October 21 Radio History

➥In 1908...The first two-sided vinyl record was offered for sale.

The first sound recordings at the end of the 19th century were made on cylinder records, which had a single round surface capable of holding approximately two minutes of sound. Early shellac disc records records only had recordings on one side of the disc, with a similar capacity (both media could hold between three and four minutes by 1910). Double-sided recordings, with one selection on each side, were introduced in Europe by Columbia Records, and by 1910 most record labels had adopted the format in both Europe and the United States; the ability to effectively double the amount of sound on the disc was one major factor in its rising to dominance over the cylinder record which was obsolete by 1912.

There were no record charts until the 1930s, and radio stations (by and large) did not play recorded music until the 1950s (when top 40 radio overtook full-service network radio). In this time, A-sides and B-sides existed, but neither side was considered more important; the "side" did not convey anything about the content of the record.

➦In 1915...First transmission of speech across the Atlantic Ocean was made by radiotelephone, Arlington, Va., to Paris.

➦In 1969...Radio personality Roby Yonge aired the infamous “Paul is Dead” show at 77 WABC, NYC.

Originally hired for the 1 - 3 PM shift, Yonge was moved into the overnight shift in August 1969 when Charlie Greer left the station. He was told by program director Rick Sklar in the early fall, that his contract would not be renewed. He subsequently went on the air with the Paul McCartney "death" rumor on October 21, 1969, having heard the rumor from WKNR Detroit radio personality Chris Randall.

Stating that he had already been fired and that at 12:39 AM, he would not be "cut" because there was nobody around, Yonge began to speculate on rumors circulating about the possible death of McCartney. He enumerated various "clues" in album cover art which he said had been catalogued by thirty Indiana University Bloomington students. Callers lit up the station switchboard. It was an hour and a half before program director Rick Sklar got Les Marshak in to relieve Yonge. Marshak continued to do Yonge's show until a replacement was hired.

Yonge was hired by WCBS 101.1 FM, where he helped introduce their "Oldies" format in the early'70s. After a few years, he returned to his native Florida, where he served as general manager of Mother WMUM, an early FM rock station in Palm Beach. After the demise of Mother in 1972, Yonge became a morning personality on Y100 WHYI in Fort Lauderdale/Miami. He was fired after the first day on the air, August 3, 1973. He moved to the competitor WMYQ-FM, where he spoke as a commentator with a morning show. In 1987, Yonge did a morning show at WKAT in Miami, then returned in 1993 to do a music/talk show on 790 WMRZ.

Roby Yonge died on July 18, 1997 of an apparent heart attack at age 54.

➦In 2000...NYC Personality Frankie Crocker died from pancreatic cancer.

Crocker began his career in Buffalo at the AM Soul powerhouse WUFO (also the home to future greats Eddie O'Jay, Herb Hamlett, Gary Byrd and Chucky T) before moving to Manhattan, where he first worked for Soul station WWRL and later Top40 WMCA in 1969.

He then worked for WBLS-FM as program director, taking that station to the top of the ratings during the late 1970s and pioneering the radio format now known as urban contemporary.

Frankie Crocker was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2000, and the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2005.

➦In 2014…Veteran Boston radio personality Dale Dorman died at age 71 after a long illness (Born September 2, 1943).

Dale Dorman

Dorman broadcast in Boston for close to 40 years, starting on WCHN AM/FM (Norwich, NY) doing an afternoon rock show, then going to WOLF (Syracuse, New York 1965), KYNO (Fresno, CA) 65-66, KFRC (San Francisco) 66-68, WRKO (1968–78), and later on WXKS-FM (1978-2003).  He joined WODS during the summer of 2003.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Dorman was also an on-air announcer for television on WLVI-TV, Boston for children's programming as "Uncle Dale", and occasionally for the channel's Saturday afternoon Creature Double Feature showcase of syndicated monster movie presentations.

With his lightening fast reflexes,  a gift for genuinely clever patter and an astounding ability to “post” a song intro, he did what few others have ever done — he remained a force and a positive influence on radio and music for 45 years.

Dale was 24 when he took over morning drive at WRKO in August, 1968 and delivered top ratings for ten years.

He also hosted the afternoon kid’s show on TV-38 and the weekend “Creature Double-Feature” as Uncle Dale. By the late 70’s FM radio had eclipsed AM for music listening. After a brief stop at WVBF Dale landed his second long-term gig doing afternoon drive at Kiss 108 (WXKS-FM) for 23 years.  “To be able to be a top-rated jock on a Top-40 station in his 60s is really astounding,” Don Kelley, then Vice President of Programming for Magic 106.7 WMJX and now President of the Mass Broadcasters Hall of Fame, told the Boston Globe in 2003, when Dale left Kiss 108.

In 2003 Dale moved back to morning drive at Oldies 103 (WODS/Boston). “I wound up at Oldies 103 playing the same music that I played at WRKO when I was just starting out,” he told the Globe in 2008. “A bunch of people started calling. They were like, ‘Oh, wow! How are you? Where have you been?’ ” playing the same songs that he played on WRKO in the 60’s and 70’s, but by now they had become oldies.

Dale was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2015 the brand new Dale Dorman studio at Massasoit Community College was dedicated in his name.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Actor Joyce Randolph (“The Honeymooners”) is 96. 
• Keyboardist Manfred Mann is 80. 
• Guitarist Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG’s is 79. 
• Singer Elvin Bishop is 78. 
• TV judge Judy Sheindlin (“Judge Judy”) is 78. 
• Actor Everett McGill (“Twin Peaks”) is 75. 

• 

  Kim Kardashian (8th Grade)

  Trumpeter Lee Loughnane of Chicago is 74. 
• Actor Dick Christie (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) is 72. 
• Guitarist Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go’s is 67. 
• Director Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight”) is 65. 
• Singer Julian Cope is 63. 
• Guitarist Steve Lukather of Toto is 63. 
• Actor Ken Watanabe (“Letters from Iwo Jima,” ″The Last Samurai”) is 61. 
• Actor Melora Walters (TV’s “Big Love,” film’s “The Butterfly Effect”) is 60. 
• Singer-bassist Nick Oliveri (Queens of the Stone Age) is 49. 
• Keyboardist Charlie Lowell of Jars of Clay is 47. 
• Actor Jeremy Miller (“Growing Pains”) is 44. 
• Singer Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion is 43. 
• Actor Will Estes (“American Dreams”) is 42. 
• Actor Michael McMillian (“True Blood”) is 42. 
• Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is 40. 
• Actor Charlotte Sullivan (“Rookie Blue”) is 37. 
• Actor Glenn Powell (“Hidden Figures”) is 32. 
• Country singer Kane Brown is 27.