THERE ARE SOME TRUTHS!

The reason I titled this blog "The Big 9-0" is because the first American radio station, KDKA in Pittsburgh, is celebrating its 90th. anniversary. Of course, the first real radio broadcast was on Christmas Eve 1906, when Reginald Fessenden did a Christmas Eve broadcast for ships on the sea. And of course, CFCF in Montreal, which recently shut down as CINW, was founded as an experimental station in 1919.
But it was on Election Night 1920 that KDKA radio, a station of the Westinghouse Electric Company(which owned it at the time), did the first voice broadcast when they did the election results that announced that Warren G. Harding was going to win. In the 1920s, radio stations took root around the country, including WBZ in Boston, WGN in Chicago, WCBS in New York and KGO in San Francisco. Within 10 to 15 years, radio networks came to be, including the Columbia Broadcasting System and the National Broadcasting Company.

In the early days, radio stations were an experiment in how to reach the potential audience. They would broadcast everything from ethnic music to sports. And of course, it's brought us closer to our world. Who could forget the Hindenburg disaster? The War of the Worlds with Orson Welles at the helm? The crash of the stock market? The Pearl Harbor attacks? And of course, we all remember top 40 AM radio and live baseball games.

The first radio stations were experimental radio stations used for propaganda and news purposes. Radio stations could reach halfway across the country and the world. We all remember when people in the rural areas could hear The Grand Ole Opry or FDR's Fireside Chats. By the time President Kennedy came to power, radio was losing its influence with the onslaught of television.

In the 1950s, FM radio was founded, but it was only used for graveyard formats like classical and easy listening music. However, thanks to its superior sound, FM soon replaced AM radio as the most popular band for music. Many AM top 40 stations were done in by FM in the 1970s and 1980s. And today, many Canadian radio stations have left the airwaves, including 2 AM radio stations in Montreal back in January.

We've also seen the rise of satellite radio with 50 or 60 channels of music, offering everything from classical to country to AM rock, rap and more. Radio stations are experimenting with HD radio, which can offer more radio stations without the subscription fees that satellite radio charges. And please don't even think of making me count the millions of internet radio stations that are at our disposal.

While many of the "clear channel" torch stations have been broadcasting for nearly 9 decades, some radio stations have gone the way of the horse and buggy. I remember when radio stations like WLYN in Lynn, WCAS in Cambridge and WWEL in Medford would offer niche formats like folk music, ethnic programs and beautiful instrumentals. Many of these stations would sign off at sunset, because of FCC rules. I know that WCAS would air catchy jingles at sign-off like this:

"Drinking wine can make you queasy!
Drinking rum can make it worse!
Only thing that keeps me sober:
740 kilohertz!
Hey!
Kick the dog and pass the bottle!
Eat potatoes! Wear a dress!
Quote Jim Joyce and kiss your mother!
Tune your dial to 'CAS!"

Or FCC Man stripping WCAS of all powers until sunrise the next morning.
"Oh, no! I'm losing all my powers! I can feel them fade!"

Here in Boston, I've never been able to get KDKA clear because it's bordered by WBZ, another clear channel radio station that is mostly news/talk. I grew up listening to 'BZ for the big events of my life, such as the Red Sox, the Beatles, and more. And the announcers of that station are legendary: Carl DeSuze, Gary Lapierre, Dave Maynard, Larry Glick, Alan Dary, Jerry Williams, Larry Justice, and more!

I also have some nostalgia for all the daytime radio stations that used to sign-off at sundown. A couple of them still do, but most of them have licenses that will allow them to operate at reduced power at night. They're the ones offering niche programming, like beautiful music on "Listener Supported WJIB" or ethnic programs on WJDA in Quincy or WLYN in Lynn.

Radio has changed in the last 90 years, and I've been around for almost 50 of them! And my, how times have changed.