Radio in the 1920s

By Steve Hall

For Mrs E. AbraCHC2D

November 4th, 2011

History of Radio

It's in your car. It's in your home. One is built into every alarm clock. You hear it in

every store, whether you are shopping for music or clothes or anything! It's radio. Something

you have always had close at hand, but have you ever stopped to think about where it came

from or what its history is? The first idea of voice transmission or any form of radio came

about in 1860 when James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of radio waves in the air. In

1892, a Serbian inventor and engineer, Nikola Tesla dreamed up the design of a radio. Not only

did he imagine this single idea, he also was a contributor in the birth of electricity. Although

Nikola Tesla was the one who thought up the radio, the first functioning radio transmitter was

put together by an Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi. He sent his first radio signal in 1895.

Radio is considered one of the most important inventions of the period. The telegraph

had been functional for some time, however radio is the first time voice could be transmitted.

Radio broadcasts in the 1920's could be sent up to 150 kilometres through the air. The first

broadcast to the public that radio historians recognize is the historic broadcast of KDKA from

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. However 1932 is the year when public radio

“officially” arrived in Canada with the first broadcast of the Canadian Broadcasting Company,

more commonly known as the CBC.

When using early models of the first home radio, listeners had to use earphones to listen,

however soon the design changed. Radios began to look more like living room cabinets and

speakers were added to amplify sound to entertain more than one listener. In 1925, a common

table top radio would sell for $50-$75. A model designed to look like a cabinet would be in the

$135-$175 range. When radio began to become more and more popular, an issue was raised in

the government. Should the airwaves be free? Should the government be governing what is

being broadcast? It became so that you needed a license to operate a radio. Licenses usually

cost $100 per annum. This may sound expensive for a radio nowadays, but in the 1920's, radio

was people's form of entertainment, just as television is ours today and if you were caught

operating a radio without a license, you were fined up to $5000. Laws like this still exist today,

for example, every month everyone has to pay a television bill.

Radio's Impact

“I live in a strictly rural community and people here speak of 'the Radio' in a large sense,

with an over-meaning. When they say 'the Radio,' they don't mean a cabinet, an electric

phenomenon, or a man in a studio. They refer to a pervading and somewhat godlike presence

that has come into their lives and homes” (E.B. White, 1933). The reason for radio's excellent

success in the 1920's is the social impact. Farm families who lived far away from the cities

could suddenly hear about all of the current events! This greatly pleased the adults. Instead of

making the long trip into town, farmers could now learn of the news right in their living room.

Along with current events, people could now tune in every night and listen to voice actors tell

stories and perform dramas. This entertained both the children and the adults. Instead of going

out to the theatre, people could sit at the radio and listen to new exciting instalments of their

favourite shows.

Radio didn't just affect farm families. During the roaring twenties, couples were going

out to parties every night to go dancing and drinking. It was getting quite expensive. However,

some parties were beginning to be broadcast on the radio. Stations would wire the dancing hall

and broadcast the entire party. Couples could then stay at home and dance their cares away in

their own house.

Radio also made an impact on the school system. In an interview between Ms. Eleanor

Abra and her mother Mrs M. Jean Abra, Mrs Abra describes how exciting and different it was

when her teacher let them listen to the election on the radio one day in class. Although in

today's society, we incorporate multimedia education wherever we can, be it a short film or a

PowerPoint Presentation, however in the 1920's, the radio was the only multimedia tool that

was available. Radio's impact was phenomenal. Due to radio, less people needed to go out and

find information for themselves since it would be read to them through speakers every day.

Stations

Public radio did not officially start in Canada until 1932 when the CBC (Canadian

Broadcasting Company) made its first broadcast, however public radio had been in the United

States for almost a decade already. The first public broadcast in the States was made by the

KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, however there is some debate as to whether or not this is

actually the very first broadcast. By the end of 1923, 556 stations had started broadcasting

around the United States.

It wasn't until the 1930's that FM radio existed. Until then, all stations were broadcasted

on AM stations. Nowadays there are very few AM radio stations.

Radio Entertainment

Radio was the main source of entertainment in the household during the 1920s and

1930s. There were no televisions or computers to keep people busy. People would spend an

evening sitting in front of the radio listening to their favourite radio dramas. Radio dramas that

were especially popular with women were called “soap operas.” Companies such as Procter &

Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive sponsored early soap operas; therefore they are referred to as

“soap” operas because of the soap companies sponsoring them. Soap operas are dramatic

fictional series'. They took up daytime slots when listeners would mostly be housewives.

Another thing broadcast on the radio was music. Music is still played on the radio but it

is a very different style. During the 1920s, the popular type of music was jazz. Jazz has a very

syncopated and uncivilized sound, therefore it was a desirable genre for the younger

generation. In the 1920s, young women were being encouraged by their mothers to go out

dancing and find a husband to take care of them. They would be dressed up in formal outfits

and be expected to mingle like proper ladies. Little did their mothers know that as soon as they

got to the dance halls they would rush to the washrooms and change into more appealing and

racy dresses. After this, they would go and meet their men.

In the 1920s, racial segregation was still happening and as jazz and blues music was

becoming more and more popular, Harlem, a coloured neighbourhood in New York City was

becoming the place to be to hear it. Nightclubs and revues like Connie's Inn and the Cotton

Club were beginning to cater a lot of white customers. Soon enough they were only granting

entry to white people. However, other clubs like the Savoy and the Lafayette welcomed

coloured people as well as whites. Radio stations would be hired by clubs to come in on a night

a popular artist was scheduled to play or a big party would be happening to wire the hall and

broadcast the whole party for the peoples' entertainment at home. This was good advertisement

for the clubs.

Stations also did this for events such as baseball games, however it was harder in this

situation since wiring a stadium for one afternoon was a very large job. Stations also would

broadcast church services commonly, however it was frowned on by the church to not show up

just because you were listening at home. People liked to spend time listening to the radio

because there was always something interesting playing on one station.

Radio's Importance

One of the most iconic radio broadcasts of the 20th century is King George VI's

September 1939 declaration of war with Nazi Germany. This speech was made able to be heard

by the entire British Empire due to the technology of radio.

Radio was a milestone in journalism and entertainment. It connected rural towns to

urban cities and entertainment to the home. Without the invention of radio it's impossible to

determine what today's society would have been like.

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