January 5 Radio History

Sam Phillips

➦In 1923...Sun Records founder Sam Phillips was born in rural Alabama.  His Memphis record studio will always be remembered as the first professional home of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins.  He died July 30, 2003 at age 80.

➦In 1935...Phil Spitalny‘s All-Girl Orchestra was featured on the debut of CBS radio’s “The Hour of Charm”.  It ran on various networks until 1946.

➦In 1940...Edwin H. Armstrong demonstrated FM broadcasting in a long-distance relay network, via five stations in five States.  FM radio was assigned the 42 to 50 MHz band of the spectrum in 1940. There was interest in the new FM band by station owners.

➦In 1965...57 years ago this week

Clark Weber was also on the air at WCFL, WMAQ, WIND, WJJD and WAIT. He later ran Clark Weber & Associates, an advertising agency specializing in radio advertising.

➦In 1973…, Bruce Springsteen released his debut album ‘Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ.’ It sold only about 25,000 copies in its first year of release.  Two tracks from the album, "Blinded By The Light" and "Spirit In The Night," were released as singles but neither made a dent in the charts.

➦In 1979...Third Class operator requirements for radio were eliminated by the FCC.

➦In 1998...Rep. Sonny Bono (R-Calif.), the one-time singer/songwriter who gained fame as half of the vocal duo Sonny and Cher, died from head injuries after hitting a tree while skiing at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. He was 62.

➦In 2004...the first HD Radio receiver - a Kenwood KTC-HR 100 model - went on sale commercially in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

➦In 2014…baseball player-turned-broadcaster Jerry Coleman,  who spent 71 years in the game on the diamond and later in the broadcast booth, passed away after brain surgery. He was aged 89.  Coleman, a WW2 hero,  was the play-by-play voice of the San Diego Padres for nearly 40 years beginning in 1972.

Anthol Guy is 83

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Actor Robert Duvall is 92. 
• Singer-bassist Athol Guy of The Seekers is 83. 
• Former talk show host Charlie Rose is 81. 
• Actor Diane Keaton is 77. 
• Actor Ted Lange (“The Love Boat”) is 75. 
• Drummer George “Funky” Brown of Kool and the Gang is 74. 
• Guitarist Chris Stein of Blondie is 73. 
• Actor Pamela Sue Martin (“The Poseidon Adventure,” ″Dynasty”) is 70. 
• Actor Clancy Brown (“Highlander,” ″SpongeBob SquarePants”) is 64. 
• Actor Suzy Amis (“Titanic”) is 61. 
• Actor Ricky Paull Goldin (“All My Children,” “Guiding Light”) is 58. 
• Actor Vinnie Jones (TV’s “Deception,” film’s “X-Men: The Last Stand”) is 58. 
• Drummer Kate Schellenbach (Luscious Jackson) is 57. 
• Actor Joe Flanigan (“Stargate Atlantis,” ″Sisters”) is 56. 
• Dancer and talk show host Carrie Ann Inaba (“The Talk,” “Dancing with the Stars”) is 55. 
• Guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age is 55. 
• Singer Marilyn Manson is 54. 
• Actor Shea Whigham (“Fast and Furious 6,” ″Boardwalk Empire”) is 54. 
• Actor Derek Cecil (“House of Cards,” ″Treme”) is 50. 
• Actor-comedian Jessica Chaffin (“Man with a Plan”) is 49. 
• Actor Bradley Cooper is 48. 
• Actor January Jones (“Mad Men”) is 45. 
• Actor Brooklyn Sudano (“My Wife and Kids”) is 42. 
• Actor Franz Drameh (“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”) is 30.

✞DEATH ANNIVERSARIES

• In 1988..Pete Maravich NBA star (Atlanta Hawks), dies of heart failure at 40
• In 1990..Arthur Kennedy, Actor (Fantastic Voyage, Peyton Place), dies of a brain tumor at 76
• In 1998..Salvatore "Sonny" Bono, Actor, musician, vocalist, (Sonny & Cher) and politician (Rep-R-Ca, 1995-98), dies at Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California, when he hits a tree at 62
• In 2004..Tug McGraw, American baseball player and father of Tim McGraw, dies at 59