➦In 1899...writer/producer Wyllis Cooper was born in Pekin Illinois. He was the creator of NBC Radio’s scary series “Lights Out.” Besides writing, producing and directing, he hosted the show from its start in 1934 to 1936, when Arch Oboler succeeded him. He also was creator/writer/producer of “Quiet, Please!” on Mutual (1947-1948 ) and ABC Radio (1948-1949), and producer/narrator of the early TV series Volume One. He died June 29 1955 at age 56.
➦In 1907...bandleader Eddie Ballantine was born in Chicago. He was musical director of the Don McNeill Breakfast Club on NBC Blue/ABC Radio for almost thirty years. When that program ended in 1968 he became a stock market reporter for a Chicago TV station. He died Nov. 14 1995 at age 88.
➦In 1922...pianist Page Cavanaugh was born in Cherokee Kansas. He formed & led his own trio from 1943-1960, which was featured on NBC Radio’s Jack Paar Show in 1947. They worked as backup to Mel Torme recordings, and also were featured repeatedly on CBS Radio’s Songs by Sinatra. He died of kidney failure Dec. 19, 2008 at age 86.
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| This ad for KNOW appeared in a 1947 issue of Broadcasting |
KNOW was owned by the KUT Broadcasting Company. It broadcast at only 100 watts, on 1000 kilocycles. The original KUT moved to Houston and later became KTRH. Today, the KUT call letters are found on the University of Texas' public radio station at 90.5, an affiliate of National Public Radio.
In the 1940s, KNOW moved to its current dial position at 1490 kHz, with the power at 250 watts. It served as Austin's ABC Radio Network affiliate, carrying ABC's schedule of dramas, comedies, news and sports during the "Golden Age of Radio."
In 1949, KNOW was acquired by the Pioneer Broadcasting Company. In the 1950s, it boosted its daytime power to 1,000 watts and remained at 250 watts at night. In the 1960s, it switched to a Top 40 sound. Air Staff in the 70's included P.D. Dave Jarrott, Randall McKee, Jason Wayne. Bill Mayne, Gil Garcia, Jim Gossett, David Gayle, Bill Moss. It call letters where change during the time Hicks Communication owned it from KNOW to KMOW since a mistake was made on giving up the old call letters but were now taken. As contemporary music listening shifted to the FM band in the 1980s, KNOW decided to serve Austin's growing African American community. It flipped to an urban contemporary format. That was coupled with Hicks Communications acquiring the station in 1981.
In 1989, KNOW was sold again, this time to Degree Communications, which switched the format to Oldies. In 1996, the station changed hands again, this time being acquired by San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia. The call letters were switched to KFON and the format became talk radio {with FON standing for "phone"). It later shifted to sports talk.
In 2005, the station was acquired by Border Media Partners, which owned other stations in Texas, several serving the Latino community. KFON switched to a Classic Regional Mexican music format. There were further call letter changes to KLGO and KTAE, before the current owner Township Media switched the call sign to KTSN, standing for The Sun Network.
The call letters live-on as KNOW-FM and are assigned to Minnesota Public Radio at 91.1 FM.
➦In 1947... “The Greatest Story Ever Told” began a 10-year run on ABC radio. It was the first radio program to dare to simulate the voice of Jesus Christ.
➦In 1969... The Beatles recorded “The Long And Winding Road.” And Ringo Starr wrote “Octopus’s Garden."
When issued as the group's final single in May 1970, a month after the Beatles' break-up, it became the group's 20th and last number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U-S.
The main recording of the song took place in January 1969 and featured a sparse musical arrangement. When preparing the tapes from these sessions for release in April 1970, producer Phil Spector added orchestral and choral overdubs. Spector's modifications angered McCartney. Later versions of the song with simpler instrumentation were subsequently released.
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| Edward G./ Robinson |
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| Tucker |
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| Big Wilson |
Many clips were played, including Dave Garroway's interview with Marilyn Monroe on the show's first day, Frank McGee's talk with Martin Luther King Jr. in the early 1960s, Bob and Ray spoofing "Miss Monitor" and reporter Helen Hall riding on a roller-coaster.
On January 26, Big Wilson hosted from noon to 3pm (Eastern) while Tucker hosted from 3-6 pm. The program's last guest was Hugh Downs, who talked about his earlier days on Monitor with Tucker. The final sound heard on Monitor was of the "Beacon", followed by the NBC chimes at 5:58:50pm.
Click Here for Monitor's final six hours.
On June 12, 1955, the NBC Radio Network had inaugurated "Monitor". On the following Saturday, June 18, "Monitor" began broadcasting 40 consecutive hours each weekend, from 8:00 AM on Saturday to midnight on Sunday. The show aired from a mammoth NBC studio in New York City called Radio Central, created especially for the program, on the fifth floor of the RCA Building.
"Monitor" offered a mix of news, sports, comedy, variety, music, celebrity interviews, and other short segments.
Click Here for the History of Monitor
➦In 2007...Former disc jockey/recording artist/songwriter and promoter Tommy Donaldson, who as Tommy Dee recorded his tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper (The Three Stars), died at age 73.
Bob Green and Anita Bryant at a 1977 press conference in Des Moines, Iowa, where she was famously "pied" on camera by a gay-rights activist.
➦In 2012... onetime WINZ Miami disc jockey Bob Green, who married pop singer (and Florida citrus spokesperson) Anita Bryant, then followed her into anti-gay activism, was found dead at his Miami Beach home at age 80. The activism ultimately destroyed their careers — and marriage in 1980.
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