Radio History: October 6

➦In 1866...Reginald Aubrey Fessenden born (Died at age 65 – July 22, 1932). He was a Canadian-born radio pioneer, who did a majority of his work in the United States and also claimed U.S. citizenship through his American-born father.  During his life he received hundreds of patents in various fields, most notably ones related to radio and sonar.

Reginald Fessenden

Fessenden is best known for his pioneering work developing radio technology, including the foundations of amplitude modulation (AM) radio. His achievements included the first transmission of speech by radio (1900), and the first two-way radio-telegraphic communication across the Atlantic Ocean (1906). In 1932 he reported that, in late 1906, he also made the first radio broadcast of entertainment and music, although a lack of verifiable details has led to some doubts about this claim.

After studies at Bishop University, Fessenden went to work for Thomas Edison, then the Westinghouse labs and the US Weather Service. In 1902, he started his own company to develop his superheterodyne discoveries, and in 1906 accomplished the first two-way radio voice transmission between Scotland and his shore station at Brant Rock Massachusetts.

That Christmas he broadcast the world’s first public program of music and voice transmitted over long distances, from Brant Rock to the ships at sea. He had over 300 patents, and was awarded $2.5 million by the US Radio Trust for his inventions, many of which were used by the US in World War I without his permission.

➦In 1949...Japanese-American broadcaster, Iva Toguri D'Aquino (Tokyo Rose, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $10,000 for treason.

Tokyo Rose

Tokyo Rose was a name given by Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II to all female English-speaking radio broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The programs were broadcast in the South Pacific and North America to demoralize Allied forces abroad and their families at home by emphasizing troops' wartime difficulties and military losses. Several female broadcasters operated under different aliases and in different cities throughout the Empire, including Tokyo, Manila, and Shanghai.  The name "Tokyo Rose" was never actually used by any Japanese broadcaster, but it first appeared in U.S. newspapers in the context of these radio programs in 1943.

Tokyo Rose ceased to be merely a symbol in September 1945 when D'Aquino, an American-born Japanese disc jockey for a propagandist radio program, attempted to return to the U-S.  Toguri was accused of being the 'real' Tokyo Rose, arrested, tried, and became the seventh person in U.S. history to be convicted of treason.  Toguri was eventually paroled from prison in 1956, but it was more than 20 years before she received an official presidential pardon for her role in the war.

U.S. President Gerald Ford pardoned Toguri in 1977.

➦In 1953...Rocky Fortune, an American radio drama, debuted on NBC Radio beginning in October 1953. The series ended its run in March 1954 after 25 episodes. The program was created by George Lefferts. Frank Sinatra voiced the title role of Rocky Fortune for the entire series.

Rocky Fortune aired Tuesday nights on NBC at 9:35pm Eastern, immediately following Dragnet (and a five-minute John Cameron Swayze newscast). It was a sustaining series, meaning that NBC presented the program without corporate sponsorship.

➦In 1976...“Disco Duck” by Memphis radio personality Rick Dees (and His Cast of Idiots) was certified to be a Gold Record.

Dees began his radio career at a Greensboro radio station called WGBG while still in high school.He worked for various radio stations throughout the southeastern United States, including WCAR (now known as WXYC) in Chapel Hill, NC, WSGN in Birmingham and WKIX in Raleigh.

Rick Dees 1976

His introduction to the international entertainment arena began while working at WMPS 680 AM in Memphis, TN during the disco craze of the mid- to late-1970s, when he wrote and recorded "Disco Duck" in 1976, that sold more than 6 million copies.

Dees was fired from WMPS when he mentioned that his song, "Disco Duck", was almost #1, and his own radio station would not let him play it. The station manager said it was a conflict of interest.

Dees did not perform the actual duck vocals on the song since he could not "talk like a duck." The duck vocals were recorded at Shoestring Productions in Memphis, Tennessee by Ken Pruitt, who moved away before the song became popular, and the vocals for the duck were done by Michael Chesney of Memphis for the concert tour. Chesney had done some comedic voices for Dees prior to Disco Duck. The tour went from Disney World to New York, NY, billed as Rick Dees and The Cast of Idiots. After a 45-day non-compete clause in his contract was satisfied, Dees was hired by RKO Radio to do the morning show at WHBQ AM 560 in Memphis.

The success of Dees at their Memphis radio station, combined with his TV appearances and hit music, motivated station owner RKO General to offer Rick the morning radio show in Los Angeles at 93KHJ AM. Dees helped their ratings, but AM music radio was rapidly losing ground to FM. When KHJ switched to country music, Dees left KHJ, taking a morning position at KIIS-FM in July 1981. In a short time, he turned KIIS-FM into the #1 revenue-generating radio station in America.

➦In 2004...Howard Stern announced he would begin airing his show for SIRIUS Satellite Radio in January, 2006.

➦In 2014...Philadelphia sportscaster Bill Campbell died at age 91. Campbell began his broadcasting career at the age of 17 at a radio station in his hometown of Atlantic City. He moved to Lancaster, PA in 1941 as a Minor League Baseball announcer, and then settled in Philadelphia in 1942, where he lived the rest of his life. Campbell first started in area radio at WIP, before moving to WCAU in 1946 as sports director, taking the same position when WCAU-TV began its historic telecasts, in 1948; he remained in that position until 1966.

Campbell was play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Warriors from their debut in 1946 until their move to San Francisco in 1962, calling Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game.  He was also play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1952–66, Philadelphia Phillies from 1963–70, and Philadelphia 76ers from 1972–81.

Campbell later held down the 10 AM to noon slot at his first Delaware Valley broadcasting employer, WIP, when it switched to an all-sports format, from 1987–1991.

Elizabeth Shue is 60

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Actor Britt Ekland is 81. 
• Singer-guitarist Thomas McClary (The Commodores) is 74. 
• Singer Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon is 72. 
• Guitarist David Hidalgo of Los Lobos is 69. 
• Actor Elisabeth Shue is 60. 
• Singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet is 59. 
• Actor Jacqueline Obradors (“NYPD Blue”) is 57. 
• Country singer Tim Rushlow (Little Texas) is 57. 
• Bassist Tommy Stinson (The Replacements, Guns N’ Roses) is 57. 
• Actor Amy Jo Johnson (“Felicity,” ″Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”) is 53. 
• Actor Emily Mortimer (“Mary Poppins Returns”) is 52. 
• Actor Lamman Rucker (“Meet the Browns”) is 52. 
• Actor Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic Four,” ″Horatio Hornblower”) is 50. 
• Actor Jeremy Sisto (“Law and Order,” ″Six Feet Under”) is 49. 
• Actor Brett Gelman (“Stranger Things”) is 47. 
• Singer Melinda Doolittle (“American Idol”) is 46. 
• Actor Wes Ramsey (“CSI: Miami”) is 46. 
• Actor Karimah Westbrook (“All American”) is 45. 
• Musician Will Butler of Arcade Fire is 41.

✞REMEMBRANCES

• In 1951..Will Keith Kellogg, American cereal manufacturer (Kellogg's cereal brand), dies at 91
• In 1978..Anwar Sadat, 3rd President of Egypt (1970-81, Nobel 1978), assassinated by fundamentalist army officers at 62
• In 1985..Nelson Riddle, American Grammy Award-winning bandleader, conductor, and orchestrator for Capitol Records (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Dean Martin), dies of complications from cirrhosis of the liver at 64
• In 1989..Bette Davis, American actress (Of Human Bondage; Jezebel; All About Eve), dies of breast cancer at 81
• In 2015..Billy Joe Royal, American country and pop singer ("Down in the Boondocks"), dies at 73
• In 2019..Rip Taylor, American actor and comedian (Gong Show, $1.98 Beauty Show), dies at 88
• In 2020..Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American rock guitarist (Van Halen - "You Really Got Me"; "Jump"), dies of throat cancer at 65
• In 2020..Johnny Nash, American pop-reggae-soul singer-songwriter and record producer (I Can See Clearly Now), dies at 80
• In 2022..(Myrna Joy) "Jody" Miller, American Grammy Award-winning pop and country music singer ("He Walks Like A Man": "Queen of the House"), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 80