The Golden Age of Radio

Long ago—before the word podcast was ever a thing—the Golden Age of Radio filled American homes with broadcasts of comedy sitcoms, up-to-date news from around the world, stories of science fiction, soap-operas, variety hours, talent shows, children’s shows and even quiz shows.

It became common for families to sit around the radio after a long day of work and listen to their favorite program before turning in for the night. Children loved The Adventures of Frank Ferrell or Space Patrol. Mothers and fathers waited for the latest news about what was happening in Europe during the tumultuous early Twentieth Century. Radio broadcasting brought families and the world closer.

There were three big radio networks; National Broadcasting Company or NBS, American Broadcasting Company, or ABC, and Columbia Broadcasting System, or CBS. A fourth smaller network, Mutual Broadcasting System rounded out the stations controlling the majority of the programming . . . and sponsors controlled the networks.

At first, sponsors bought a show’s title for advertising, like Champion Spark Plug Hour or A&P (a long-gone grocery store) Gypsies. By doing so, during the early days of radio, there were no commercial interruption and in fact, commercials were thought of as rude, but after a few years, advertisers created a mid-show break and used that time to promote their goods.   

Reading the script

                       
Sponsors like Maxwell House Coffee would use this mid-show break to entertain while promoting. Perhaps, they’d have a fashion show, where the newest styles would be described or maybe a super-star from the big-screen would speak about the reasons the listener should spend their hard earned (and scarce during the Great Depression years) money on their products.

Programming varied wildly. As mentioned previously, a station may have broadcast a live music show, or a comedy variety show, or a dramatic mystery. Every type of programming that you might find on television today, was played on radio . . . only often times, it was live. Actors and actresses would stand (or sit) at a microphone with a script in hand and read and act out the story. Super-stars like Clark Gable and Betty Grable would revise a roll they played on the big screen for those at home. Major motion pictures like Bachelor and the Bobbysocks, and The Maltese Falcon were re-played on radio shows with the original cast acting out the script.

 

Abbott and Costello

Vaudeville acts like Abbott and Costello or Gracie Allen and her husband George Burns found a new career on radio. The stage play What a Life was turned into the long running NBC radio show, The Aldrich Family. The writer for The Aldrich Family earned $3,000.00 a week at the peak of the show’s popularity. This was the most any radio show writer was payed.

Another common beginning for radio shows was comic strips. Blondie, Dick Tracy, Little Orphan Annie, Li’l Abner, Popeye the Sailor and many more comics were wildly popular on radio. Some eventually were made into long running cartoons or television shows.

The family comedy Father Knows Best made a successful transition to the new media, television. Some shows made this move easily, while others failed. The basic outline of radio was adapted by TV and though eventually the new television media replaced radio, it took a long time for families to give up the cozy habit of listening to radio programing.   

Cast of The Guiding Light

                                       
Today as podcasts make a bigger and bigger impact on media, I often think of the popularity of The Golden Age of Radio. I have to wonder if listening to entertainment isn’t better for our brain function than watching the television.

If you’re interested listening to some old-time radio, it’s as simple as doing an internet search. Many, many old shows are available for download or to simply play and enjoy. There are even a few mobile apps to download. Try it, radio shows are a great way to pass time while at the gym or doing yard work.

Have you ever listened to a radio show? Do you remember any late-night radio programming? When we moved to Florida in the early 1990’s, a local television station used to simulcast their programming on a radio station. I listened to The Price Is Right almost every day . . . And loved it.

Thank you for joining me today on Heroes, Heroines and History. I hope wherever you are, you’re happy, healthy and loved. Until next month, my friends—adios.




 

 Multi award-winning author, Michele K. Morris’s love for historical fiction began when she first read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House book series. She grew up riding horses and spending her free time in the woods of mid-Michigan. Married to her high school sweetheart, they are living happily-ever-after with their six children, three in-loves, and ten grandchildren in Florida, the sunshine state. Michele loves to hear from readers on Facebook, Twitter, and here through the group blog, Heroes, Heroines, and History at HHHistory.com.

Michele is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.