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In 1920 two widely separated events sparked a revolution in mass entertainment.
Click on the radio in the photograph below for more information.
In the mid-1920s, a typical radio set cost about $150. A large piece of furniture with numerous
dials and a loudspeaker, this radio represented an advance over earlier crystal sets with headphones.
Before tuning in for the first time, the radio's owner needed to string a 100-foot outside aerial.
Until 1927, when owners could plug their radios into electric sockets, radios required two types
of batteries—a storage battery that required recharging every two weeks and a set of dry-cell
batteries that needed to be replaced about every three weeks. In the United States, radio sales,
which jumped to $60 million in 1923, skyrocketed to more than $842 million by 1929.
How did radio affect mass culture?
In 1922, a San Francisco newspaper reported, "There is radio music in the air, every night,
everywhere. Anybody can hear it at home on a receiving set, which any boy can put up in an hour."
Radio altered the daily habits of its listeners more than any other previous invention. As television
does today, radio provided people a source of entertainment they could share. Radio programs ranged from
live theater to sporting events, and from symphony concerts and jazz to religious sermons and broadcasts
of important events. Now people all over the country laughed at the same jokes, hummed the same music,
and listened to the same commercials. The United States became more united.
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Radio created public personalities, like announcer Graham McNamee. In 1921, McNamee first broadcast
a baseball game by radio. He knew little about sports, but his vibrant baritone soon became familiar
to millions of Americans. McNamee became the top sports announcer for the new National Broadcasting
Company (NBC).
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Another NBC radio star was Rudy Vallee, a singer who created a variety show format. The Rudy Vallee
Show began in 1929 and was one of the most popular shows of the 1930s. Many famous vaudeville names
paid a visit to the show.
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Next in popularity after sports on radio were musical programs. Light classical music programs were
common. The Chicago station KYW was created to broadcast opera performances in Chicago. The regular
performances of the great Irish singer John McCormack were broadcast on the RCA Victor Hour. McCormack
was often featured with the New York Metropolitan Opera Company's Lucrezia Bori.
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Credits: Model T © Bettmann/Corbis; Iron Advertisement The Granger Collection,
New York; Couple listening to radio © Culver Pictures; Graham Mc Namee © Getty Images;
Rudy Vallee © Getty Images; John Mc Cormack © Culver Pictures.
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