Here's a link to some old time radio "personalities"....I remember my folks loving Kaltenborn for the "good News tonight" comment....
Old Time Radio History
hd-radio-home.com
1931
While radio emerged in the 1920s, many would agree that a good starting point for the “golden age” of radio might well be 1931 when the magazine, Broadcasting first appeared. At that time, there were 608 radio stations broadcasting in the U.S. The 1930 Census reported that 12 million of the country's 30 million homes owned at least one radio.
One newspaper poll held in late 1931 showed that Guy Lombardo and Paul Whiteman had the most popular dance orchestras. Winners in the vocalist category included Rudy Vallee, Kate Smith, and a new singer who had made his debut over CBS in September-- Bing Crosby.
Radio Digest named the Mills Brothers “the vocal find of 1931.” H.V. Kaltenborn and Lowell Thomas were the two great radio news commentators. Female vocalists who were popular in 1931 included Jessica Dragonnette, Vaughn, DeLeath and the Boswell Sisters.
Among the male vocalists, one of the most popular was comedian and vaudeville star Eddie Cantor who began doing a show for NBC in 1931, Radio dramas were becoming popular. Sherlock Holmes was portrayed by Richard Gordon and, for kids, there was “Little Orphan Annie.” “Amos and Andy” was popular but beginning to face criticism from the black community.
If you had the money, a new car in 1931 cost $700 and a gallon of gas was 10 cents. But for most Americans trapped in the horrendous Great Depression, their only escape was their favorite radio stations and programs.
1934
1934 is when President Franklin D. Roosevelt began his famous fireside chats – and became the first “Radio President.” Americans were turning to radio to hear their favorite music, songs like "I Get a Kick Out of You", "Blue Moon", "I Only Have Eyes for You", and "Santa Claus is Coming To Town."
The program, Amos & Andy” was still popular. A new network, Mutual Broadcasting, was founded in the summer of 1934. Mutual would become famous for such shows as "The Lone Ranger."
1939
By 1939,there were 44 million radios in the U.S. One up and coming vocalist was named Dinah Shore and Dennis Day was getting good reviews for his work on the “Jack Benny Show.” Many American families had a copy of White's Radio Log near their radio so they could check out distant stations – during late night listening – when it was possible to pull in broadcasts from hundreds of miles away.
There were a number of dramas and soap operas available to listeners, including "The Aldrich Family" and "The Guiding Light." Reporters like H.V. Kaltenborn and Edward R. Murrow knew what was happening with the war in Europe and tried to keep the listeners informed.
1941
The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred in 1941 and was followed the next day by President Roosevelt's declaration of war against Japan. Events in Europe were looking worse and worse and Americans were tuning in their radios to hear about the latest developments. Gabriel Heatter, Wythe Williams, and Boake Carter were on the Mutual Broadcasting Network. Lowell Thomas and Walter Winchell;s commentaries could be heard on NBC and Edward R. Murrow was broadcasting from Europe on CBS.
The radio networks provided special daily newscasts summarizing the events of the day. On a lighter side, there was a wide variety of music on the air. For country music lovers there was Gene Autry's "Melody Ranch" and, of course "The Grand Old Opry." This was also close to the hay-day of big band swing music with hits from the Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Eddie Duchin and Xavier Cugat orchestras. Among the most popular female vocalists were the Andrews Sisters.
Comedy and variety programs were also well represented in 1941. "The Texaco Star Theater" featured Fred Allen and Kate Smith had her own program on CBS. For drama fans there were programs like "Gang Busters" and "Sherlock Holmes." Jack Benny celebrated 10 years on the radio and William Boyd introduced the nation to "Hopalong Cassidy."
1945
Americans spent most of 1945 coping with the war and rationing. It was virtually impossible to buy a new car since the auto manufacturers had shut down their production of cars to build war material. Magazine publishing was restricted due to a paper shortage and even newspapers were asked to conserve.
Radio Mirror had added the word "television" to its title, but it was still mostly about radio stars and celebrity gossip.
In January, Glenn Miller's plane disappeared on a flight from England to Paris. While the attention of most Americans was consumed by the war, there was always new songs to help relieve the spirits. Frank Sinatra starred on the "Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show" on NBC, the Andrews Sisters had a big hit with “Rum & Coca Cola,” band leader Les Brown had two hits, and Stan Kenton had a huge hit with Tampico.”
Americans continued to rely on the radio for both drama and entertainment. In April of 1945, "Queen for a Day,” debuted and, a few years later, became a popular TV show. The detective shows “Milo Vance,” “Hercule Poirot" and “This is Your FBI” also began that year. Late in October, an important news show began, “Meet the Press.”
“Fibber McGee and Molly, and the "Bob Hope Show" continued to get good ratings. Eddie Cantor had a program and the Jack Benny Show had Mel Blanc doing character voices, Mary Livingstone and the very popular Rochester. In April, Arthur Godfrey got his own network show in CBS.
1947
1947 was the second year of the post-war Baby Boom. It is also thought by many to be the last year of the golden age of radio as it was the last year that radio would lack meaningful competition. Television was available in a few cities and would soon saturate the U.S. But radio was still king. In fact, more than 400 new stations went on the air that year.
If you were a baseball fan in 1947, you were most likely listening to the games on radio. There were great announcers such as Red Barber, who broadcast games for the Dodgers and Mel Allen who called games for the Yankees.
There were a good many hit songs that year. Artists who had number one songs that year included Francis Craig with “Near You,” the Harmonicats with “Peg of My Heart,” Ted Weems with “Heartaches,” Buddy Clark's “Linda,” and Arthur Godfrey's novelty hit, “Too Fat Polka.”
While 1947 may have been the beginning of the end for radio, a few new radio shows did debut. The most notable of these was probably Groucho Marx with "You Bet Your Life." There was also "My Friend Irma," starring Marie Wilson, and the crime drama "The Big Story." And the "Adventures of Philip Marlowe" began as a summer replacement in 1947 on NBC, with Van Heflin. “Lassie” was a big hit with the juvenile audience but the stars of children's shows were already beginnings to migrate to TV.
Sadly enough for radio, most Americans in 1947 were buying new cars, moving to the suburbs or having another kid. The era of staring in front of the TV – where imagination was not required -- was about to begin.
NOTE
Information contained in this short history of old time radio is courtesy of Donna L. Helper, Broadcast Historian, Emerson College. |
