Before there was the Internet and television to come home to, American families spent evenings together listening to the magical, fantastic worlds broadcast over the radio. Radio was a central fixture in the American home starting in the late 1920s and remained so until the commercialization of television in the 1950s.

In the early days, radio entertainment was mostly music-oriented. Country music was a favorite staple, and ìbarn dancesî followed, the most famous of which was “The Grand Ole Opry.” Later, radio producers realized the entertaining potential of the new medium. Drama and comedy shows started taking off.

Old-time radio programming actually resembled today’s television programming more than it did today’s radio format. The first programs were based on operas, stage plays and Broadway shows. At the end of World War II, some of the most popular came out of Cecil B. De Milleís Lux Radio Theatre productions of his own movies. Next came the adventure serial dramas and comedies, broadcast five nights a week. The first and probably most popular of these was “Amos ‘n Andy,” which began on NBC in 1928.

Some other popular serials were “Fibber McGee and Molly,” “Eveready Hour,” and Orson Welles‘ “Mercury Theater on the Air.” The comedy shows evolved into situation comedy, or sitcoms as they are called today. These shows had a tremendous following from night to night, and from week to week.

The utter power of radio is no more obvious than in the October 1938 broadcast of the Mercury Theater‘s “War of the Worlds.” Welles‘ dramatic reading of H.G. Wells novel had many Americans so terrified and convinced of alien invaders they fled from their homes, some even attempting suicide.

While much of the “golden era” programming was geared toward the interests of a wide, general audience, radio programmers weren’t naive to specific audience needs. Today’s television soap operas have roots to the daily radio dramas developed to keep housewives company at home. The first of these was “Painted Moon,” which debuted on NBC in 1930. The large, guaranteed audience encouraged sponsorship by soap companies, thus the name. Other popular “soaps” were “Our Gal Sunday” and Ma Perkins, which ran for 33 years.

Radio links:

Old Time Radio