American Bandstand‘s Dick Clark has died, and the season of online commemorations for him has more or less receded. As a television watching toddler in the early 1960s, I never glommed onto the program. I was just a little too young, and so its huge significance as the first TV rock-and-roll show went past me. […]
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic this week, a museum in Wales is presenting an exhibit focused on amateur radio operator Artie Moore, the man who first transmitted messages about the sinking of the Titanic to local residents. At the time, his messages were met with disbelief since he […]
If you are a radio history buff like me, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s records vault website is a treasure trove of fun stuff. Over the years, the FBI has kept track of various radio celebrities (often for dubious reasons), and also monitored radio broadcasts on a regular basis. Obviously everything in these files should […]
I listen to a lot of rock and roll radio here in the San Francisco Bay Area and all over the world via my Android mobile. A lot of these stations define themselves as either “modern” or “classic” rock frequencies. But I’m starting to wonder how long the original distinction between the two genres can […]
If you are a total, gob smacked radio fan like me, you never tire of reading history books about the subject. Here are some of my faves: Anthony Rudell’s Hello everybody! The Dawn of American Radio is a wonderful introduction not only to the beginnings of American radio, but to the culture of the 1920s […]
Thanksgiving is upon us again. Don’t forget that part of the holiday is listening to our great leaders pontificate about turkeys on the radio. Here’s a historic YouTube video of President Ronald Reagan explaining via a 1986 Thanksgiving radio broadcast why he blocked a jobs program proposed by Congress. “A five point four billion dollar […]
Beer advertising is certainly a staple of any radio station aiming at a mostly male demographic, and beer companies sponsor many concerts and radio events. But how many stations actually have their own beer? I was sitting in a nice Chicago tavern that features vintage beer cans displayed on a shelf circling the room. I […]
Apparently you can’t repeal the Fairness Doctrine too many times over at the Federal Communications Commission. Today FCC Chair Julius Genachowski announced that the policy, which the agency dumped in the 1980s, needs to be scotched yet again. An “unnecessary distriction,” Genachowski called the Fairness Doctrine, which “holds the potential to chill free speech and […]
Sirius XM has announced a new music channel: Studio 54 Radio, described as a 24/7 commercial free tribute to the legendary club of the disco era. "The channel will air music that comes from the vaults and special record collections of insiders, much of which has never been heard since the club’s doors shut," the […]
I am reading John W. Dower’s wonderful book, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. One of the tome’s many virtues is that it reminds us how crucial radio was to Japan’s reconstruction process. Close to three million people were dead and many Japanese cities almost completely destroyed when Emperor Hirohito went […]
