I listen to so little radio these days, mostly when I wake up, or if The Wife is playing it in the car. However, growing up in Binghamton, NY, radio was what I listened to all the time. WENE in nearby Endicott is a sports station now, but in its heyday in the 1960s, it was THE place in the area to listen to the Top 40 hits.
At night, though, when I was about 9 to 13, I would listen to a wide array of stations all over the Northeast US via a clear-channel station, which “is an AM band radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation.” This is NOT to be confused with the stations owned by the company formerly named Clear Channel, now iHeartMedia, Inc.
I’d get my portable radio and hide it under the covers to muffle the sound. I’d listen to WSM in Nashville, TN (country), WABC (Top 40, heavy on the Beatles), and especially WWVA, Wheeling, WV, which played country artists such as George Jones, Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, Jim Reeves, and Eddy Arnold.
Some songs mentioning radio:
Turn Your Radio On – Ray Stevens (1971)
You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio – Joni Mitchell (1973)
Radio, Radio – Elvis Costello (1978)
On Your Radio – Joe Jackson (1979)
Do You Remember Rock N’ Roll Radio – Ramones (1980)
This Is Radio Clash – The Clash (1981)
Mexican Radio – Wall Of Voodoo (1983)
Devil’s Radio – George Harrison (1987)
Radio Head by Talking Heads is another radio song…which also inspired the name of the band Radiohead.
I spent 27 years in radio, as a news reporter/anchor, disk jockey, producer, assignment editor and finally copywriter and production director. There were some very good days in there, but the era of my career coincided with the downfall of the entire industry, which is now a sad shadow of what it once was. Not so much because of changing times and technology as because of greed, deregulation and lack of imagination. There’s almost no entertainment option I wouldn’t rather exercise these days than having to listen to the radio. It’s sad to see something with so much potential that was once so important now reduced to a hollow joke.
My husband was so attached to his portable radio that he took it to the shower so that he wouldn’t miss any of his favourite top hits.
In the fifties and sixties I worked at a school in the Hague as a teacher. As soon I returned to my room, I turned on my radio, even before I turned on my heating. Our first TV- set we got in the seventies, and only two channels.
Have a great week, Roger.
Wil,ABCW Team.
As you may know – because I’ve written about it – I worked in radio for years. Going back nearly to the time when there was a newspaper strike in NY and Mayor LaGuardia read the funnies over WNYC radio for all the kids who were missing the newspaper comics.
The first radio we had in our home was a “ham” affair that my father tinkered with downstairs…what exscitement when we finally got the upstairs variety when radios first became popular. I listen to Sirius now, – seldom to anything else.
Yes, I like old radios, I have a wooden house!
We still have a few radios that look just like this one.
Ann
When I was little I listened to the radio. I’m old enough to know a transistor.
My ABC WEDNESDAY
My Top 40 fix in my formative years generally came from WTMA, Charleston, SC. Tiger Radio dialed back from 5000 watts to 1000 at night, which occasionally prompted me to see what else was out there. To my surprise, there was baseball out there, the Cardinals from KMOX St. Louis, and once the Braves moved out of Milwaukee, they could be heard on WSB Atlanta.
There was a time when I had just about every clear-channel AM station memorized; when the FCC decided to mess with the concept in favor of more local stations, it wasn’t any fun anymore.
Radio will never go out of our life.
Great post about the radio. I still listen to a lot of radio.
I hardly listen to radio, whatever comes on car stereo that’s all. š
I only listen to the radio in my car ! But when I got my first radio in the 50th and I was 12, I was scotched to the radio !
Gattina
ABC Team
Thanks for the trip down radio memory lane.
I enjoy listening to the radio. It’s something to do with not knowing which song is coming next – way more fun than listening to your playlists.
Well that photo of the radio takes me way back!
I still love radio. For people of a certain age here Radio Luxembourg was where we all heard the latest pop (until the advent of pirate radio) although the signal quality was variable depending on atmospheric conditions. Fast forward to the present day and how marvellous that anyone can access anything from the local to the rest of the world. If I listen to music at night it keeps me awake so its always a speech channel under my pillow that that helps me drift off, usually the BBC’s Up All Night which of course as Britain is asleep they go to those countries that are still awake for current affairs, politics and sport.
I listen to the radio when I drive. The talk back radio is great, I get my news this way.
Nice list of songs featuring the word radio! I never listen to radio anymore…my IPod has all that I need these daysāŖ
My dad (when alive) used to have a radio like the one shown, I don’t think there was day that didn’t go by for my dad always was listening to something on his radio, either it was the news or some kind of classical station. My mom mostly would listen to Christian or country music on her car radio, and as for me? I only listen to the car radio for news talk, however when I was younger it was always Rock and Roll.
Joey is gone but the radio still rocks when the Ramones get air. Hey Ho! Letās Go!
I well remember Ray Steven’s “Turn Your Radio on”. I guess I never listen to the radio these days. It’s usually CD”S.
I rarely listen to the radio now, but once upon a time it was either listening to the radio or the record player.
I hardly ever listen to radio these days. I prefer my own selected music even in car. And for news and other such things prefer the WWW more.
I rarely listen to the radio now as I’m always on my PC but if we go out in the care we listen to it then.
I remember listening to my sister’s radio when she was out with her boyfriend, I too, (Roger), put it under my bedding to muffle the sound to prevent the parents from catching me.
I clearly remember my sister complaining to my parents about the short life the batteries seemed to have, as I sloped out of the room, with a sly grin on my face.
The pirate radio stations used to be quite good for up to date pop charts, including Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg (which Joy mentioned)!
Interesting post Roger, it stirred some fond memories.
Best wishes.
Di.
ABCW team.
interesting post!
I only listen to a radio when in my car.. always a classic channel.
In the house we don’t have one, not a need for too
Have a nice weekend.