[buddyjh]

60th day of 2010 - 305 remaining

Monday, March 1, 2010
FM RADIO DAY


Hey gang, crank up the FM stereo tuner and celebrate the reason why you listen to that hard rock/alternative music stuff in the first place. Commercial FM broadcasting began in the U.S. when station W47NV in Nashville, TN started operations on this day in 1941. W47NV was the first commercial FM radio station to receive a license, some 20 years after its AM radio counterpart, KDKA in Pittsburgh. For those of you who don’t remember, FM stands for ‘frequency modulation’ as opposed to ‘amplitude modulation’.

W47NV operated with 20,000 watts on a frequency of 44,700 kilocycles. FM stations don’t do that anymore. They operate in a different segment of the radio spectrum (88-108 MHz) and at power outputs not exceeding 100,000 watts, except in rare instances. (There are a few FM stations in the U.S. with power output up to 300,000 watts and antennas more than a thousand feet high.)

In the beginning, FM radio was pretty much a graveyard for beautiful music that numbed us in doctor’s offices and in elevators. It became a primary source for educational programming; featuring classical music, opera and jazz.

Today, more than 80 percent of radio listening in the United States is done by way of FM and one can hear just about everything, from oldies, rock and pop, country and blues to National Public Radio -- not to mention Howard Stern and his ilk. (And if you haven’t heard Howard Stern’s ilk, you haven’t heard anything.)

That’s it. I’m Mr. Wizard. Thank you. And thank you FM!


Events
March 1
1803 - Ohio (17th state) entered the United States of America. The Buckeye State (nicknamed because of the many buckeye trees, the state tree) with Columbus as its capital city seems to have a penchant for the color red. Its state bird is the cardinal; the scarlet carnation is its flower; the state insect is the ladybug; and the state drink is tomato juice. The state song is Beautiful Ohio, the word, Ohio, is derived from the Iroquois Indian word meaning ‘great river’. The Ohio River is not as great as the Mississippi, but it is pretty big! Ohio’s state motto: With God, all things are possible. So, maybe it is great!

1826 - J.H. Hackett of New York debuted in Love in a Village at the Park Theatre in New York City. One month later, he played in London, England, becoming the first American actor to appear abroad.

1867 - The Cornhusker State, aka the Beef State, aka the Tree Planter State, aka Nebraska (37th state), entered the United States of America. Nebraska means ‘flat water’ in Oto Indian speak. Lincoln is the official seat of Nebraska government. Nebraska’s motto: Equality before the law. The western meadowlark holds the honor of being the state bird; while the goldenrod takes its place as the state flower. Other state symbols include the cottonwood tree (state tree); the honeybee (state insect); blue agate (state gemstone); whitetail deer (state mammal); mammoth (state fossil); prairie agate (state rock); Beautiful Nebraska (state song) ... that’s original ... and, the state soil: typic arguistolls, Holrege Series. State soil?

1869 - Postage stamps depicting scenes were issued for the first time in the U.S.

1873 - E. Remington and Sons of Ilion, NY began the manufacturing of the first practical typewriter. The strong as steel, heavy black clunkers became instant fixtures in offices across the country. It would be another half-century before electric typewriters made their appearance.

1890 - Readers picked up copies of the Literary Digest for the first time.

1912 - Captain Albert Berry of the Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, MO made the first parachute jump from a moving airplane. He jumped from an altitude of 1,500 feet at a speed of 50 mph.

1928 - Paul Whiteman and his orchestra recorded Ol’ Man River for Victor Records. The featured vocalist on the track was 29-year-old Paul Robeson. The song became an American classic.

1932 - Radio’s greatest effort of on-the-spot news coverage began as NBC and CBS radio rushed to Hopewell, NJ to cover the kidnapping of the Charles and Anne Lindbergh baby.

1937 - U.S. Steel raised workers’ wages. If you were a steelworker, you got a raise to $5 a day. That’s right. About 40 cents an hour. Now, punch that time clock and quit your complaining.

1941 - Downbeat magazine scooped the entertainment world with news that Glenn Miller’s renewed contract with Chesterfield Cigarettes was worth $4,850 a week (for three 15-minute programs).

1941 - Duffy’s Tavern debuted on CBS radio -- and became a popular hit for 10 years.

1949 - ‘The Brown Bomber’, Joe Louis, announced that he was retiring from boxing as world heavyweight boxing champion. Louis held the title longer than any other champ -- 11 years, eight months and seven days.

1968 - Country music stars Johnny Cash and June Carter got married on this day. Johnny walked down the aisle knowing that his 1956 hit, Folsom Prison Blues, was about to be redone for a June release. Cash has a daughter, Rosanne, (previous marriage) who became a country star in her own right in the 1980s.

1968 - Elton John’s first record, I’ve Been Loving You, was released by Philips Records in England. Philips, not realizing the potential of the soon-to-be superstar, released him in 1969, just prior to his teaming with lyricist Bernie Taupin. Elton then signed a contract with Uni Records and began to turn out what would become a string of more than 50 hits over the next 25 years.

1969 - Mickey Mantle announced his retirement from baseball on this day. ‘Number 7’ was considered to be the final link to the great Yankee dynasty of the 1950s and 1960s. Mantle’s World Series records include: home runs (18), runs scored (42), RBIs (40), walks (43) and strikeouts (54). Mickey Mantle died in 1995.

1973 - The Robert Joffrey Dance Company opened with a unique presentation in New York City. The show featured music of the Beach Boys in Deuce Coupe Ballet. A clever show, even if it didn’t do much to bring the masses to ballet.

1985 - A Beatles song was used for the first time in a U.S. TV commercial. The rights for Lincoln-Mercury to use the song, HELP!, cost $100,000, helping boost the fortunes of the automaker known as Ford Motor Company.

1986 - Mr. Mister’s Kyrie rose to #1 on in the U.S. The single was a track from the album Welcome to the Real World, which became the #1 album in the U.S. this day.

1987 - The Boston Celtics defeated Detroit 112-102 to post win number 2,235.

1987 - S&H Green Stamps became S&H Green Seals on this day, 90 years after the lick-and-stick stamps were introduced as a way for businesses to bonus their customers -- who then used the stamps to buy merchandise from catalog stores. The stamps became peel-and-seal stamps along with the name change.

1996 - Up Close & Personal opened in U.S. theatres. The romantic drama stars Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stockard Channing and Joe Mantegna. A song from the flick, Because You Loved Me, was nominated for Best Music and Song at the 1997 Academy Awards.

1999 - Some 130 nations agreed to a United Nations Treaty banning land mines which went into effect this day. The U.S., Russia and China did not sign the treaty.

Birthdays
March 1
1837 - William Dean Howells
author: Life of Lincoln, A Modern Instance, The Rise of Silas Lapham; U.S. consul to Italy; editor: Atlantic Monthly; columnist: Harper’s Monthly; died May 11, 1920

1904 - Glenn Miller
bandleader: Moonlight Serenade, In the Mood, Little Brown Jug, Chattanooga Choo-Choo, String of Pearls, Tuxedo Junction, Perfidia; led WWII U.S. Army Air Force Band; presumed dead after his plane disappeared over the English Channel Dec 15, 1944

1910 - (James) David (Graham) Niven
Academy Award-winning actor: Separate Tables [1958], The Moon is Blue, Paper Tiger, The Pink Panther, The Guns of Navarone, Around the World in 80 Days, Casino Royale; died July 29, 1983

1914 - Harry (Christopher) Caray (Carabina)
Ford Frick Award-winning sportscaster: SL Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs; “Holy Cow!”; died Feb 18, 1998

1914 - Ralph Waldo Ellison
author: Invisible Man; essayist: Shadow and Act, Going to the Territory; died Apr 16, 1994

1917 - Robert Lowell
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet: Lord Weary’s Castle [1947], The Dolphin [1974]; National Book Award for Poetry [1960]; died Sep 12, 1977

1922 - Michael Flanders
songwriter, comedian: duo: Flanders and [Donald] Swann: made humorous mockery of English and American failings; Flanders quote, “Always remember that if it hadn’t been for the English, you’d all be Spanish.”; died in 1975

1922 - William Gaines
publisher: Mad magazine; died June 2, 1992

1924 - Deke (Donald) Slayton
astronaut: Apollo Mission, July 1975; chief of flight operations at Johnson Space Center; died June 13, 1993

1926 - Robert Clary (Widerman)
actor: Hogan’s Heroes, Holocaust Survivors/Remembrance of Love

1926 - Pete (Alvin) Rozelle
football: LA Rams GM, NFL commissioner; died Dec 6, 1996

1927 - Harry Belafonte
singer: The Banana Boat Song, Jamaica Farewell, Mary’s Boy Child; actor: Island in the Sun, Buck and the Preacher; UNICEF goodwill ambassador; Shari’s father

1930 - Benny Powell
jazz musician: trombone: Ernie Fields band, Lionel Hapton; Count Basie veteran [1951-1963]

1935 - Robert Conrad (Konrad Robert Falkowski)
actor: The Wild Wild West, High Mountain Rangers [w/sons Christian & Shane], Crossfire, Lady in Red, Samurai Cowboy, Jingle All the Way

1944 - Roger Daltrey
singer: group: The Who: Pinball Wizard, Won’t Get Fooled Again; solo: Without Your Love, Giving It All Away; actor: Tommy, Lisztomania, The Legacy and McVicar

1945 - Dirk Benedict
actor: The A-Team, Chopper One, Battlestar Galactica, Alaska, Blue Tornado, W, Georgia, Georgia

1947 - Alan Thicke
actor: Hope & Gloria, Growing Pains, Not Quite Human series; TV host: Thicke of the Night, Animal Crack-Ups

1952 - Brian Winters
basketball: LA Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks [all-star: 1975, 1976/his number 32 retired by Bucks: October 1983]; assistant coach: Princeton Univ., Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Vancouver Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets

1954 - Catherine Bach
actress: The Dukes of Hazzard, African Skies, Rage and Horror, Street Justice, Driving Force, Cannonball Run 2, Nicole

1954 - Ron Howard
Emmy Award-winning producer: From the Earth to the Moon [1998]; actor: The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, American Graffiti; director: Night Shift, Splash, Cocoon, Backdraft, Apollo 13

1956 - Timothy Daly
actor: Diner, Wings, Storm of the Century, The Fugitive [2000]

ABA Birthdays Today

ovalman123 , 8t8 , unsion (64) , niky (52) , JGAR (51) , bender_f (44) , almel (44) , ottawaguy (44) , jroyce (43) , malayboy (40) , tecnofiend (40) , xranger3rdbatt (40) , Lidy (38) , throttlejunkie (37) , concac12 (35) , datnguyen (35) , nonameguy (30) , j-tag (28) , mooman (28) , kr8zmohfoh (28) , gnefty (27) , dushman (26) , ngonnui5000 (25)

Chart Toppers
March 1
1948Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover - The Art Moonie Orchestra
Ballerina - Vaughn Monroe
I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Eddy Arnold

1956Lisbon Antigua - Nelson Riddle
The Poor People of Paris - Les Baxter
Why Do Fools Fall in Love - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
I Forgot to Remember to Forget - Elvis Presley

1964I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
She Loves You - The Beatles
Dawn (Go Away) - The Four Seasons
Begging to You - Marty Robbins

1972Without You - Nilsson
Hurting Each Other - Carpenters
Precious and Few - Climax
It’s Four in the Morning - Faron Young

1980Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
Yes, I’m Ready - Teri DeSario with K.C.
Longer - Dan Fogelberg
I Ain’t Living Long like This - Waylon Jennings

1988Father Figure - George Michael
What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield
She’s like the Wind - Patrick Swayze featuring Wendy Fraser
I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love - Tanya Tucker

Happy Birthday Roger Daltrey of The Who

[peggy13]

Thanks Buddy for a great job. Hope you have a great Monday. March is here, wow!!

[steven charles]

thanks buddy for another great piece of history,and thanks for sharing with us,and have a great day my friend...

[snakebite]

thank you buddy,it sure does make you think of where the time goes reading this.

[Victor Hugo]

Thanks Buddy for the Excellent Job.

[brewboy]

Thanks Buddy , entertaining as usual, and a great way to start a day.

[slowboy]

THANKS FOR THE GREAT INFO !!!!l

[Crystal Dragon]

Yes, this a great way to start the day!!!
I always read this post and listen to the daily song hehe
My own morning ritual... like drinking coffee... gotta have it!!

Thanks Buddy!!

[dt8350]

Happy Birthday Roger Daltrey!
Great Post Buddy!

[just4ufolks]

Great info as alwayz-wonderful to start the
March Madness
wtg-buddy



MY
FRIEND

for all you do and for your untiring
effort
to bring this thread on daily basis
keep going

UR
appreciated & admired

Thx again

[marty napier]

thank you buddy!

[unclepaul]

Thanks buddy

[yipitsme]

Thanks Buddy, I missed this yesterday, but glad I found it today.