Radio in the 1920s

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  • Опубликовано: 5 янв 2021
  • This is a re-upload.
    Radio matured quickly in the 1920s, and by the end of the decade, seemed to be the future of entertainment alongside talkies. Here, I'm going to go talk about what radio was like in the '20s.
    Note: I decided to re-upload this video to correct some important information and fix the bad audio.

Комментарии • 226

  • @susanpage8315
    @susanpage8315 Год назад +12

    My dad played his harmonica on a Toronto radio station in 1926 when he was 6 yrs old. He was so short they had to hold him up to reach the microphone!

  • @My1925World
    @My1925World 3 года назад +107

    Great video. I collect and restore old radio sets from the 1920's to the 1940's. Listening to an old radio is a great way to connect with a decade. You're hearing and looking at the same radio someone did 80, 90 or 95 years ago. Thanks for the video, it may help someone get bit by the radio history bug.

    • @angelinasamson6996
      @angelinasamson6996 2 года назад

      ❤️❤️❤️

    • @sharonrynne2242
      @sharonrynne2242 2 года назад +1

      Love the horns

    • @seanstipsky9473
      @seanstipsky9473 2 года назад +3

      I'm looking for an old radio to replace one that I lost to my ex years ago. Do you sell restored radios? Ebay, or web site?

    • @My1925World
      @My1925World 2 года назад +3

      No sorry, I don't sell the radios I work on. This is just a hobby for me, I have no formal electrical training. I would hate for a radio to catch on fire or hurt anyone.

    • @My1925World
      @My1925World 2 года назад +4

      No Sorry I don't sell the radios I work on. This is just a hobby for me. I have no formal electrical training and would hate for one of my radios to hurt anyone or cause a fire.

  • @auletjohnast03638
    @auletjohnast03638 3 года назад +12

    I WISH I COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND MEET LOUISE BROOKS.

  • @The1920sChannel
    @The1920sChannel  3 года назад +67

    Ok, so there's one correction I need to make. At 1:14 I said that the first commercial radio broadcast on made by the KDKA station, but this is an often-repeated myth. There were at least 2 other stations making regularly-scheduled broadcasts to relatively large numbers of people before that time. So while the KDKA broadcast was a notable example of early commercial radio, it was not actually the first. This is a fact I will bring up again later in a future video, so don't forget it!

    • @lucasmembrane4763
      @lucasmembrane4763 3 года назад +3

      Simon Winchester, in his book, _The_Men_Who_United_The_States_, wrote that there was a small local, but commercial, AM broadcast station operating in San Francisco, CA, a few hours per day for several years before WWI, starting around 1913 or so, IIRC. He said that it was the first commercial station. Do you agree?

    • @The1920sChannel
      @The1920sChannel  3 года назад +7

      @@lucasmembrane4763 Well I don’t know too many details about this myself, but I will talk more about it more in a future video. I know someone who is an expert on early radio that I will ask before I make it.

    • @lucasmembrane4763
      @lucasmembrane4763 3 года назад +5

      @@The1920sChannel Well, it was before the 1920's, thus outside your job description, so don't worry about it. What you do is very fine. Thanks much. I believe Winchester explained how those pre-WWI AM stations worked -- by putting the microphone, presumably a carbon microphone like was in old telephones, into
      the antenna circuit. That would mean that with even a paltry 100 watts or so of power, the microphone would get about as hot as an incandescent light bulb, so the audience would also be pretty paltry to negligible.

    • @CJ-uo5cl
      @CJ-uo5cl 3 года назад

      We are looking for recordings of Negro League broadcasts from 1942. Especially the first one i think in Baltimore Aug 7 or 9, 1942. Any leads you know of?

    • @Me97202
      @Me97202 2 года назад

      @@lucasmembrane4763 Wasn’t that KQV in San Jose? Which later became KCBS in San Francisco.

  • @WeirdDarknessOfficial
    @WeirdDarknessOfficial 3 года назад +35

    As someone who has been in radio full-time since 1990... THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

  • @TheMummyAndTheMonkey
    @TheMummyAndTheMonkey 3 года назад +32

    Just like today, the main reason to broadcast is to advertise. Some things never change. Great videos!

    • @alvincash3230
      @alvincash3230 3 года назад +1

      When my children were young, I explained to them that radio & tv programs exist to attract an audience to the commercials.
      Knowing that gives a whole different perspective to entertainment.

    • @johnt8441
      @johnt8441 3 года назад

      It's either have ads or pay for a license to listen as they do in the United Kingdom.

    • @rebeccaservais8115
      @rebeccaservais8115 3 года назад +1

      @@johnt8441 we don't have to pay to listen to radio, but we do pay to watch TV

    • @sifridbassoon
      @sifridbassoon Год назад

      those damn capitalists, wanting to make money

  • @caspence56
    @caspence56 3 года назад +8

    I love the 1920's and OTR. Your videos combined the best of both worlds. Thank-you!

  • @1920sman
    @1920sman 3 года назад +16

    A great and enjoyable video about American Radio in the 1920s. I especially like your use of real '20s music. However, there was also a huge amount of radio broadcasting elsewhere in the world. It is a shame this video assumes that America is the only place anything ever happened in the 1920s and a simple statement or addition of the word American to the title would help to eliminate the impression of American bias or arrogance.
    Unlike in the cinema, where American film had come to dominate the world cinemas, radio was very successful in other countries and often followed a quite different model to the American commercial model. Programming was often quite varied and interesting from the onset, with regular news, sports, weather reports and forecasts, drama, religion, children's shows, gardening, cooking and other interest shows as well as music. Many of these developments would influence the direction American radio would take and many of the firsts happened elsewhere in the world with American radio stations making overseas innovations their own. Music on radio - at least here in New Zealand, could include the full spectrum of what was played at the time, from serious symphonic music and opera to light classical and salon music, from banjo, mandolin and guitar orchestras to brass bands and choirs, from selections from the latest musical hall acts and musicals, to the latest in popular dance music.
    Here in New Zealand the first regular broadcasts started in Dunedin in 1921. Within a year all the major cities had radio stations although the number of listeners would remain small until the end of 1923. Broadcasting was regular but not always daily. The number of people listening in increased substantially after the introduction of more affordable loud speakers and because most radio sets were battery operated in the early '20s, the availability of batteries in some places also influenced who would spend up on a radio set - w3hich would be virtually useless without. By 1924 there were stations in most large towns and in the bigger cities the radio stations often had their own house orchestras and dance bands. They'd feature a large quantity of live local performers, both from the studio and broadcast live from concert halls and night clubs as well as the occaisional gramophone record. The news broadcast in the 1920s in NZ was mostly compiled and edited by secretaries, from cuttings out of the local newspapers and it wouldn't be until about mid 1929 that stations here started employing radio journalists rather than just relying on new readers reading editing newpaper articles. Our stations here were a combination of private and government controlled stations until 1935 when the Labour Government nationalised all the private stations. Private stations of this era were often run as a side line by local business - such as books shops, music shops and similar. The private stations were partially commercial - featured advertisements, but shows tended not to be sponsored in the way they were in the US. The government run stations followed a similar model to the BBC of the same era with no advertising or commercial interests. Many of the private stations would continue to feature advertising after nationalisation.
    Some really important points about American radio that you've missed out on would be a mention of Coon Sanders Nighthawks and their fan club the Nighthawks club. This was band and its broadcasts were a huge development and sensation at the time and set the scene

    • @ingridfong-daley5899
      @ingridfong-daley5899 3 года назад +5

      @1920sman This was a fascinating comment... As interesting/educational/informative as the video itself; almost like a 'complete picture' if you put the two together.
      Thank you for your time and thought. I very much enjoyed reading this!

  • @jasonz9902
    @jasonz9902 3 года назад +12

    Awesome stuff, really excellent. Very well presented. Impressive.

  • @RandomRetr0
    @RandomRetr0 2 года назад +4

    You do such wonderful videos!

  • @willardtaylor6249
    @willardtaylor6249 Год назад +3

    Very interesting video. I have enjoyed having a 1925 Atwater Kent Model 20 which has been working since 1982 when I built a power supply from a kit to replace the batteries. It is interesting to note that scientists were also experimenting with television in the 1920’s. The January 1925 issue of National Geographic, in an article on astronomy, mentions experiments with “radio movies “, which today we know as television. According to the article, scientists were predicting that the public would be able to watch the 1929 presidential inauguration in the comfort of their home. As it turned out, television was first demonstrated at the 1939 Worlds Fair and became available to the public after World War II. That same issue of National Geographic advertises my 1925 Atwater Kent.

  • @thetooginator153
    @thetooginator153 2 года назад +4

    I think you are doing a good job of conveying the zeitgeist of the 1920’s, and there is no end of relevant material. I bet people were more amazed at radio than they were at the advent of the internet. I guess we have become used to what SHOULD be amazing innovation. Just as no one in 1870 could imagine radio, no one in 1970 could imagine powerful computers the size of a tiny notebook, that was a phone, but barely used as one.

  • @djhrecordhound4391
    @djhrecordhound4391 3 года назад +8

    This was my first video of yours, and certainly not my last, because I enjoyed this. I'm a lifelong comedy-fan-and-history buff, as well as record collector, so I think this is very well done. The rest is long, and it's just me geeking out immediately after watching... (EDIT: I looked through yer list, so most of what I wrote seems redundant, but I'll leave it anyway...)
    You may have a 'part 2' if you connect records (with recording history) to radio, especially a direct connection to how Amos & Andy became popular. In late '27 into '28, a series of 78s called The Two Black Crows (Parts 1 through several) came out on Columbia Records. Comedians George Moran and Charles Mack were already Vaudeville stars, and developed what became the radio show's famous catchphrases. The Amos & Andy show was directly lifted from Moran & Mack's act. I have parts 1 through 8, with the 'part 7/8' record autographed by both.
    The 1920s radio shows were indeed live, although when recording went electric, huge developments were made in all media involving sound by mid-decade. Vitaphone's new theater system used a then-ridiculously-slow record speed of 33&1/3 (with "telephone-inspired amplification", and running on the same motor for record and film) to reliably match audio and film, soon to be adopted by the Warner Brothers film studio. Many shows stayed live for decades, though the "transcription disc" (at that new, weird, slow speed) was obviously used in the 20s as well, which is why those very few examples of 20s-era radio survive.
    All the best to you, I'm off to check yer channel out!

  • @DeeDragoon
    @DeeDragoon 3 года назад +15

    Excellent; thanks for making and posting this interesting and historically informative video!

  • @anitarichmond8930
    @anitarichmond8930 3 года назад +4

    I am just thrilled with this video , as a kid our picture tube went out on our television so when I got home from school and went to watch my favorite shows such as My Three Sons I would listen to the shows as if they were radio program, of course now on RUclips I enjoy listening to the old-time radio shows such as Suspense, Johnny Dollar,Etc. I also love black and white movies.

  • @robertc.johnson310
    @robertc.johnson310 2 года назад +2

    The 1920's Channel,
    I take my hat off to the Narrator and his most informative video. His narration is Excellent and his vocal too. Keep up the good work and channel too.
    RCJ/LEO

  • @terryhoknescomicbookshisto6482
    @terryhoknescomicbookshisto6482 2 года назад +1

    love your shows - im currently indexing newspaper articles from the 1920s and have been collecting every local radio ad from the entire decade in Saskatoon SK Canada

  • @osborn.illustration
    @osborn.illustration 2 года назад +3

    Great video about an often overlooked time period!

  • @johnnyjames7139
    @johnnyjames7139 3 года назад +2

    The first radio broadcast from a remote location took place Sunday evening November 19, 1922 when Roxy Rothafel narrated the evenings performance at the Capitol Theatre, New Your City from the wings of the stage over WEAF.

  • @davidbaise5137
    @davidbaise5137 2 года назад +8

    “In an age that has nothing to say, the loudspeaker has been invented.” - George B. Shaw.

  • @klyvemurray
    @klyvemurray 3 года назад +6

    Nice episode...I'm really digging your channel & content...Many thanks my friend

  • @yankrizzuto6760
    @yankrizzuto6760 11 месяцев назад +1

    “I don’t hold with furniture that talks” - Fred Allen Show

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 10 месяцев назад

      Fred Allen also allegedly said “The reason TV is called a medium is that it’s neither rare nor well done.”

  • @Thecorgially
    @Thecorgially 10 месяцев назад

    A classmate of mine from the 1960's was a ham operator and spent all his adult life in that venue.

  • @sandydegener6436
    @sandydegener6436 3 года назад +8

    "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea!"

    • @stevesloan7132
      @stevesloan7132 3 года назад +2

      The opening line from Walter Winchel's News broadcast!

    • @sandydegener6436
      @sandydegener6436 3 года назад +1

      @@stevesloan7132, Holy Moly, SOMEBODY knows his American Pop Culture!

    • @stevesloan7132
      @stevesloan7132 3 года назад +1

      @@sandydegener6436 My grandparents were young people in the 20s and 30s. So was one of my neighbors. I heard a lot about Walter and other radio personalities. I even heard 78 rpm records of his old broadcasts a few times as a boy. They began with the beeping sound of morse code which was unforgettable.

    • @sandydegener6436
      @sandydegener6436 3 года назад

      @@stevesloan7132, legend has it that Walter went on the air with a full bladder, which is what allowed him to attain his vocal speed!

  • @thelifemasterclass8465
    @thelifemasterclass8465 Год назад +1

    Really great show. Thanks!

  • @robertnjax1
    @robertnjax1 Год назад +1

    Great show - appreciate the info!

  • @TheKoolbraider
    @TheKoolbraider Год назад

    Rudy Vallee sang the college shool song for the University of Maine. We still love it.

  • @feralbluee
    @feralbluee 11 месяцев назад

    Great vid!! thanks.
    but hey! we had TV in the ‘5O’s and the shows were terrific and innovative Sid Caesar, Omnibus - BUT! we still listened to the radio. all those great shows and soap operas - i loved them. i remember listening when i was 10 and 11 in the very late 1950’s. so it took a while to fade away. and after the shows like ‘The Shadow’ and ‘Gunsmoke’ went away, we still had the music stations. AM and FM, which was a big deal. DJ’s became part of our lives way into the ‘70’s like Cousin Brucie and Wolfman Jack. there were big personality morning shows, The Arthur Godfry Show, Art Linkletter, and the very incredible story teller Jean Shepard, (who wrote The Christmas Story - “You’re gonna shoot your eye out kid.” and the famous lady leg lamp). really one of the best films ever!
    anyway, it took a long time before radio lost its magic.
    and now we listen to audiobooks, music and stuff on RUclips and podcasts, iTunes and Spotify. Listening and letting your imagination free is still with us. :) ⚡️💿🌷🌱
    i really miss CBS, NBC, snd ABC plus the local TV stations. great kid shows.
    Thanks for this vid - really brought memories and it was interestingly interesting. LOL 🌷🌱
    you should have mentioned “and here’s the President, Hoobert Heever. poor Harry vonZel. lol

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 10 месяцев назад

      The last great network radio show was Monitor (begin in 1955 and end in 1974 on NBC)

  • @mistergrandpasbakery9941
    @mistergrandpasbakery9941 3 года назад +3

    This is a great video! Bravo!! 👏

  • @jeaniechowdury576
    @jeaniechowdury576 3 года назад +3

    Thank you - i always wanted to know about this!!!!!
    I love your channel & everyone should be watching it!!!!!!!
    ☮️❤️

  • @rosieposie6322
    @rosieposie6322 3 года назад +15

    Can you cover some of the social aspects; like weird things(by modern standards) that were normal back then? I am interested in the social environment of the 1920’s.

  • @justsumguy2u
    @justsumguy2u 3 года назад +5

    I'm not really into the broadcasting at the time, but rather the radios themselves (I restore them). Although I don't have any from the 20's, my oldest is from 1932

    • @singlesideman
      @singlesideman 3 года назад +2

      I used to have several radios from the twenties. I miss them. Beautiful devices... One of my later ones was a 1928 RCA Radiola 60 with the Radiola 103 tapestry speaker - absolutely gorgeous, and one of the very first superheterodyne radio sets ever. It was in magnificent condition and it worked beautifully.

    • @susanpage8315
      @susanpage8315 Год назад +2

      I have a floor model Crosley from 1947. Beautiful piece.

  • @scottlarson1548
    @scottlarson1548 2 года назад +2

    I feel that the importance of radio in unifying the U.S. is often overlooked in history. For the first time everyone in an entire country, even a huge one like the U.S., could hear the same thing at the same time. News now happened almost instantly, music and entertainment could happen nationally, and it led to more national brands of products. Some books say this didn't happen until television but it seems like television was more an enhancement of what radio had already created.

    • @michelmotta4339
      @michelmotta4339 11 месяцев назад

      Aqui no Brazil foi a mesma história. O radio unificou o País.

  • @cherchezlavache4373
    @cherchezlavache4373 3 года назад +5

    👍🏻🥂 From the Rudy Vallee Fan Club!

  • @gary-pietz4147
    @gary-pietz4147 Год назад

    Radio signals were developed in the late 19th century, but audio modulation wasn't embedded until 1920 by an inventor engineer in Pittsburgh.

  • @alexandertroup851
    @alexandertroup851 3 года назад +4

    Great story shows how the electronic age began and the end of the Victorian age by 1916 1919 as radio made it when movies came to life then radio is used again to make movies talk by 1929.....thanks.

  • @katheryneclayton3379
    @katheryneclayton3379 2 года назад +1

    Fantastic stuff!!!! Well done!!!!

  • @jackmeeellleee4896
    @jackmeeellleee4896 8 месяцев назад

    this seems like a good channel, I am a first time viewer....I will try other videos on this channel...thanks for your efforts

  • @thegreenman7
    @thegreenman7 Год назад

    Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!!!

  • @kyleoshields3088
    @kyleoshields3088 3 года назад +4

    "...had it's roots in an earlier show called Sam and Henry, which began in January 1926 on the Chicago network WGN, owned by the Chicago Tribune newspaper." WGN, by the way, stands for World's Greatest Newspaper.

    • @ingridfong-daley5899
      @ingridfong-daley5899 3 года назад +2

      @KyleO'Shields Ahaha--i was just wondering about them/their call letters yesterday.
      I feel like you just dropped the answer straight out of the sky to me! :) thanks for that!

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 2 года назад +1

      @@ingridfong-daley5899 WLS Chicago stood for Worlds Largest Store. WLS was originally owned by Sears. WMAQ was owned by the Chicago Daily News. WMAQ stood for We Must Ask Questions. WOC Davenport Iowa was owned by the Palmer Family and stood for World Of Chiropractic

  • @PatrickRosenbalm
    @PatrickRosenbalm 3 года назад +2

    Pretty good video on radio! ;-) Tesla vs Marconi... I guess that depends on what you read. I say they both did. First to patent isn't always first to invent or discover. That old equipment is super rare now. I'm 56 and I grew up in a house of Ham radio operators. The changes I've seen in my life with radio.. I Wonder how many people realize their smartphone has several radios in it? One to talk to the cell tower, one for WiFi, one for Bluetooth, one for NFC and one to receive GPS. Maybe even more than that. One thing you pointed out that hasn't changed. Advertising.
    Looking forward to the next video!! 73s from KC4BGA

  • @sunnybeaches1331
    @sunnybeaches1331 Год назад

    Great channel!

  • @jimbressler1563
    @jimbressler1563 3 года назад +1

    A great time in history, thanks

  • @williamporter3806
    @williamporter3806 3 года назад +2

    I love you channel and have subscribed! You mentioned Old Time Radio, I'd also like to suggest RadioDismuke that broadcasts 1920s-1930s music.

  • @WmGood
    @WmGood 2 года назад

    When radio became a widely accepted and available medium, many in the newspaper businesses feared it would replace them. Well, radio actually stimulated newspaper sales and the advertising revenues. Many newspapers bought their own stations. Then came post WWII and television and again there was concern that TV would replace radio entirely. And it did cause a major shift in radio formats but thanks to the automobile manufacturers there are more radio stations in operation today than ever before. People in cars need radios to get the news and local information such as weather and sports. And let's not forget about pure audio entertainment of all types of music. As people began to spend more time driving, the demand for radio got even broader. You can't really watch TV or read a paper while driving so listening is the next best thing. Now we have newer mediums of entertainment and who can predict what that's going to lead to. Personally I listen to old time radio plays on thumb drive plugged into my car radio. Especially when I have to take a long trip.

  • @Norannmcguire
    @Norannmcguire 3 года назад +1

    Smiles are beautiful

  • @garyfrancis6193
    @garyfrancis6193 3 года назад +4

    Guglielmo which is the Italian equivalent of “William” is pronounced /goo-lee-el-mo/. In Italian “gli” is pronounced as /lee/ with a silent “g” which is a diachronic aphthong as “gh” is in words like light, night, tight. We have silent “g’s” in words like sign, gnat, gnome, align. Silent “K” in knight, know, knot and silent “W” in answer or sword. Other languages are no different.

    • @singlesideman
      @singlesideman 3 года назад +2

      In fact, it's even closer to "Ghoul YELL moe" in pronunciation.

  • @garymattscheck9066
    @garymattscheck9066 Год назад

    I saw a Cygnet horn in one of the photos being used for a loudspeaker.

  • @davekanegis8070
    @davekanegis8070 Год назад +1

    Thanks. Very interesting

  • @manuelkong10
    @manuelkong10 11 месяцев назад

    Excellent video

  • @tinkerwithstuff
    @tinkerwithstuff 11 месяцев назад

    From what I read, the patent wa latr changed to state Tesla as the first - Marconi was using things from several of Teslas earlier parents, after all, without asking, and it is known that he has seen those patents.

  • @singlesideman
    @singlesideman 3 года назад +1

    I find it really interesting that your understanding of 1920's radio is essentially the programming from the period (as evidenced by the ending of the video where you refer those "who are interested in vintage radio" to a site that contains examples of radio broadcasts of the period), rather than the actual devices of the period, radio transmitters and especially receivers, and related accessories. To me it's all of it, with more of an emphasis on the devices of the period. I collected radios from the 1920's, but I don't think that I had a single recording of a radio broadcast from that time. I did have many records, though, and still do. Go figure...

  • @jongalt9038
    @jongalt9038 3 года назад +1

    Great topic!!! I have radios but finding suitable channels is tough!!!

  • @glorbohoh7864
    @glorbohoh7864 2 года назад +1

    The author is in error with regards to who first filed for wireless patents. Nikola Tesla was the first to file and received a number of fundamental patents with regards to the transmission and reception of what we now call radio signals. Furthermore; Tesla gave the first public demonstration of radio transmission and reception in a lecture in St. Louis MO on the evening of March 8th 1893. In the end the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's claims and struck down the Marconi patents in July of 1943 but sadly Tesla had passed away in January of that year.

  • @samjohnson3431
    @samjohnson3431 3 года назад

    EXCELLENT PRODUCTION>

  • @alandesouzacruz5124
    @alandesouzacruz5124 3 года назад +1

    Thanks my brother

  • @williampalenik7306
    @williampalenik7306 Год назад

    Yep I heard that KDKA in Pittsburgh was the first or one of the first stations on radio air waves

  • @jayrogers8255
    @jayrogers8255 10 месяцев назад

    Radio was revolutionary, TV is evolutionary.

  • @romanivanovich6717
    @romanivanovich6717 3 года назад +1

    and in 2020 in a hundred years the whole world is in the palm of your hand in little computer )

  • @marypalmer00
    @marypalmer00 Год назад

    _Invisible airwaves crackle with life_
    _Bright antenna bristle with the energy_
    _Emotional feedback on timeless wavelength_
    _Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free_

  • @michaelmcgee8543
    @michaelmcgee8543 Год назад

    Enjoyed!

  • @mauriceupton1474
    @mauriceupton1474 3 года назад

    15 June 1920...Dame Nellie Melba ( Helen Porter Mitchell) was the first person & Australian to be heard broadcasting her singing via Marconi works factory in Chelmsford.
    She features on the Aussie $100 note.
    Auckland New Zealand.
    ZL1MPU

  • @colemaster6668
    @colemaster6668 2 года назад

    You saved my life. I have a speech about this subject🙏🙏🙏 tyyyy

  • @jeaniechowdhury6739
    @jeaniechowdhury6739 3 года назад

    Thank you!!

  • @Jlevin1955
    @Jlevin1955 Год назад

    Very interesting!

  • @antonnym214
    @antonnym214 2 года назад +1

    You can pay cash for a radio, but you still have to charge the battery. 😃

  • @uslines
    @uslines 3 года назад

    Well done!

  • @dontaylor7315
    @dontaylor7315 2 года назад +1

    It's been decades since I heard an article about early radio (probably on some NPR show) so I may not be remembering correctly, but I think it said ALL radio was once public radio (like the channels now found on the left end of the FM dial) supported voluntarily by community donations just because people wanted to keep their local stations on the air. I assume that was before radio went full-bore commercial.
    About the original Amos 'n' Andy: I knew they were white men speaking white America's idea of a black dialect, but I had no inkling that the theme music came from Birth of a Nation - that's creepy! Btw I think a lot of people don't realize the "silent" movies of the 1920s weren't really silent. Soundtracks hadn't been invented yet but films were accompanied by music scores played by orchestras in the large theaters and by an organ or piano in the smaller ones. Charlie Chaplin composed his own scores in the 20s and continued to do so after sound recording became part of the films themselves.

  • @stischer47
    @stischer47 Год назад

    One of the first radio stations here in San Antonio, WOAI (one of the few radio station west of the Mississippi that began with a W), was primarily a station for news and agriculture (weather, prices at the stockyards, shipping). Thus its call letters: WOAI - World Of Agricultural Information. It was primarily that even into the 60s.

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 11 месяцев назад

      Another station west of the Mississippi was WOC Davenport Iowa WOC meant World Of Chiropractic since the Palmer School of Chiropractic owned the station. Now it means With Our Compliments. At least that’s what a plaque in their building lobby says.

  • @Michael-hb4wc
    @Michael-hb4wc 3 года назад

    I was just thinking about how nice your voice is, then I read how bad it is.
    I like it.

  • @maryrafuse3851
    @maryrafuse3851 Год назад

    Spark wireless and Radio are very different things. The first Radio Broadcast, the very first, is properly credited to a Canadian Citizen living and working in America. Prof Reginald A. Fessenden broadcast a program of live music and talk Christmas Eve 1906 from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. His signal was picked up by wireless telegraphy operators nearby and at a considerable distance. Like so many inventions Radio Broadcasting originated in North America.

  • @RK-rj2sc
    @RK-rj2sc Год назад

    Cool insight 👄👄😊👍👍

  • @jimmyflanagan5938
    @jimmyflanagan5938 Год назад

    Two most influential decades of the 20th century was the 20s and 60s

  • @butthetruth
    @butthetruth 2 года назад

    That makes the station - which became CFCF in 1922 - the first in Canada, and possibly the first in the world. “The Americans will say they had the first,” said Dufour.

  • @karenhargis9824
    @karenhargis9824 Год назад

    I want to go there.

  • @detroitjack0325
    @detroitjack0325 3 года назад +3

    I always thought Detroit (WWJ), made the first radio broadcast on August 31, 1920.

    • @The1920sChannel
      @The1920sChannel  3 года назад +1

      You are absolutely right. Well, it's kind of hard to say who was truly the first, but the WWJ station did, in fact, begin broadcasting before KDKA, so they may very well be. I should have changed that information when I re-uploaded this video. but I was focusing too much on other corrections. The KDKA claim is a common myth. Another person also pointed this out to me, so I made a correction in the pinned comment at the top of this page of this video. Props to you, sir!

    • @detroitjack0325
      @detroitjack0325 3 года назад +3

      @@The1920sChannel The information I have read about on who was the first, WWJ or KDKA is WWJ did make the first radio broadcast on August 31, 1920 but without a license. KDKA on the other hand, made their initial
      broadcast the following October (1920) but with a license to broadcast. This is why there has been controversy over the years on which radio station made the first radio broadcast;. WWJ or KDKA.

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 11 месяцев назад

      @@detroitjack0325I think I read that WOC Davenport is the 3rd oldest continuously broadcast radio station in the country.

  • @patrickdees5256
    @patrickdees5256 3 года назад +5

    What's funny, while watching this, all I could hear was, "tv killed the radio star".

    • @jongalt9038
      @jongalt9038 3 года назад +2

      The Buggles!!! Great comment!!!

    • @patrickdees5256
      @patrickdees5256 3 года назад

      @@jongalt9038 thanks.

    • @PatrickRosenbalm
      @PatrickRosenbalm 3 года назад +2

      Video Killed the Radio Star ;-)

    • @singlesideman
      @singlesideman 3 года назад

      Yes, video not TV. Trevor Horn is a God. I absolutely adore his work. Incredible. Genius. His arranging and production of 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome' by Frankie Goes To Hollywood is still mind boggling - or is that mind BUGGLING? Just brilliant, and absolutely gorgeous. Extremely impressive.

    • @garymattscheck9066
      @garymattscheck9066 Год назад +1

      Radio made quite a dent in the phonograph business.Thomas Edison said that the present radio is certainly a "lemon ".

  • @qzorn4440
    @qzorn4440 9 месяцев назад

    Amos 'n' Andy, Easy Aces, Ethel and Albert, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Goldbergs, The Great Gildersleeve, The Halls of Ivy, Meet Corliss Archer, Meet Millie, and Our Miss Brooks
    Most interesting. 😎 Thanks.

  • @deaddocreallydeaddoc5244
    @deaddocreallydeaddoc5244 11 месяцев назад

    The idea that radio was over by 1955 and the arrival of television is totally incorrect. It is only true where the radio serials were concerned. Radio for music and news broadcasting remained very popular and every car had a radio built in as standard equipment. By the late 1950s, the transistor radio, which replaced tubes with transistors made small portable radios possible. I was born in 1952. The radio was always on in the car, and often at home. I had my first transistor radio at 12 years of age. I made a crystal radio that year in the 6th grade. Radio continued as the dispenser of pop music and news for a long time after, with FM arriving in the late 80s and opening up stereo broadcasting for the Boomers. I still listen to FM radio during the daytime whenever I'm working on my computer or around the house. Plus I have a radio out in my shop and even one in the chicken coup; all tuned into the local classical radio!

  • @baire702
    @baire702 3 года назад +3

    The patents that Marconi stole from Tesla were restored to Tesla 6 months after he died in 1943.

    • @sanjanewmoonlife
      @sanjanewmoonlife Год назад

      Tesla sold his patent to Marconi ,I think so ,he needed money for food .

    • @sanjanewmoonlife
      @sanjanewmoonlife Год назад

      en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nikola_Tesla_patents

    • @mrwittyone
      @mrwittyone Год назад

      @@sanjanewmoonlife False. Marconi STOLE Tesla's patents. In 1903, the patent office wrote: "Many of the claims are not patentable over Tesla patent numbers 645,576 and 649,621, of record, the amendment to overcome said references as well as Marconi's pretended ignorance of the nature of a "Tesla oscillator" being little short of absurd... the term "Tesla oscillator" has become a household word on both continents [Europe and North America]."
      In 1904, the court mysteriously reversed itself and awarded the patent to Marconi - though Tesla was too involved with other problems to do anything. However, in 1915, three years after Marconi won the Nobel Prize, a furious Tesla sued Marconi for patent infringement. The court finally upheld Tesla's patent in 1943.

  • @jongalt9038
    @jongalt9038 3 года назад

    You dont really need to do a program on it, but as your channel is all about the 1920s, you would enjoy reading the book, "Dandelion Wine", by Ray Bradbury. He touches on new areas for you!
    I found this elsewhere, but what kids listened to after school in the 1920s was not the jukebox of course, but the Player Piano! Neat stuff, history!!! 📯

  • @AntiHydra747
    @AntiHydra747 2 года назад

    I have the "Birth of A Nation" on reel

  • @maxpayne2574
    @maxpayne2574 Год назад

    AM radio bounces off the atmosphere and comes back down. With enough power AM can go around the Earth.

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 10 месяцев назад

      And play the same song over and over again ad nauseam

  • @therogerseses
    @therogerseses Год назад

    I live in Jerusalem and care for the elderly. An elderly lady rented an apartment that had a 60 year old radio with all original parts that worked well.

  • @charleshunziker7416
    @charleshunziker7416 11 месяцев назад

    The international silver string submarine band (in person)

  • @kelanjones7281
    @kelanjones7281 3 года назад

    By 1943, another radio network joined in. The American Broadcasting Company aka ABC when it was used to be called the blue network.

  • @butthetruth
    @butthetruth 2 года назад

    It’s National Radio Day in the U.S., but it’s time Canada claimed its place in radio history

  • @cristalovelee
    @cristalovelee 2 года назад

    I've been searching endlessly for video or radio of my papa trav aka vern Rollin Traver who won 1st & second place on these radio shows from that era he was from McPherson Kansas New York Seattle Chicago & los Angela's dinuba died in Fresno he did a skit called the telephone I believe possibly Columbia I can't find him although he looks alike like Robert young can u please help me find him??

  • @thechicagobox
    @thechicagobox Год назад

    Amos and Andy were great!

  • @infantinofan
    @infantinofan Год назад

    You said "Amos & Andy" used as their theme song something from the film "Birth of a Nation". Wasn't that a silent movie, so no music?

    • @The1920sChannel
      @The1920sChannel  Год назад

      It's actually pretty interesting. An elaborate musical score was composed for "Birth of a Nation" that included existing melodies as well as new ones. It's a very early example of such a film score. Of course, this music would have been played live, not on a recording. It's another example of how "Birth of a Nation" had so many innovative elements to it despite an unfortunately bad message.

  • @TF2SlyGuySaysHi
    @TF2SlyGuySaysHi 3 года назад

    What sources do you use?

  • @jourwalis-8875
    @jourwalis-8875 2 года назад

    Where can I check out "OTR"? Any link?

    • @The1920sChannel
      @The1920sChannel  2 года назад

      I'm not sure if RUclips will let me send the link in a comment, but if you go to the Internet Archive website, you can go to the "audio" tab at the top of the page, and under "featured," there is an "old time radio" collection listed.

  • @butchbateman457
    @butchbateman457 3 года назад +3

    I thought this was really interesting & the commentator had a good “radio voice”.😊 I was wondering if you already haven’t, if you could talk about religion in the 1920’s. Keep up the good work, these videos are great!

  • @arthurdalton517
    @arthurdalton517 Год назад

    Hy what about how it was like being a kid
    During that time. What they did what games, the fashion for teenagers boys and girls

  • @GeraBrown
    @GeraBrown Год назад

    Bing Crosby? Eddie Cantor? Rudy Vallee wasn't the only big name performer. Just saying.
    Btw I already saw the later video where you corrected the KDKA myth. Thanks. 👍👍

  • @jamesslick4790
    @jamesslick4790 11 месяцев назад

    WGN (Chicago) Is STILL owned by the Tribune and the call letters came from the Tribune's slogan "World's Greatest Newspaper".

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 10 месяцев назад

      I thought WGN had been sold to another company.

    • @jamesslick4790
      @jamesslick4790 10 месяцев назад

      @@glennso47 The current corporate name is "Nexstar Media Group" they own the former "Tribune Media Group".

  • @john-paulderosa356
    @john-paulderosa356 3 года назад

    I love this video. But I think there was a lot more programming right at the start of commercial broadcasting than I think you are saying. I know there were regular shows in 1922 including radio dramas, and that the pace of radio set sales was so fast then that Weston Electric couldn't make enough speakers and people had to listen on earphones. Have I misunderstood you?

    • @The1920sChannel
      @The1920sChannel  3 года назад +1

      There were definitely a bigger amount of programs, but I just super-simplified it. You can find program listings from the early 1920s showing a plethora of local programs. There was little in the way of national programming, since the biggest stations, NBC and CBS, wouldn't be set up until later in the decade. 1922 was the time when radio really began taking off. Music programs were the most popular kind, though there were other kinds of programs as well.

    • @john-paulderosa356
      @john-paulderosa356 3 года назад

      @@The1920sChannel I have read that the first national broadcast was from Frank Daily's Meadowbrook in Cedar Grove, which did not open until 1931.

  • @gazpunk847
    @gazpunk847 2 года назад

    Tesla didn't like patenting his discoveries, because he wanted them to be easy for people to get and share. He was an extraordinary man.

    • @sanjanewmoonlife
      @sanjanewmoonlife Год назад

      en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nikola_Tesla_patents

  • @cristalovelee
    @cristalovelee 2 года назад

    He also looked similar to Walter mcgrail.I know he sang with Dorris parker in the uso with Dorris parker in San diego at the mission beach ballroom..I have sum on tape recordings lol

  • @ethanbodybuilder
    @ethanbodybuilder 3 года назад

    ♥️👍👏