Very old home recordings (OT?)

[ken]

Hmmm... The origin and originator of the term "disc jockey" is debatable. I looked into it in some detail a few years ago when I wrote some encyclopedia entries for a scholarly reference book. I could be wrong, but this is what I came up with then:


"The term 'disc jockey' was coined in the United States in the early 1940s to distinguish the new style of presenters of radio shows based on discs from conventional announcers. Variety, the US entertainment trade magazine, chose 'disc jockey' to replace 'record jockey' (used by the record company executive Jack Kapp in a magazine feature in 1940), first using it in an article entitled 'Disc Jockey Solves Vacation' on 23 July 1941. It has also been attributed to the gossip columnist and broadcaster Walter Winchell. At first, the word 'jockey' simply referred to how the DJ controlled the loudness of discs, 'riding the gain' on the control panel dial. It also came to suggest how the DJ 'rode the records to success,' championing and repeating a favored disc until it became a hit.
Who were the first DJs? It is generally agreed that the first notable shows to start the trend toward high-profile programs based entirely on commercial discs were presented by Al Jarvis, who invented The World's Largest Make-Believe Ballroom on station KFWB Los Angeles in 1932, and Martin Block, who copied the idea in 1935 for WNEW New York. Each played three or four records in a row by a featured artist, speaking to listeners as if the artist were physically present and playing live. Block's show became a phenomenon, partly because of his talent for coining slogans for advertisers; by the end of its first year, it had over 4 million listeners and was running for 2.5 hours every day. It encouraged national advertisers to sponsor the new chart shows that were based on sheet music sales and records, and the radio networks to introduce more disc jockey shows, especially late at night (Fong-Torres 1998)."

...and so it goes on for another 1500 words or so!

happy to be updated or corrected!

ken

the book was:
Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, ed. Shepherd et al, 2000, London: Continuum, Volume 2: `Industry and Institutions'


--- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "Colin" <colin_ellis@...> wrote:
>
> Fascinating article for Pig's Big 78 fans and for anyone interested in home recording (watch the video):
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/arts/music/17jazz.html?_r=1&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/M/Music&scp=6&sq=the%20savory%20colletion&st=cse
>  
> 
> "The collection also provides a glimpse into the history of broadcasting, thanks to the presence of Martin Block, a WNEW announcer who hosted a show called "Make Believe Ballroom," on many discs. Walter Winchell coined the term "disc jockey" to describe Block, whose citation when he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame gives him credit for being "the first radio disc jockey to become a star in his own right.""
>  
>  So now we know.....
>