As radio broadcasting goes, its rich history in Dallas dates back to August 1921 when the City of Dallas put WRR on the air. It was not only the first station in Texas to get an FCC license, but was one of the nation's first five to go on the air
WRR had a weird beginning, actually. The city formed and licensed it so that the latest news about fires in Dallas could be broadcast. In fact, the station was first housed at the fire department. So when the firemen had nothing to talk about on the air about fires, they played music, told jokes and gossiped to fill up the air time. Dallasites began buying crystal radios to hear the antics for entertainment.
By the early 1930s the station had been moved to the Adolpus Hotel, and it was a serious commercial venture, although still owned by the city. By the time it moved to its own building, the Art Deco building at the famous Dallas Fair Grounds where it still is today, it was broadcasting its programming on both AM and FM signals.
WRR remains city owned, and it earns it way as a profitable commercial radio station that plays a classical music format. All of us here are proud of WRR's place in the community. In fact, it's definitely a sacred cow.
From that early and formidable beginning, came many radio programming "inventions" in Dallas, including the Top 40 format that Gordon McLendon established at KLIF-AM in the mid ‘50s. He added other stations that he bought, but it wasn't long after that stations all over the nation were copying his famous format.
<<===Top-40 Legend Gordon McLendon
In 2004 another well-known Dallas broadcaster, Larry Shannon, and some of his buddies like top 40s legend and my friend, Chuck Dunaway, formed the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
I have the honor of being one of the Premier Members of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame because of my many years of broadcasting, beginning in 1954 at 14. For me it was primarily a way to pay for school and college expenses and then with it firmly in my blood, as a serious avocation all throughout my adult life.
The 2007 Texas Radio Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Awards Program will be held on Saturday, October 27th at the Dallas-Addison Marriott Quorum Hotel by the Galleria.
This year, those who will be honored with induction are Gordon Baxter, Bob Bruton, Gary DeLaune, Larry Dixon, Terry Dorsey, Roy Eaton, Don Harris, Dan Ingram, Charlie Jones, Randy Robins, Jack Schell, Arch Yancey. Instated will be Steve Crosno, Jon Dillon, Paxton Mills, Dick Risenhoover and Peggy Sears.
I am especially pleased that old friends Arch Yancey (Houston) and Jack Schell (Dallas) are among the inductees, and that all-night Texas Network talk show host, Charlie Jones is as well.
Bill, This is a fascinating history of radio in Dallas.....congrats on being in the Hall of Fame. I would love to hear some of your broadcasts...are they on the internet ?
It's nice to see you have such a wide circle of friends who are involved in radio....I imagine they're all unique and interesting characters such as yourself (I mean that in a good way, of course). ((-:
Jo
Miss Jo,
I've got boxes and boxes of tapes of my radio programs and the TV pieces over here. Oddly, I don't have any of the "American Airlines Music 'til Dawn" programs that I hosted in New Orleans while I was at Tulane. It was a very famous format that had different hosts in major markets serviced by AA.
I'm pretty sure I had some of them on the old reel-to-reel tapes, but they've either been thrown out or are misplaced.
Those days are gone, but many of us keep in touch.
Bill
Miss Joan,
Since I'm especially fond of the Old Days, this event is right down my alley (a southern expression that has probably not reached New Hampshire). Even Patty said she'd go with me, and she didn't even put up a fuss about it.
Bill