August 20: Detroit Radio
On 20 August 1920, the first commercial radio broadcast from the Detroit News building in downtown Detroit. According to “History of Michigan AM Broadcasting,” at 8:15pm, the new station began with the words “This is 8MK calling” which was followed by “Annie Laurie” and “Roses of Picardy.” The 8MK’s call number was changed twice; first to WBL and then to WWJ. WWJ continues to broadcast as an all news network.
Throughout its history, 8MK/WBL/WWJ has had a number of firsts:
- First news program (30 Augsut 1920)
- First election results (30 August 1920)
- First sportscast (1 September 1920)
- First complete symphony (10 February 1922)
- First regularly scheduled religious program (16 April 1922)
Find all the possible homeopathic solutions online Online homeopathic medicine is cheap no prescription cialis purely the result of the placebo effect. These people are really female viagra uk aimhousepatong.com frustrated with this particular issue and hence do not talk to anybody about it which makes it even more difficult to get over this issue. Foods that are rich in zinc play a key role viagra order canada in making erections difficult. How shall I consume Ladygra?Ladygra comes in three different doses of 50 mg, 100mg and 150mg. however it’s important to realize that consuming more than a pill at a time or whatever is the prescribed dosage or take it more frequently than once every day, or as guided by your spe viagra pills in indiat.
Actor, cowboy, and social commentator Will Rogers made his radio debut on WWJ on 15 March 1922.
In another first for the radio station, sometime in the Spring of 1922, Guido Deiro made the first radio broadcast of an accordion.
Deiro was one of the highest paid musicians on the vaudeville circuit. During the 1910s, he made $600 per week. At that time, the average wage in the United States was 22 cents per hour. In 1914, Deiro married the Hollywood sex symbol Mae West.
When Deiro played his accordion for the residents of Detroit, it is unlikely that they realized that they were hearing an instrument that could trace its roots back for 5,000 years. According to Accordions Worldwide, the cheng was “the first known instrument to use the free vibrating reed principle, which is the basis of the accordion’s sound production. Shaped to resemble the phoenix, the cheng had between 13 and 24 bamboo pipes, a small gourd which acted as a resonator box and wind chamber, and a mouthpiece.”
–Steven L. Berg, PhD
Photo Caption: Guido Deiro and Mae West.
Please Note: The versions of “Annie Laurie” and “Roses of Picardy” to which I have linked are not the recordings that were actually broadcast in 1920.
Jalen Walker
Immediately when I read the caption for this moment in history, I was reminded of a couple of historical moments that I had recently read that had occurred on my birthday. My first connection was to December 26th of 1965 when Paul McCartney interviewed on the pirate radio station, Radio Caroline. I am fascinated with pirate radio stations; that liberating feeling of making people feel great while defying the rules/views of people that should not be able to control others. Pirate radio stations must have been such a fun and freeing experience. It is something that society can always learn from. I can imagine that it was really exciting to hear Paul McCartney as well. I am a huge Beatles fan so I quickly made a connection to another historical occurrence on my birthday of 1967. BBC broadcasted The Magical Mystery Tour, an experimental film created by The Beatles. It was not accepted very well by critics, which I think is actually better. In a way I view it the same as the pirate radio; I think that it is exciting to rub people the wrong way when they are so closed in their box of how things should be. The Magical Mystery Tour was definitely not something that was widely accepted – it is a nonsensical, strange journey.