1958 in radio
Encyclopedia
The year 1958 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.
Events
- 24 February – In CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Radio RebeldeRadio RebeldeRadio Rebelde is a Cuban Spanish-language radio station. It broadcasts 24 hours a day with a varied program of national and international music hits of the moment, news reports and live sport events...
, the radio station of Fidel CastroFidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's rebels, begins broadcasting from Sierra MaestraSierra MaestraSierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province from what is now Guantánamo Province to Niquero in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. Some view it as a series of connecting ranges , which joins with others extending to the west...
. - 1 April – The BBC Radiophonic WorkshopBBC Radiophonic WorkshopThe BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. It was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware...
is established. - April 15: In New York, Les KeiterLes KeiterLes Keiter , also known as the "General", was a newscaster and sports director of Honolulu, Hawaii television station KHON-TV. Keiter, who also lived in New York and San Francisco, also called some of the biggest fights in the history of boxing.- Early career :Keiter was raised in Seattle and...
, sports director of WINS (AM)WINS (AM)WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
, begins coverage of San Francisco GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
games, just months after the team has moved out of New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to the West Coast. His "live-action" commentaries are so vivid that many listeners never realize that Les is merely staging a re-creationRe-creationA re-creation is a reenactment, typically used to solve a crime or determine a mode of failure or cause of death. This may either be an actual reenactment, or a virtual reality one done on a computer...
of the games from Western UnionWestern UnionThe Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
telegraph reports received in WINS' New York studios (a throwback to 1930s radio coverage of baseball games) and never sets foot in Seals StadiumSeals StadiumSeals Stadium was a minor league baseball stadium that stood in San Francisco from 1931 through 1959.Built during the depression, Seals Stadium opened on April 7, 1931, It cost $600,000 to construct, and Seals President "Doc" Strub described how laborers would leap onto the running boards of his...
. WINS will carry Giants games in the same manner next year. - 2 July – The first radio ballad, The Ballad of John Axon, is broadcast on the BBC Home ServiceBBC Home ServiceThe BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
. - July 14: John F. Box Jr., president of the Balaban group, buys KGKOKNIT (AM)KNIT is a licensed but silent radio station].-Wonderful K-Box:The station now known as KNIT signed on as KGKO in 1953, playing pop music and jazz. In 1958, KGKO changed calls to KBOX and adopted a Top 40 format to compete with Gordon McLendon's top-rated 1190 KLIF. Future WABC staple Dan Ingram...
and changes the station's call letters to KBOX, adopting a Top 40 format to compete with Gordon McLendonGordon McLendonGordon Barton McLendon was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He has been coined the Maverick of Radio. McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, with great commercial success, the Top 40 radio format during the 1950s and 1960s which was first invented by Todd Storz and for developing...
's top-rated 1190KFXR (AM)KFXR is a radio station in Dallas, Texas, programing classic country when it is not airing brokered programming. It began broadcasting in 1947 as KLIF...
KLIFKLIFKLIF is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Dallas, Texas, USA. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. KLIF broadcasts a conservative-leaning news/talk radio format to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.-Call sign history:...
.
Debuts
- January – Pete Myers, with his frenetic, rapid-fire "Mad Daddy" persona, delivered entirely in rhyme, debuts on WJW (AM) in Cleveland (today WKNRWKNRWKNR — branded ESPN 850 WKNR — is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, WKNR is the primary Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio; together with sister station WWGK, WKNR is often referred to as ESPN Cleveland.WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate...
). His evening show has a brief (he leaves WJW in May. After a 90-day non-compete clause is enforced, Myers joins cross-town WHK), coining phrases that are still uttered to this day, such as "wavy gravy" and "mellow jello". - March 4: WDCR/1340-Hanover, New Hampshire (Dartmouth College Radio) begins broadcasting @ 21:00 Eastern Standard Time.
- November 23: "Have Gun, Will Travel", one of the last radio dramas featuring continuing characters, debuts on the CBS Radio NetworkCBS Radio NetworkThe CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
.
Births
- May 23 - Mitch AlbomMitch AlbomMitchell David "Mitch" Albom is an American best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide...
, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author and radio personality - June 29 - Jeff CoopwoodJeff Coopwood-Personal life:Coopwood was born in Chicago, Illinois to Louise Riley and Jesse Coopwood. His father, Jesse Coopwood was a legendary jazz radio broadcaster in Gary, Indiana. His mother, Louise Riley, a former gospel radio broadcaster, and talk show hostess in markets from Chicago and parts of...
, American actor, broadcaster and singer - September 6 - Jeff FoxworthyJeff FoxworthyJeffrey Marshall "Jeff" Foxworthy is an American comedian, television and radio personality and author. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also comprises Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Ron White. Known for his "you might be a redneck" one-liners, Foxworthy...
, American comedian, actor, author, and radio and television personality - October 23 - Michael DysonMichael DysonMichael Eric Dyson is an American academic, author, and radio host. He is a professor of sociology at Georgetown University. Described by Michael A. Fletcher as "a Princeton Ph.D. and a child of the streets who takes pains never to separate the two", Dyson has so far authored and edited 18 books...
, African-American writer, professor, and radio talk showTalk showA talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host.