Copyright 2008@ Judy Rosella Edwards. Do not reprint without written permission.
The internet radio fad may seem to be something new and unique. But the independent artists of internet radio seem eerily reminiscent of the times and talents of early traditional radio.
The oldest radio station in Illinois, and the second oldest commercial radio station in the US, is WDZ. It was the brainchild of James L. Bush, a commodities trader in Tuscola, Illinois, just south of Champaign-Urbana and the University of Illinois. Bush had a very practical motivation for putting radio to use. He needed to find a fast yet inexpensive way of communicating grain prices to buyers.
If you’ve ever been through Tuscola, you can’t miss the massive grain bins even today. Grain is big business in Tuscola.
But a radio station isn’t very interesting when there is dead air time between the grain reports, regardless of how crucial grain prices are for farmers deciding when to sell and markets timing when they should buy.
Reportedly, by the mid-1920’s, more radio sets graced the homes of farmers in Illinois than in any other state. To keep people listening and to make good use of their radio investment, WDZ filled the airwaves between grain reports with live music performed by local amateur musicians and performers or anyone with the courage to step up to the microphone.
Probably few performers were paid. Most apparently didn’t have promoters and entertainment lawyers representing them. And the performers and their friends and family were responsible for some of the programming, aside from the grain prices, by making music requests.
I have a diary belonging to Dora Wade, a relative of mine, who journaled her life from 1931 through 1935, when she died in her mid-thirties. She was in ill health but wrote in her journal nearly every day documenting everything from the weather to what was on the radio, accompanied by her personal commentary.
It is like reading a Depression-era blog written in pencil. Her biggest crisis was when the “B” batteries in the family’s one Crosley radio would run down. Especially for the housebound Dora, the radio and WDZ was her window to the world.
On March 3, 1934, a relative from Gays, Illinois, called in to WDZ radio in Tuscola to request “Jack and Jill” sing “The old spinning wheel” for her. She says, “That made me very happy.”
Indeed, it must have. During the nearly five year span of Dora’s diary, she only left her farm twice. The rest of the time she was bed-ridden or rarely ventured beyond the porch of her parents’ Shelby County, Illinois, farmhouse.
Billy Hill wrote “The old spinning wheel” in 1933. Altogether he wrote about 90 titles for Tin Pan Alley.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame notes that the Tin Pan Alley era was a time when the sale of a song’s music and lyrics in sheet music form outweighed its performance value. It was a time when it was all about the words and music.
“Jack and Jill” were an old-time radio act from the early Grand Ole Opry era. Presumably this was the same act. Among the amateurs, there were the “stars” – the professional singers with contracts and the more traditional music careers.
Much as the independent music is finding its niche on the internet – another medium never designed for entertainment—the early days of radio literally gave a voice to the novice, the amateur, the person-in-the-street. That is not to say they were without talent, but merely without representation.
Just weeks after “Jack and Jill” sang to her, another of Dora’s relatives, Margaret (Draper) Wade did one better than just make a song request. On June 14, 1934, she drove some 52 miles to Tuscola, stepped up to the microphone, and sang “The Old Spinning Wheel.” She dedicated the song to Dora and several other people.
The title of this song has been used for a variety of songs, all of which have been performed by a vast number of artists. The lyrics that went out across the Midwestern farmlands on June 15, 1934, were probably the version written by Ned Washington, another Tin Pan Alley artist. Washington got his start in Vaudeville as an emcee and agent for other performers. Eventually, he won an Academy Award for the score for the film “Pinocchio,” six years after Dora passed away. Not only did Dora not see this movie, she died without ever seeing a moving picture.
The melody for this version of “I’ll be Faithful” was the creation of Allie Wrubel. Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, you can blame Wrubel the next time you can’t get his song, “Zip A Dee Doo Dah” out of your head.
By November of that year, Margaret was singing regularly over WDZ on Saturday mornings at 10:45. By January of 1935, Margaret was still “warbling,” as Dora would describe it in her diary.
Margaret apparently did not go on to have a lucrative music career. It is not clear if she ever sang aside from her WDZ experiences.
But like today’s internet independent media outlets, Margaret got to express her musical talent. She never became rich or well-known for it. But it meant a lot to those who knew her and respected her ability to “warble” like a bird.
The world has changed. WDZ moved to Decatur, Illinois. Billed as Magic 1050, WCZ is now an “Urban Radio Station serving Central Illinois African America” adults age 25-54. It is not very likely you could show up and take the mike! Their website doesn’t indicate that it is possible to request music.
Enjoy indie music while you can. The artists who pour their soul and voice into internet radio obviously do it out of love.
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