1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,719 Speaker 1: Okay, I want you to sit back, close your eyes 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: and just listen. Now, imagine it's a hundred years ago, 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: and what it must have felt like the very first 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: time you, your family, your neighbors heard a famous voice 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: or a stranger's voice coming out of a wooden box 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,440 Speaker 1: in your home a radio. Telephones were still new, TV's 7 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:24,799 Speaker 1: didn't exist. For music, you either went to a concert 8 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: or you had to make it yourself. Suddenly all of 9 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: that was at your fingertips. I'm Patty Steele. How that 10 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: whisper in the dark changed our world forever? That's next 11 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 1: on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. Getting a 12 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: little personal here, But I've spent my entire adult life 13 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: on the radio. When I was a kid, I would 14 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: lie in the dark and I would listen to those voices, 15 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: and it somehow felt more intimate to me than TV 16 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: ever did. It was a voice right inside my ear, 17 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: a whispur in the dark, and I wanted to be 18 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: part of it. So how did this gadget this thing? 19 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: Those voices, the music suddenly right there inside your home 20 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: change our world forever? We don't really stop to think 21 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 1: about how the advent of radio changed the way we 22 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,919 Speaker 1: got information, her music, were entertained, and most importantly, eased 23 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: our loneliness. Broadcast radio's arrival was a seismic shift in 24 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: the early twentieth century. Telephones, which were also pretty new 25 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: at that point, as well as shipped to shore wireless telegraph, 26 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: sparked its birth. In the beginning, it seemed like just 27 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:46,839 Speaker 1: a fad for kind of early techies. By nineteen twenty three, 28 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: one percent of US households had a radio. By nineteen 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: forty seven, less than twenty five years later, eighty two 30 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: percent of us were radio listeners. Instead of leaving the 31 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: house for live sports, music, new comedies, and drama, he 32 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: would settle on the living room couch and flip on 33 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: the radio, pretty often housed in a big, ornate piece 34 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,959 Speaker 1: of wooden furniture. Before the arrival of radio, the only 35 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: way to get news was the not very timely coverage 36 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: provided by newspapers or hanging out at the local tavern. 37 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: Imagine what it felt like, for the very first time 38 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: to hear live broadcasts from war zones, or from reporters 39 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: and witnesses who'd been on the scene of huge political, criminal, 40 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:36,799 Speaker 1: and cultural events. Imagine hearing music symphonies big bands, singers 41 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: that most people had never had any access to, and 42 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: it was right there in your home or in your 43 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: neighbor's home, since not everybody could afford this gadget. We 44 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: heard the voices of politicians, movie stars, and inventors for 45 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: the very first time. In nineteen twenty nine, Thomas Edison 46 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: spoke to Coast on the radio during celebrations for the 47 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: fiftieth anniversary of the light bulb, just days before the 48 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: crash of the stock market and the start of the 49 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: Great Depression. Of course, that offered even more content than 50 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: you can ever imagine, as folks tried to get through 51 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,079 Speaker 1: those days together. The voices of icons captured on the 52 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: radio included inventors Alexander Graham Bell and George Washington Carver, 53 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: presidents like Teddy Roosevelt, aviator Amelia Earhart. We heard King 54 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: Edward the Eighth abdicate the throne of England so he 55 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: could marry an American divorcee. We also heard the voices 56 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: of regular folks, including a number of Civil War veterans, 57 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: and in nineteen thirty three, Joseph Hazelton. You know who 58 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: he is, well back then he was in his eighties. 59 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: He spoke on the radio about watching the assassination of 60 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: President Lincoln back in eighteen sixty five. He was working 61 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: at the time as a twelve year old errand boy 62 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: at Ford's Theater, living in a world so innocent that 63 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: a broadcast like orson Wells War of the World in 64 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty eight, which was just a fictional story of 65 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: aliens arriving on Earth to make war, could cause coast 66 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: to coast panic. And radio sold us stuff like never before. 67 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: When people we admired told us how much we needed 68 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,479 Speaker 1: a certain kind of appliance or soap or coffee, we 69 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: really listened and we bought. By the nineteen forties and 70 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: the outbreak of World War II, everybody was connected to 71 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: what was going on through the magic of radio. We 72 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: heard President Franklin Roosevelt declare war on Japan, saying December seventh, 73 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: nineteen forty one, a date which will live in infamy. 74 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: Through breaking news reports, we followed the war like we'd 75 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: never been able to before. The President did regular broadcasts 76 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: which were called fireside chats to keep us informed and 77 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,239 Speaker 1: give folks the feeling that we were all in this together. 78 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: And we got wrapped up in the titillating world of crime. 79 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: We became fascinated with the mafia, with reports from the 80 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: field on the gangster's exploits. We heard live broadcasts from 81 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: Hollywood and followed the personal lives of stars shared by 82 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: gossip reporters. In July of nineteen forty five, New York 83 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: City faced a big newspaper strike. Radio brought people the news, 84 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 1: and Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia took to the radio to read 85 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: the comics to kids and anybody else who wanted to listen. Hence, 86 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: speaking of entertainment, there were full blown theater type productions 87 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: of mysteries, comedies, game shows, and westerns. Music became more 88 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: accessible than ever before, especially for people who in the 89 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: past had almost no access to it. There was big 90 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 1: band music, symphonies, opera, and pop, and there were talk 91 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: shows where famous people were interviewed and radio stars spoke 92 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:00,680 Speaker 1: about everything from gardening to child raising, relationship chips, to 93 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: the news. By the nineteen fifties, TV began to take 94 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:08,039 Speaker 1: over so much of what radio had been about over 95 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: the past decades, and that's when radio saw its opportunity 96 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: to take a deep dive into the younger generation, playing 97 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: their music and talking about the things that mattered to them. 98 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,919 Speaker 1: Radio made superstars of acts like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, 99 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:28,039 Speaker 1: Rolling Stones, The Supremes, Jackson Five, Elton, John Madonna, The Eagles, Beyonce, 100 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: Taylor Swift. It keeps going hand onion too other genres 101 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: like alternative rock, R and B RAP. Today, everything, even 102 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: our favorite radio personalities, are available on a screen. But 103 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: for early and mid twentieth century folks, the picture was 104 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: just as vivid, maybe more so. Your imagination. What you 105 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: see when you close your eyes and just listen can 106 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: be way more thrilling than someone else's idea of what 107 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:00,279 Speaker 1: you should see. Iconic CBS newsman Charles Osgood, who just 108 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: recently died, wrote about his love for radio, saying we 109 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 1: can whisper in the listener's ear and take them anywhere. 110 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: No television set that's made, no screen that you can find, 111 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: can compare with that of radio the theater of the mind. 112 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: If you have any ideas for stories you'd like me 113 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 1: to take a deeper dive into and share, you can 114 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: direct message me on Instagram at real Patty Steele or 115 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: on Facebook at Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories 116 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, 117 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our 118 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. 119 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: Free to reach out to me with comments and even 120 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on 121 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the backstory 122 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't know 123 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: you needed to know.