found success, he would open a shrine dedicated to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. Thomas never forgot his promise to St. Jude, and after becoming a successful actor in the early 1950s, his wife joined him and began traveling the United States to help raise funds to build his dream - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He fervently believed “no child should die in the dawn of life.” With help from Dr. Lemuel Diggs and close friend, Anthony Abraham, an auto magnate in Miami, Florida, Thomas founded the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1962. Since its inception, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world, continuing the mission of finding cures and saving children.
➦In 1998...Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys Carl died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family, on February 6, 1998, just two months after the death of his mother. He was 51 and a lifelong smoker.
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| Joe O'Brien |
➦In 2000…Former WMCA Good Guy Joe O'Brien retired. A Yonkers native, he began his career in 1935 when he got his first radio job with WMCA 570 AM in New York City.
He worked at the station for 34 years and became one of the Good Guys team of disc jockeys in the late 1960's. They played Top 40 hits and became nearly as popular as the music they played.
They had the same clean-cut hairstyles, wore matching suits and worked together at record hops and personal appearances. They also sang as a group and released an album. During that time, Mr. O'Brien was the No. 1 morning man in New York City.
In 1970 he left for WNBC-AM, where he handled morning duties until he was replaced by Don Imus in 1972. Mr. O'Brien then went to WHUD in Peekskill, N.Y. He retired in 1986, but continued to do weekend specials for WHUD until 2000.
O'Brien was killed in an auto accident July 26, 2005 at age 90.
➦In 2006...Buffalo’s WWKB 1520 AM ended a three-year run as an oldies station with a format change to predominantly syndicated progressive talk. A syndicated overnight show hosted by former WKBW personality Joey Reynolds survived the format change. The last song played was “Yesterday’s Gone” by Chad & Jeremy.
In 2005...Karl Haas died at 91. Haas began his radio program, Adventures in Good Music, on WJR in Detroit, Michigan in 1959. Syndicated broadcasts of the show across the United States began in 1970 on WCLV, a Cleveland, Ohio radio station. The show was eventually syndicated to commercial and public radio stations around the world and became the world's most widely listened-to classical music radio program.
He worked at the station for 34 years and became one of the Good Guys team of disc jockeys in the late 1960's. They played Top 40 hits and became nearly as popular as the music they played.
They had the same clean-cut hairstyles, wore matching suits and worked together at record hops and personal appearances. They also sang as a group and released an album. During that time, Mr. O'Brien was the No. 1 morning man in New York City.
In 1970 he left for WNBC-AM, where he handled morning duties until he was replaced by Don Imus in 1972. Mr. O'Brien then went to WHUD in Peekskill, N.Y. He retired in 1986, but continued to do weekend specials for WHUD until 2000.
O'Brien was killed in an auto accident July 26, 2005 at age 90.
➦In 2006...Buffalo’s WWKB 1520 AM ended a three-year run as an oldies station with a format change to predominantly syndicated progressive talk. A syndicated overnight show hosted by former WKBW personality Joey Reynolds survived the format change. The last song played was “Yesterday’s Gone” by Chad & Jeremy.
In 2005...Karl Haas died at 91. Haas began his radio program, Adventures in Good Music, on WJR in Detroit, Michigan in 1959. Syndicated broadcasts of the show across the United States began in 1970 on WCLV, a Cleveland, Ohio radio station. The show was eventually syndicated to commercial and public radio stations around the world and became the world's most widely listened-to classical music radio program.
➦In 2006…Citadel confirmed that it going to acquire 24- radio stations from ABC.
➦In 2014…Former MLB outfielder Ralph Kiner died at age 91. After a Hall of Fame basbeall career, Kiner entered the broadcast booth in 1961 for the Chicago White Sox. The following year, Kiner, Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy began broadcasting the games of the expansion New York Mets on WOR-TV9 in New York City. The trio rotated announcing duties. Kiner also hosted a post-game show known as "Kiner's Korner" on WOR-TV. Nationally, he helped call the Mets' appearance in the 1969 and 1973 World Series for NBC Radio. He won a local Emmy Award for his broadcasting work.
Despite a bout with Bell's palsy, which left him with slightly slurred speech, Kiner continued broadcasting for 53 seasons.
➦Click Here for more Historical Events that happened on Febr 6.
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| Ralph Kiner |
Despite a bout with Bell's palsy, which left him with slightly slurred speech, Kiner continued broadcasting for 53 seasons.
➦Click Here for more Historical Events that happened on Febr 6.
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