Radio in the 1920s

[@My1925World]

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]

❤️❤️❤️

[@sharonrynne2242]

Love the horns

[@seanstipsky9473]

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]

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]

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.

[@The1920sChannel]

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]

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]

@@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]

@@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]

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]

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

[@WeirdDarknessOfficial]

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

[@TheMummyAndTheMonkey]

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

[@alvincash3230]

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]

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

[@rebeccaservais8115]

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

[@sifridbassoon]

those damn capitalists, wanting to make money

[@caspence56]

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

[@jasonz9902]

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

[@DeeDragoon]

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

[@susanpage8315]

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!

[@ilahildasissac1943]

How cute

[@ilahildasissac1943]

A century later, and we still love radio.

[@michellefalleur960]

How lovely !! -- you must be proud x

[@osborn.illustration]

Great video about an often overlooked time period!

[@robertc.johnson310]

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

[@klyvemurray]

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

[@anitarichmond8930]

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 KZbin I enjoy listening to the old-time radio shows such as Suspense, Johnny Dollar,Etc. I also love black and white movies.

[@terryhoknescomicbookshisto6482]

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

[@thetooginator153]

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.

[@RandomRetr0]

You do such wonderful videos!

[@1920sman]

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]

@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!

[@auletjohnast03638]

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

[@glennso47]

But would she want to meet you? 🤔

[@thelifemasterclass8465]

Really great show. Thanks!

[@djhrecordhound4391]

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!

[@jeaniechowdury576]

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

[@willardtaylor6249]

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.

[@mistergrandpasbakery9941]

This is a great video! Bravo!! 👏

[@ConceptuallyYour]

This music is like a bridge between the past and the present, bringing a nostalgic but equally warm feeling. 🌉

[@robertnjax1]

Great show - appreciate the info!

[@johnnyjames7139]

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.

[@sandydegener6436]

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

[@stevesloan7132]

The opening line from Walter Winchel's News broadcast!

[@sandydegener6436]

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

[@stevesloan7132]

@@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]

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

[@PatrickRosenbalm]

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

[@katheryneclayton3379]

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

[@jimbressler1563]

A great time in history, thanks

[@alexandertroup851]

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.

[@cherchezlavache4373]

👍🏻🥂 From the Rudy Vallee Fan Club!

[@jongalt9038]

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

[@scottlarson1548]

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]

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

[@rosieposie6322]

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.

[@williamporter3806]

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

[@justsumguy2u]

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]

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]

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

[@WmGood]

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.

[@davidbaise5137]

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

[@davekanegis8070]

Thanks. Very interesting

[@garyfrancis6193]

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]

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

[@kyleoshields3088]

"...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]

@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]

@@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

[@Norannmcguire]

Smiles are beautiful

[@feralbluee]

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 KZbin 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]

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

[@thegreenman7]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@Thecorgially]

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

[@marypalmer00]

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

[@alandesouzacruz5124]

Thanks my brother

[@TheKoolbraider]

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

[@dontaylor7315]

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.

[@glorbohoh7864]

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]

EXCELLENT PRODUCTION>

[@yankrizzuto6760]

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

[@glennso47]

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

[@singlesideman]

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...

[@gary-pietz4147]

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

[@TheGuyMullins]

Amos and Andy was AWESOME!

[@romanivanovich6717]

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

[@mauriceupton1474]

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

[@maryrafuse3851]

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.

[@Michael-hb4wc]

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

[@butthetruth]

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.

[@sunnybeaches1331]

Great channel!

[@jayrogers8255]

Radio was revolutionary, TV is evolutionary.

[@manuelkong10]

Excellent video

[@tinkerwithstuff]

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.

[@colemaster6668]

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

[@stischer47]

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]

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.

[@patrickdees5256]

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

[@jongalt9038]

The Buggles!!! Great comment!!!

[@patrickdees5256]

@@jongalt9038 thanks.

[@PatrickRosenbalm]

Video Killed the Radio Star ;-)

[@singlesideman]

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]

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

[@baire702]

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

[@sanjanewmoonlife]

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

[@sanjanewmoonlife]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nikola_Tesla_patents

[@mrwittyone]

@@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.

[@garymattscheck9066]

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

[@detroitjack0325]

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

[@The1920sChannel]

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]

@@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]

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

[@glennso47]

The thumbnail of this video, the gentleman who is wearing the headphones looks like Sid Caesar.

[@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244]

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!

[@AlbertBenajam-ww1db]

There were commercial stations before WKDA, but that station is oldest USA commercial stations. One such was from 1919 from a company called American Radio Ompany. There main business was selling tadio eqipment but they did sell commercial tome. Another was a pre Worl War 0ne radio school that had a station playing records in yhe evening and had students constructing sets to $ell to public.

[@uslines]

Well done!

[@jeaniechowdhury6739]

Thank you!!

[@michaelmcgee8543]

Enjoyed!

[@Jlevin1955]

Very interesting!

[@maryrafuse2297]

This seems to confuse Wireless Telegraphy with Radio Broadcasting. They are related but very different! Radio was the first mass medium and shared the human voice & music with a mass audience. Their was only one who first advanced wireless telegraphy over the spark wireless /human voice barrier. This happened during the Christmas season in 1906 and was brought to ships at sea by the developments of Canadian born Reginald Aubrey Fessenden. He was the first DJ and the very first broadcaster. He played his own violin and read prose & poetry to a mass audience. The real inventor of radio, first on the air with witnessing Marconi operators to verify what he had accomplished was Reginald Aubrey Fessenden.

[@antonnym214]

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

[@cristalovelee]

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??

[@jimmyflanagan5938]

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

[@jongalt9038]

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!!! 📯

[@GeraBrown]

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. 👍👍

[@kelanjones7281]

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

[@williampalenik7306]

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

[@glennso47]

So was WOC Davenport Iowa.

[@qzorn4440]

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.

[@thebeardedseeker5633]

i enjoyed this, but let's be clear, Amos n Andy was indeed a racist caricature of African Americans. it doesn't matter if whites didn't think it was.

[@wareforcoin5780]

I think it's evidence of an honest to god phobia. Like, literally so afraid of black people, that to enjoy stories _about_ black people, they need two white guys to pretend to be black. In any rate, the people were fucked up back then and I'm glad we're at least past blackface. At least. Maybe even a little bit of other stuff too.

[@john-paulderosa356]

I am white and I totally agree with you. I checked out this famous radio show and a movie with the same characters and their white creators--horrible, impossible to stand for its racism and mockery. But then I found the television version of this program starring black actors. It is simply the funniest, most professional show you could find. I think it is comic genius. It was taken off the air because the NAACP objected to way it portrayed blacks and I can see why because it was just about the only presentation of blacks on tv and it showed them as stupid or crooked and inarticulate. But I think Sanford.& Son suffered from similar stereotypes.and it stayed on.

[@MirlitronOne]

"it doesn't matter if whites didn't think it was." No, but it DOES matter if non-whites DO think it was, one hundred years later. This is called "racial equality".

[@maxpayne2574]

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

[@glennso47]

And play the same song over and over again ad nauseam

[@john-paulderosa356]

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]

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]

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

[@charleshunziker7416]

The international silver string submarine band (in person)

[@karenhargis9824]

I want to go there.

[@thechicagobox]

Amos and Andy were great!

[@AntiHydra747]

I have the "Birth of A Nation" on reel

[@jourwalis-8875]

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

[@The1920sChannel]

I'm not sure if KZbin 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.

[@butthetruth]

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

[@sciencedavedunning3415]

For the record, Marconi used 7 of Tesla's patents to send Morris code by wireless. Prior to that, Tesla had demonstrated complete mastery of a radio controlled model boat that observers insisted "must have had a trained monkey inside." You got a fine channel, your historical understanding is elevating......... but your scientific understanding needs work. All the best to you.

[@infantinofan]

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]

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.

[@arthurdalton517]

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

[@auletjohnast03638]

WHY AM I WASTING MY TIME WATCHING THIS?

[@jeaniechowdury576]

Its not a waste of time. History is important.

[@auletjohnast03638]

@@jeaniechowdury576, The narrator's voice sucks.

[@guruuudev5071]

Great stuff -- to see the styles and trends that time so clearly presented! Very interesting that people recognized radio as a way for businesses and corporations (and governments by the same token) to program the public for profit. The internet now presents a way for every man to be a broadcaster -- hence the severe totalitarian censorship we are now seeing on line.