Columns

Matt Vettese's career journey in radio has lasted 13 years... so far. He was caught up in layoffs last November when he was an unexpected budget cut at Big 101.1 in Barrie, Ontario

IT WAS APRIL 9th … when Bob Hope made his network TV debut, hosting the 90-minute “Star-Spangled Review” on NBC… When the Ed Sullivan Show’s eclectic playbill on CBS-TV included Zippy the Chimp rollerskating and riding a bike, a comedy routine by vaudeville veterans Smith & Dale, ventriloquist Ricky Layne & Velvel, singers Julie Wilson, Oscar Brown Jr. and Jan Peerce… When The Rolling Stones made their first live TV appearance on ITV’s Friday night music showcase “Ready Steady Go!”… and when CBS radio & MSNBC shock jock Don Imus (pictured) was suspended (and later fired) after he jokingly referred to members of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos”. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 8th … when the original radio voice of ‘The Lone Ranger,’ Ontario-born Earl Graser, was killed in an auto accident at age 32 … When country singer Jimmy Dean began a morning show on CBS in what would be a futile effort to defeat NBC’s Today Show … When UK singer Petula Clark starred in her own NBC-TV prime time special, with guest Harry Belafonte (pictured) … and when the last original episode of ‘All in the Family’ aired on CBS-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 7th … when the first national rock and roll series, Alan Freed’s ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party’, made its debut on the CBS Radio network… When San Francisco deejay Tom Donahue turned KMPX-FM into what is considered to be America’s first alternative “free-form” radio station, playing non-commercial music by album-oriented bands…Whitney Houston (picture) was released from a Paris hospital after treatment for a respiratory infection When Rickie Lee Jones was the musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, performing her soon-to-be smash hit “Chuck E’s In Love”… and when the 100th episode of “Married With Children” aired on Fox TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 6th .. when the comic strip ‘Little Orphan Annie’ came to life for the first time on NBC radio … When ‘This is Your FBI’ debuted as a weekly 30-minute drama on ABC radio .. When Swanson & sons introduced their frozen ‘TV Dinner’… When Bob Hope hosted the 31st Annual Academy Awards that named ‘Gigi’ best picture… and when singers Peggy Lee & Tony Bennett, and comics Rodney Dangerfield & Joan Rivers headlined the Easter Sunday edition of CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show. Veteran broadcaster Rudy Hartman (picture) died at 99. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 5th … when less than five months after the first NBC network broadcast from New York, the Pacific Coast-based NBC ‘Orange’ network aired its first programmming from temporary studios in San Francisco…. When 19-year old Barbra Streisand (pictured) made her first network television appearance on NBC’s late night “Jack Paar Show” with guest host Orson Bean… When the final episode of the original ‘Hawaii Five-0’ aired on CBS-TV… and when the FOX Broadcasting Company debuted coast-to-coast in the US with two Sunday night comedy shows, Married..With Children and The Tracey Ullman Show. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

Sarah Christie has been in radio for well over a decade, and currently serves as the National Music Manager for Virgin Radio Canada

IT WAS APRIL 4th .. when Kate Smith began a new daily quarter-hour talk show in the noon hour at CBS radio… When the ill-fated CBC-FM Network signed on, with connected stations only in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal… When Johnny Carson quit The Tonight Show in a salary dispute with NBC. He returned three weeks later with an additional $30,000 a week!… and when, after six years, the final episode of the WWII prison camp sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes” aired on CBS TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 3rd … when two staples of NBC radio made their debuts three years apart, ‘Mr. District Attorney,’ and ‘People Are Funny’… When the comedy team of (Dean) Martin & (Jerry) Lewis (pictured) began their own weekly series on NBC radio … When radio station CKSA Lloydminster had its official grand opening, with 1000 watts at 1450 KHz… and when John Chancellor stepped down as anchor of the The NBC Nightly News, to be succeeded by the team of Roger Mudd and Tom Brokaw as coanchors. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 2nd .. when the newspaper-based docudrama ‘The Big Story’ began its 8-year run on NBC radio.. When two very successful & long-running daytime dramas ‘The Edge of Night’ and ‘As The World Turns’ premiered on the same day on CBS TV… When CBS Radio began to produce News On the Hour 24/7… When the sci-fi soap opera “Dark Shadows” concluded an almost 5 year run on ABC TV… and when J.R. Ewing and the clan arrived at Southfork, as ‘Dallas’ debuted in prime time on CBS-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.