Tuesday, November 15, 2005

(chime effect) "N (g) - B (e) - C (c)"...

No, this is not the formula for nuclear fission. If you use your imagination a little, well a lot, you would hear the NBC chimes used to identify the network. The small letters next to "NBC" are the keys on the musical scale used for the chimes. I do wish keyboards had a musical note symbol but hey, you can't have everything. Then again, how often would you be describing musical notes in a blog ? We go back to the "Roaring Twenties" for today's feature story, the era of the "Great One", Gatsby not Gretsky...

The National Broadcasting Company debuted on this date in 1926 with a radio network of 24 stations. The first network radio broadcast was a 4-hour special emanating from the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria. Nationally known bands (known only to those nationally known bands) wailed away, some at remote locations for an estimated audience numbering nearly half of the 5 million radio sets in use in 1926. It was quite the bash...

Earlier in the year, AT&T (yes, that AT&T) sold WEAF (soon to become WNBC) to RCA. RCA then had the rights to rent AT&T's phone lines for network transmission and the race was on...By the way RCA got WEAF and a Washington sister-station (WCAP) for a cool $1,000,000...

Some more interesting stuff about the NBC network will follow in my commentary...

More November 15 Memories...

1939) FDR lays the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C...

1939) The Social Security Administration approves the 1st unemployment check and America rejoices...

1940) The Midtown Tunnel linking Manhattan and Queens opens to traffic...

1956) Elvis Presley's 1st movie, "Love Me Tender" premieres at the New York Paramount Theater (the film will earn back its $1 million cost in just 3 days and over the next 13 years Elvis will appear in 33 movies)...

1965) The Rolling Stones make their TV debut on "Hullabaloo" doing "Get Off My Cloud"...

1966) After a scare, the flight of Gemini XII splashes down safely in the Atlantic Ocean with James A. Lovell and Buzz Aldrin aboard...

1967) The Red Sox' Carl Yastrzemski wins the AL MVP (in the greatest individual season for a player I ever witnessed)...

1969) A quarter of a million protesters stage a peaceful demonstration against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C...

1969) Pass the Rolaids, Wendy's opens...

1969) "I Want You Back" becomes the 1st Jackson Five record to debut on the charts (the first of 31 over the next 20 years)...

1988) The legislative body of the PLO proclaims the establishment of an idependent Palestinian state...

1990) David Bowie debuts on Broadway in the title role of "The Elephant Man"...

1990) Frank Farian, producer of Milli Vanilli publicly admits that Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus never sang a note on their records and that they did a lip-synch when they performed...

1992) Richard Petty's 35-year reign as stock-car's king ends in a fiery crash when his famous #43 gets caught in a wreck in a race (unhurt he will finish the race retiring with 7 Nascar championships and 7 Daytona 500 victories, both records)...

1993) A judge in Mineola sentences Joey Buttafuoco to 6 months in jail for the statutory rape of the "Long Island Lolita", Amy Fisher who shot Joey's wife Mary Jo (does this all sound like a Soap to you ?)...

2001) Roger Clemens of the Yankees wins a record 6th Cy Young Award, emblematic of the best pitcher in the American League (you might want to include all of baseball if you'd like)...

Happy Birthday To...

1919) Judge Joseph Wapner...

1929) Edward Asner...

1932) Petula Clark...

1934) Joanna Barnes...

1940) Sam Waterston...

1945) Frida (Lyngstad) of ABBA...

Commentary...

Anytime there's a major anniversary in radio I'm gonna go with it as the medium was the career of my choosing and for those of you likely inclined, here are some interesting tidbits on the 79th anniversary of the NBC Radio network:

• the famous 3-note NBC chimes were lifted from WSB in Atlanta when an NBC executive heard WSB use it during the broadcast of a Georgia Tech game...
• NBC started using the 3 notes in 1931 and it was the 1st ever audio trademark to be accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...
• a 4th chime (key of C) was used during wartime (especially in the wake of Pearl Harbor and other disasters)...
• the NBC Radio Network ceased to exist in 1989 and would become a brand-name used by Westwood One...