Mega Superstar Taylor Swift is on the international leg of her tour, and fans are following her, driving a new travel trend called "gig tripping."
Fox Business reports gig tripping combines travel with music with people willing to merge vacation plans with a music event.
According to Skyscanner, 44% of Americans "are willing to fly short-haul to see their favorites artists," while 18% "would go the extra mile with long-haul flights."
"While 34% of U.S. travelers plan to attend local music events in 2024 (rising to 50% among 25-to-34-year-olds), a substantial 60% are open to gig tripping abroad to save money."
Swifties Ready For Flight
With kids and adults alike looking for Swift tickets, travel company Travelmation is seeing an increase in "gig tripping" requests.
"I just booked a family on a European trip built entirely around Taylor Swift. My client wanted to see the Eras Tour with her daughters, but they couldn’t get tickets in the U.S. They instead turned to her international shows and were able to snag seats in Milan," Tim Elrod, vice president and travel adviser for Travelmation, told Fox News Digital.
"Gig tripping is one of the hottest trends in travel and much of it is thanks to Taylor Swift," Adam Duckworth, president and founder of Travelmation, said. "We have clients booking trips all over the world to see her. Gone are the days where people see their favorite artists at their local venue. They are willing to travel as far as necessary to experience these high-energy shows."
Deborah Roberts, award-winning ABC News correspondent, co-anchor of the prestigious news magazine “20/20”, and a member of the Broadcasters Foundation of America Board of Directors, will honor Deborah Norville as this year’s recipient of the Edward F. McLaughlin Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Award will be presented to Norville during the Golden Mic gala and fundraiser on March 4 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
“I’m looking forward to being a part of this well-deserved recognition of Deborah’s outstanding work as a broadcast journalist.” said Roberts.
“Deborah is one of the most respected journalists in broadcasting, and I am thrilled that she is going to be a part of this exciting program,” said Norville. “She is a colleague and a friend, and I am honored that she will be there with me.”
Deborah Roberts
Roberts is a media veteran who has traveled the world for her reporting. Her in-depth coverage of current events has earned her a Peabody Award for the “20/20” special “Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor.” She has been awarded multiple Emmy® Awards for international and national coverage of world events, including the AIDS crisis in Africa and maternal mortality in Bangladesh. She also serves as a substitute anchor for “Good Morning America” as well as a guest co-host on “The View.”
“We are fortunate to have Deborah among the esteemed presenters to honor a tremendous broadcaster and BFOA board member -- Deborah Norville,” commented Scott Herman, Chair of the Broadcasters Foundation. “It’s going to be a thrilling evening.”
For more information or to reserve a seat or table at the Golden Mic Award gala and fundraiser, please contact the Broadcasters Foundation at 212-373-8250 or info@thebfoa.org.
The Broadcasters Foundation has distributed more than $15 million dollars in aid over the past 20 years. This year, the Foundation will award approximately $1.8 million. More information about the Broadcasters Foundation, including how to make a donation or apply for aid, is available at www.broadcastersfoundation.org, 212-373-8250, or info@thebfoa.org.
(Real Name Charles Thomas Aldrich, Jr., died from lung cancer June 30, 1995) is best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy.
Gale Gordon
Gordon's first big radio break came via the recurring roles of "Mayor La Trivia" and "Foggy Williams" on Fibber McGee and Molly, before playing Rumson Bullard on the show's successful spinoff, The Great Gildersleeve.
Gordon and his character of Mayor La Trivia briefly left the show in December 1942 when Gordon enlisted in World War II and the storyline followed. He was the first actor to play the role of Flash Gordon, in the 1935 radio serial The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon. He also played Dr. Stevens in Glorious One.
In 1950, Gordon played John Granby in the radio series Granby's Green Acres, which became the basis for the 1960s television series Green Acres. Gordon went on to create the role of pompous principal Osgood Conklin on Our Miss Brooks, carrying the role to television when the show moved there in 1952. In the interim, Gordon turned up as Rudolph Atterbury on My Favorite Husband, which starred Lucille Ball in a precursor to I Love Lucy.
Jim Jewell
➦In 1906...James Jewell was born. He was a radio actor, producer and director at radio station WXYZ, Detroit, Michigan. (Died from a heart attack August 5, 1975 at age 69)
Jewell first got into radio in 1927. with a background of summer stock, vaudeville, burlesque, and even touring with a troupe of marionettes. In June 1932, George Trendle, the owner of radio station WXYZ Detroit, decided to drop network affiliation and produce his own radio programs. Jewell was hired as the dramatic director for the radio station. He supplied the actors from his own repertory company, the "Jewell Players".
Jewell was part of the station staff that worked out the original concepts for The Lone Ranger. Jewell is also credited for selecting The William Tell Overture as the theme music for the series. "Ke-mo sah-bee", Tonto's greeting to the masked Ranger, was derived from the name of a boys' camp owned by Jewell's father-in-law Charles W. Yeager. Camp Kee-Mo-Sah-Bee operated from 1911 until 1941 on Mullet Lake south of Mackinac, Michigan. After the radio show became popular, Yeager held "Lone Ranger Camps" at his camp.
Jewell produced, directed and occasionally wrote many of the early episodes for The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. He was the director for both series from their beginning up until 1938.
Jewell left WXYZ in 1938, and moved to Chicago and worked as a director-producer at WBBM (AM), the CBS radio affiliate in Chicago.
He directed Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy beginning in 1938 until the series ended in 1951. From 1951-1955, Jewell was the producer/director of The Silver Eagle, a mountie adventure which ran on ABC and starred Jim Ameche, the brother of movie star Don Ameche.
As the era of radio dramatic series came to an end, attempted to bring The Silver Eagle to television.
➦In 1914...John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly was born (Died February 24, 1991). Known as John Daly, he was a radio and television personality, CBS News broadcast journalist, ABC News executive and TV anchor and a game show host, best known as the host and moderator of the CBS television panel show What's My Line?
Daly began his broadcasting career as a reporter for NBC Radio, and then for WJSV (now WTOP), the local CBS Radio Network affiliate in Washington, D.C., serving as CBS' White House correspondent. He appears on the famous "One Day in Radio" tapes of September 21, 1939, in which WJSV preserved its entire broadcast day for posterity.
Through covering the Roosevelt White House, Daly became known to the national CBS audience as the network announcer for many of the President's speeches. In late 1941, Daly transferred to New York City, where he became anchor of The World Today. During World War II, he covered the news from London as well as the North African and Italian fronts. Daly was a war correspondent in 1943 in Italy during Gen. George S. Patton's infamous "slapping incidents". After the war, he was a lead reporter on CBS Radio's news/entertainment program CBS Is There (later known on TV as You Are There), which recreated the great events of history as if CBS correspondents were on the scene.
As a reporter for the CBS radio network, Daly was the voice of two historic announcements. He was the first national correspondent to deliver the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and he was also the first to relay the wire service report of the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, interrupting the program Wilderness Road to deliver the news. Transcriptions of those bulletins have been preserved on historical record album retrospectives and radio and television documentaries. Among the first were the Columbia Records spoken word series I Can Hear It Now and the later CBS Television series, The Twentieth Century.
In July, 1959, along with the Associated Press writer John Scali, he reported from Moscow on the famous Kitchen Debate between USSR General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev and then U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon in 1959.
➦In 1922...WGY-AM, Schenectady, NY signed-on. As early as 1912, General Electric company in Schenectady began experimenting with radio transmissions, being granted a class 2-Experimental license for 2XI on August 13, 1912 by the Commerce Department.
WGY signed on on February 20, 1922 at 7:47pm at 360 meters wavelength (about 833 kHz), with Kolin Hager at the mike, or as he was known on the air, as KH. Hager signed on with the stations call letters, explaining the W is for wireless, G for General Electric, and Y, the last letter in Schenectady.
Although these execs point out that it will be up to listeners to ultimately decide, they’re saying that they see no reason why a song that’s in the pocket musically from one of the world’s biggest superstars should be cause for a showdown instead of hoedown.
“Why wouldn’t we play this? This is a gift,” says Brian Philips, chief content officer at Cumulus Media, who oversaw a Zoom call Wednesday with programmers at the chain’s major country stations, during which he said everyone spoke enthusiastically about “Texas.”
“It was like, ‘How can we not give this a try?’ This adds a completely unforeseen, unimagined new angle to country radio. We’ll get calls, we’ll get response, and some of the old school (listeners) will probably reject it and then everybody else will love it, and that’ll be the outcome. We have 55 major country stations and it’s very hard to get them to agree on anything. But everybody at country wants to play it. We don’t have guys who are like, ‘It doesn’t fit our core sound.’ We have people who want to be part of the story and they’re all gonna do the same thing: play it and talk it up and get all the negative and all the positive out of the audience and see what the reaction is. It sounds like a really simple, catchy, hit pop-country song to me.”
Audacy’s Tim Roberts, VP of programming and country format captain, also provided a statement, saying, “We think it’s a good record, and country is so popular right now, it’s great that she wants to be here. Just like we do with any song on our playlist, now the listeners will decide.”
Syndicated radio host Charlamagne tha God on Sunday revealed that he hears blowback from the White House when he publicly criticizes President Biden, calling it the “stupidest shit ever,” The Hill is reporting.
Speaking with ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday, the “Breakfast Club” radio personality called Biden an “uninspiring candidate” and urged the commander in chief to lean more on Vice President Harris, whom he called “more charismatic.”
“Well, he’s, he’s just an uninspiring candidate, like … there’s nothing about … Joe Biden that makes you want to listen to him,” he said.
Charlamagne tha God tells @JonKarl that Joe Biden is an “uninspiring candidate" who has "no main character energy."
Biden is 81 years old, 4 years older than former President Trump, who is 77. The incumbent has faced repeated criticism for his age and doubts about his ability to carry out a second term. These concerns were thrown into the spotlight earlier this month in the midst of a special counsel report on Biden that included a harsh assessment of his memory.
When pressed on whether he gets blowback from the White House for airing his feelings on Biden publicly, Charlamagne said, “Yeah. And I think that’s the stupidest shit ever, because I think that … because I feel like you should be able to criticize whoever your elected official is, right?”
“And even [if] I do criticize them, I’m criticizing them because of what I see coming up in November. I see what we’re facing. So what I’m saying to them, ‘Where is the sense of urgency?'” he continued. “You can’t keep saying that there’s a, a threat to democracy, and democracy as we know it is going to be, be gone, but not act like it.”
Charlamagne, who rarely makes appearances on Sunday morning political shows, gave his remarks just months after he called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race, pointing to low polling numbers for the former president.
Charlamagne further dug into the the narrative set around Republican candidates, claiming GOP presidential candidates are “demonized” in every election by the Democratic Party.
KDKA 1020 AM has announced the launch of “KDKA Next Take” a brand new, local overnight show that will be hosted by students at the University of Pittsburgh.
KDKA Next Take is redefining radio and will provide news, information and talk from a different point of view, overnights, according to a posting on the station's website.
The new show will air weekdays from 1 to 5 a.m. beginning February 19.
The show will be hosted by Pitt students Margaux Rentzel, Jaime Ely and Ryan Tarabokia.
KDKA Next Take is produced by Dylan Foster. Executive Producer is KDKA Radio’s Amy Mauk.
The hosts and producer are students of Kevin Michael Smith, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Broadcast at Pitt, who has been preparing them to broadcast on the world’s first commercial radio station.
"This is a project that I have been developing for a few years and it’s ready to launch. It’s the right time and the right place with the right people.," said Vice President and Market Manager Michael Spacciapolli.
"This show will bring a fresh look at local news from the perspective of the next generation, which is so crucial in 2024 and beyond." Our commitment to local news and content never wavers and being able to add significant local content overnight through this partnership and with new perspectives is a win on every level.
Trump's empire will have to reimagine how it does business. While the $355 million New York fraud ruling against Donald Trump stands to put a serious dent in his bank account, it is the nonmonetary punishments that could be particularly painful. For the next three years, the former president is banned from serving as an executive for any New York company and from applying for loans from financial institutions registered with or chartered in New York state. The latter could have the greatest impact because most large U.S. banks are registered or have charters with New York.
WATCH: Nikki Haley says she would pardon Donald Trump for his alleged crimes if elected President.
➤GOFUNDME LAUNCHED TO HELP PAY TRUMP'S LEGAL FEES: The wife of an investor has launched a GoFundMe to help fund former President Donald Trump’s mounting legal expenses in the wake of Friday’s verdict in the New York fraud case. The GoFundMe has a goal of $355 million — the amount that Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay in penalties in a civil fraud case. As of Saturday night, the GoFundMe had already raised more than $185,000 from some 4,000 donors.
With six days to go until the crucial Republican primary in SC, former Governor Nikki Haley sharpens her attacks against former Pres. Trump as he campaigns in important swing states. @Alex_Presha reports. https://t.co/OQKXwuWKtgpic.twitter.com/XT1H85IxTY
➤UKRANIAN CITY FALLS TO RUSSIANS: Russian forces have captured their first Ukrainian city in months. Russia raised its flag over the eastern city of Avdiivka after Ukraine’s top military commander ordered his outgunned troops to withdraw this weekend. Moscow's troops had pushed rapidly into the city in recent days as Ukraine’s lack of artillery ammunition hamstrung efforts to hold the invaders back. Control over the city puts Russia closer to its strategic aim of seizing all of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Biden administration said the city's fall was the price for Congress’s failure to send Kyiv more military aid.
The Russian military has taken full control of the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, Russian state news agencies reported on Monday, after most of the town fell to Russian forces over the weekend following months of devastating combat. Russia said on Sunday it was in control of the town in the Donetsk region, but that Ukrainian units were entrenched at the plant - Ukraine's last stronghold on the northwestern edges of Avdiivka.
➤WIFE OF DEAD DISSIDENT IN BRUSSELS: The widow of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's nemesis who died in an Arctic prison last week, joins EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, days before the two-year mark of Russia's war on Ukraine. Yulia Navalnaya told a Western gathering of leaders, diplomats and other officials in Munich on Friday that Putin and his allies would bear responsibility "for what they did to our country, to my family, to my husband".
The chairman of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers' discussions on Monday, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, announced Navalnaya's visit, saying the gathering would highlight "support to freedom fighters in Russia and honour the memory of Alexei Navalny". Navalny, a 47-year-old former lawyer, rose to prominence campaigning against corruption in Putin's Russia. He was known for his fiery rhetoric at public protests and in court rooms, vocal presence on social media, and his team's elaborate video investigations into state graft.
➤U-S SENDING MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL: The U.S. plans to send weapons to Israel while at the same time pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza. The Biden administration is preparing to send bombs and other weapons, estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars, to Israel, according to current and former U.S. officials. The proposed arms delivery includes roughly a thousand each of MK-82 bombs, KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions that add precision guidance to bombs, and FMU-139 bomb fuses, the officials said. The planned weapons transfer comes as Israel prepares to launch an assault on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than one million Palestinians are sheltering from the war.
➤ATTACKS PAUSED ON U-S TROOPS: A visit by the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force to Baghdad has led to a pause in attacks on U.S. troops by Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, multiple Iranian and Iraqi sources told Reuters, saying it was a sign Tehran wants to prevent a broader conflict. Esmail Qaani met representatives of several of the armed groups in Baghdad airport on Jan. 29, less than 48 hours after Washington blamed the groups for the killing of three U.S. soldiers at the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan, the sources said.
Qaani, whose predecessor was killed by a U.S. drone near the same airport four years ago, told the factions that drawing American blood risked a heavy U.S. response, 10 of the sources said. He said the militias should lie low, to avoid U.S. strikes on their senior commanders, destruction of key infrastructure or even a direct retaliation against Iran, the sources said. While one faction did not initially agree to Qaani's request, most others did. The next day, elite Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah announced it was suspending attacks.
➤2 OFFICERS, 1 PARAMEDIC SHOT DEAD: Two police officers and a paramedic were fatally shot early Sunday while responding to a domestic abuse call in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville, and the shooter (top) has also died, authorities said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the victims were responding to a call of a "family in danger." Police were called at about 1:50 a.m. to a residence on a report of a domestic situation where a man was reportedly armed and barricaded with family members.
Two police officers and a firefighter-paramedic were shot and killed after responding to what Minnesota’s Governor says was “A call of a family in danger.” @morganorwood reports as another officer was injured, as tributes are pouring in for the fallen. https://t.co/fQbo2omS7Gpic.twitter.com/atWrwqclzr
Seven children — ranging in age from 2 to 15 — were among those in the home when police arrived, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said during a news conference Sunday afternoon. Responding officers spent "quite a bit of time" negotiating with the suspect before the suspect opened fire, Evans added.
So far this year, there have been more mass shootings than days in America. About a third of the country says that their behavior has changed because of mass shootings. pic.twitter.com/Vo4Qy9KZGR
➤500-GALLON UNDERGROUND PROPANE TANK FOUND AT VIRGINIA HOME THAT EXPLODED, KILLED A FIREFIGHTER AND INJURING OTHERS: In Sterling, Virginia, a tragic incident occurred when a 500-gallon underground propane tank exploded at a home on Friday, resulting in the death of firefighter Trevor Brown and injuries to several others. The leaking propane had entered the homes, leading to the explosion while firefighters were inside. The scene was described as "total devastation," with extensive damage and a debris field extending into the street and neighboring homes. Initially, nine firefighters were reported injured, but the count was later updated to at least 10, including two occupants of the home with minor injuries.
FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Laura Ingraham will present a town hall with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, February 20th in Greenville, South Carolina at 7 PM/ET on The Ingraham Angle.
The pre-taped one-hour event will focus on the domestic and foreign policy challenges facing America and solutions for addressing them. It will also explore the potential that a new coalition of voters will have on the presidential election and the shift in polling among minorities toward former President Trump. Additional topics will include the former president’s ongoing legal battles, the remaining primaries, his potential vice-presidential pick and other news of the day.
Taking place at The Hall @ Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in front of an audience, the town hall will include audience questions days before the South Carolina primary on February 24th.
Laura Ingraham launched The Ingraham Angle in October 2017, and since then it has been consistently the top-rated show in its time slot. In January 2024, The Ingraham Angle averaged 2.2 million viewers and 223,000 in the 25-54 demo, making it a top five program in cable news. Ingraham, a former white-collar criminal defense litigator and Supreme Court clerk, remains the most-watched nightly woman in cable news. Ingraham’s last interview with Trump took place in February 2022 and during the 2024 Republican primary cycle, she has interviewed former presidential candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Cox Media Group Atlanta has announced that Nathan Reed has been named Director of Operations/Director of Branding and Programming for WSB-FM B98.5 and WSRV 97.1 The River effective March 4.
In his new role, Reed will manage the day-to-day operations of B98.5 and 97.1 The River, while leading music programming, promotions, and commercial production for CMG Atlanta.
Reed is a nearly 30-year media veteran. His experience is rooted in a variety of formats across multiple platforms specializing in research, brand strategies, talent development and marketing. Reed previously served as the Director of Operations at CMG Tulsa, where he oversaw integrated radio and TV brands, research, and marketing. He later joined CMG Tampa in 2019 as the Director of Operations for six radio brands. His career has also seen impactful roles in Toledo, OH, and Flint, MI.
“It’s a great day to welcome Nate back to CMG,” said Jaleigh Long, Vice President/Market Manager of CMG Atlanta Radio. “Nate’s successful experience, market leadership, and passion for this great industry is a winning combination for our Atlanta music stations. Partnering with Ken Charles, 95.5 WSB Director of Branding and Programming, only strengthens our position when it comes to leading the most talented programming teams in the industry.”
“Joining CMG Atlanta’s outstanding team and award-winning brands is an honor,” said Reed. “I’m grateful to Jaleigh Long, Chris Eagan, and Rob Babin for the opportunity to create more success with the nation’s leading multi-media company.”
Christian music radio station KEEH-FM has broadcast from Spokane for 30 years, but it was a 2016 rebrand as Shine 104.9 that boosted its audience size and expansion.
The Spokesman-Review reports seven years ago, Shine sought to connect more with area nonprofits and Christian churches to share events. It took on a more local focus. Meanwhile, the station steadily climbed in ratings, as tallied by broadcast tracking company Nielsen.
For December 2023, Nielsen ranked it at No. 1 among radio stations for the Spokane metro market, the fourth time since 2019, said general manager Darin Patzer.
“We’re typically always in the top five or 10 with Nielsen, so it was kind of exciting that for the fourth time in the last five years, KEEH has hit No. 1 of all the 50-plus radio stations for this market, which is somewhat unique for a noncommercial, nonprofit Christian station – a hometown station – to hit No. 1,” Patzer said.
Two juvenile suspects have been charged in connection with Wednesday’s mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade that left one person dead and 22 others injured.
The two suspects, who are not being named due to their ages, are being held in Juvenile Detention Center on gun-related charges and resisting arrest, according to the 16th Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri’s Jackson County Family Court Division. Additional charges are expected as the investigation continues, officials said.
Moreover:
The shooting, which unfolded outside Union Station as Chiefs fans were leaving the parade and rally, appeared to stem from a dispute, police said.
It gets tiresome to have to repeat this stuff, but, if this report is correct, then we can reasonably conclude the following:
That, by definition, the suspects were not legally allowed to buy, possess, or carry handguns. A “juvenile” is a person who is not yet eighteen. Under federal law, one cannot purchase a handgun until one is 21, and one cannot “possess” a handgun until one is 18 (unless one is hunting or target shooting, neither of which apply here). In Missouri, it is illegal to “recklessly” sell, loan, or transfer any firearm to a minor without parental consent, and it is illegal to carry a firearm either openly or concealed until one is 19 (18 if a veteran or in the military).
That this was not a “mass shooting” in the way that that term is typically used, but was an argument between two illegally armed minors that turned violent. This isn’t pedantry; it matters. When determining what to do about crime, it is important to understand the nature of the crime in question. From what I can tell, the aim of the two alleged shooters was not to hurt or kill those around them; they just didn’t care if they did. That does not describe most “mass shooters.”
That the characterization of this incident as being reflective of “weak gun laws” is ridiculous. Per NPR, “city officials” in Kansas City “have their hands tied by the state of Missouri when it comes to passing meaningful gun safety laws.” But, even if that were true, what could it possibly have to do with this crime? Every single thing that happened here was already illegal. It is illegal for juveniles to possess handguns. It is illegal for them to carry those handguns. It is illegal for them to shoot at each other in a public place. What law relates to this, exactly? That isn’t rhetoric; I’d like an answer. Absent banning and confiscating all firearms, it’s difficult to see how this is preventable with legislation. There are more than half a billion privately owned firearms in the United States.
Once again, the media is exhibiting a chronic lack of imagination in its coverage of gun-related crime, which is invariably marked out by a fanatical obsession with gun-control and a total lack of interest in anything else.
➦In 1878...Inventor Thomas Alva Edison got patent for the phonograph. Edison began his career as an inventor in Newark, New Jersey, with the automatic repeater and his other improved telegraphic devices, but the invention that first gained him wider notice was the phonograph in 1877. This accomplishment was so unexpected by the public at large as to appear almost magical. Edison became known as "The Wizard of Menlo Park," New Jersey.
His first phonograph recorded on tinfoil around a grooved cylinder. Despite its limited sound quality and that the recordings could be played only a few times, the phonograph made Edison a celebrity.
Joseph Henry, president of the National Academy of Sciences and one of the most renowned electrical scientists in the US, described Edison as "the most ingenious inventor in this country... or in any other". In April 1878, Edison traveled to Washington to demonstrate the phonograph before the National Academy of Sciences, Congressmen, Senators and US President Hayes. The Washington Post described Edison as a "genius" and his presentation as "a scene... that will live in history". Although Edison obtained a patent for the phonograph in 1878, he did little to develop it until Alexander Graham Bell, Chichester Bell, and Charles Tainter produced a phonograph-like device in the 1880s that used wax-coated cardboard cylinders.
"Mary had a little lamb" were the first words that Edison recorded on the phonograph and he was amazed when he heard the machine play them back to him. In 1878, Edison established the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company to sell the new machine.
Edison 1878
Edison suggested other uses for the phonograph, such as: letter writing and dictation, phonographic books for blind people, a family record (recording family members in their own voices), music boxes and toys, clocks that announce the time, and a connection with the telephone so communications could be recorded. How many of these uses have become a reality today?
Many of the uses Edison suggested for the phonograph have become a reality, but there were others he hadn't imagined. For example, the phonograph allowed soldiers to take music off to war with them. In 1917, when the U.S. became involved in World War I, the Edison Company created a special model of the phonograph for the U.S. Army. This basic machine sold for $60. Many Army units purchased these phonographs because it meant a lot to the soldiers to have music to cheer them and remind them of home. This is an audio clip of Edison himself in which he expresses his pride in the soldiers and reminds Americans of the enormous sacrifice and contribution made by the other allied nations.
➦In 1922...Comedian, Ed Wynn became the first vaudeville star to agree to a radio contract.
In the early 1930s Wynn hosted the popular radio show The Fire Chief, heard in North America on Tuesday nights, sponsored by Texaco gasoline. Like many former vaudeville performers who turned to radio in the same decade, the stage-trained Wynn insisted on playing for a live studio audience, doing each program as an actual stage show, using visual bits to augment his written material, and in his case, wearing a colorful costume with a red fireman's helmet. He usually bounced his gags off announcer/straight man Graham McNamee; Wynn's customary opening, "Tonight, Graham, the show's gonna be different," became one of the most familiar tag-lines of its time; a sample joke: "Graham, my uncle just bought a new second-handed car... he calls it Baby! I don't know, it won't go anyplace without a rattle!"
Wynn reprised his Fire Chief radio character in two movies, Follow the Leader (1930) and The Chief (1933). Near the height of his radio fame (1933) he founded his own short-lived radio network the Amalgamated Broadcasting System, which lasted only five weeks, nearly destroying the comedian. According to radio historian Elizabeth McLeod, the failed venture left Wynn deep in debt, divorced and finally, suffering a nervous breakdown.
Wynn died June 19, 1966 in Beverly Hills, California of throat cancer, aged 79.
➦In 1935...the longtime iconic voice of the Seattle Mariners Dave Niehaus was born in Princeton Indiana. For 34 years, from the start of the franchise, he led the M’s play-by-play coverage on radio & TV. He suffered a massive heart attack and died Nov. 10, 2010 at age 75. “My oh my!!”
➦In 1981... George Harrison was ordered to pay ABKCO Music the sum of $587,000 for ‘subconscious plagiarism.’ The court found his song, “My Sweet Lord” was strikingly similar to the Chiffons early 1960s hit, “He’s So Fine.” He claimed to have used the out-of-copyright "Oh Happy Day", a Christian hymn, as his inspiration for the melody.
➦In 2007...the SIRIUS and XM Satellite Radio services announced their intention to merge.
