Make Believe Ballroom

Last updated
Block's "Make Believe Ballroom" debuted on WNEW in 1935.

Make Believe Ballroom is a long-running radio program which first aired on radio station WNEW in 1935. The show was created as filler by announcer Martin Block to fill in time between news bulletins covering the Lindbergh kidnapping trial. The station did not have access to a live orchestra to play music so Block played records instead and so Block played records instead. The concept proved successful and led to the launch of Make Believe Ballroom on February 3, 1935 as a 15-minute experimental, with Block borrowing both the concept and the title from West Coast disc jockey Al Jarvis, who had launched the similarly named The World's Largest Make Believe Ballroom in 1932, with Block as his assistant. [2] WNEW's program consisted of Block playing records from popular bands and singers with the conceit that they were live performances in an imaginary ballroom. The show expanded its time slot and at one point during Block's tenure attracted 25% of the listening audience in New York City. In 1936, the stations use of recorded music resulted in a lawsuit initiated by bandleaders Paul Whiteman, Sammy Kaye and Fred Waring who claimed that the playing of records on radio broadcasts was undermining performers' network contracts, which often called for exclusive services. The court ruled that WNEW, after purchasing each record, was allowed to broadcast it regardless of the resistance from artists. WNEW's victory subsequently authorized radio stations across the country to start playing recorded music and brought about the modern radio programming landscape. [3] : 13 Make Believe Ballroom was nationally syndicated beginning in 1940 [4] and Block and Make Believe Ballroom made the cover of Billboard magazine in April, 1942. [5] In 1949, the radio show inspired the movie Make Believe Ballroom . Block left Make Believe Ballroom in 1954 to host The Martin Block Show for ABC Radio, originating from the network's New York flagship WABC. [6] Other hosts have included Al Jarvis (who hosted a west coast and television version of the show), William B. Williams, and Steve Allen. [7] [8]

The show continued on WNEW, with a brief interruption in the 1970s when the name was dropped and then restored in 1979, until 1992 when the station changed its format. [9] [10] After leaving WNEW, the show was revived in 1996 by Bill Owen on WVNJ [11] and then on WNSW in Newark, New Jersey where it was hosted by Julius La Rosa in the late 1990s. [12] The show is currently based at WGMC in Rochester, New York, with Jeff Bressler as host, and is heard on public and community radio stations across the United States. [7] [13]

Listening to the show in the 1940s reportedly inspired Casey Kasem to pursue a career as a radio disc jockey and to create the countdown show American Top 40 in 1970. [14]

Related Research Articles

WNEW-FM is a hot adult contemporary-formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan. Its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Kasem</span> American disc jockey and actor (1932–2014)

Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem was an American disc jockey, actor and radio presenter, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably American Top 40. He was the first actor to voice Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise and Dick Grayson/Robin in Super Friends (1973–1985).

<i>American Top 40</i> Radio countdown series

American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacrest and presented as an adjunct to his weekday radio program, On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKSF</span> Black Information Network radio station in San Francisco

KKSF is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Oakland, California and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and has an all-news radio format, with programming from the co-owned Black Information Network (BIN). The studios are located on Townsend Street in San Francisco's SoMa district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPLJ</span> K-Love radio station in New York City

WPLJ is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. It carries a Christian adult contemporary radio format and is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), based in Franklin, Tennessee. It broadcasts EMF's flagship programming service, "K-Love." The station seeks donations on the air and on its website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBBR</span> Clear-channel Bloomberg Radio flagship station in New York City

WBBR is a Class A clear-channel radio station licensed to New York City. It serves as the flagship station of Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg L.P.'s radio service. The station offers general and financial news reports 24-hours a day, along with local information and interviews with corporate executives, economists, and industry analysts.

Richard Neer is an American disc jockey and sports radio personality who has been involved in, and has chronicled, key changes in both music and sports radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Block</span> American disk jockey (1903–1967)

Martin Block was an American disc jockey. It is said that Walter Winchell invented the term "disc jockey" as a means of describing Block's radio work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KLAC</span> Radio station in California, United States

KLAC is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles and much of surrounding Southern California. Owned by a joint venture between iHeartMedia, Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club, KLAC serves as the Los Angeles affiliate for Fox Sports Radio; the flagship station for the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network, the Los Angeles Clippers, UCLA Bruins football and basketball; and the home of radio personalities Fred Roggin, Rodney Peete, Petros Papadakis and Matt "Money" Smith.

The year 1967 saw a number of significant happenings in radio broadcasting history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Steele</span> American DJ

Alison Steele was an American radio personality who was also known by her air name, The Nightbird. She amassed a large and loyal following on her night shifts on WNEW-FM in New York City during the late 1960s and 1970s. Her show featured progressive rock and artists associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, combined with listeners' calls and Steele's own unique brand of mellow DJ patter, peppered with poetry and mysticism. Her original Nightbird show ran from 1968 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSNR</span> Radio station in Jersey City, New Jersey

WSNR is a commercial radio station, licensed to Jersey City, New Jersey, and serving the New York metropolitan area. It airs a brokered time radio format. The station is co-owned by Gregory Davidzon and Sam Katsman, through licensee Davidzon Radio, Inc. Davidzon is a Russian-American media mogul who also publishes a weekly newspaper under his name. Weekday programming consists of Russian pop music and talk shows as "Davidzon Radio", named after the station's co-owner. Nighttime and weekend hours are leased to various ethnic and specialty programmers. During part of the weekend, the station airs a Caribbean format, "One Caribbean Radio".

WGMC is a listener-supported station licensed to Greece, New York and serving Rochester, New York. It airs a Jazz radio format. On air, the station is identified as "Jazz 90.1" in reference to its FM frequency. WGMC specializes in all styles of jazz, but is also an important outlet for music and voices that do not make it onto commercial radio.

William B. Williams was an American disc jockey on New York City radio station WNEW for over four decades. He hosted the popular program Make Believe Ballroom. Williams is particularly noted for coining the title "Chairman of the Board" for Frank Sinatra.

William Roscoe Mercer (1927–2000), better known to millions of radio listeners simply as Rosko, was an American announcer, commercial voice over specialist and disc jockey (DJ). He is best known for his stints on New York's WOR-FM and WNEW-FM in the late 1960s and 1970s. He was often a rare African-American voice on radio stations that primarily broadcast to white audiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Robbins (broadcaster)</span> American broadcaster (1919–1992)

Fred Robbins was an American radio personality who became a television host and celebrity interviewer.

Dennis Elsas is an American disc jockey in New York City, whose radio and voiceover career has spanned 50 years, most notably his more than 25 years at WNEW-FM in New York City, where he debuted on July 11, 1971. He also served as music director. He currently hosts an afternoon show on WFUV in New York and weekend shows on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Classic Vinyl and a live weekly call-in roundtable show, The Fab Fourum, on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's The Beatles Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of radio disc jockeys</span> History of radio employees

The history of radio disc jockeys covers the time when gramophone records were first transmitted by experimental radio broadcasters to present day radio personalities who host shows featuring a variety of recorded music.

<i>Make Believe Ballroom</i> (film) 1949 film by Joseph Santley

Make Believe Ballroom is a 1949 American musical romantic comedy directed by Joseph Santley and produced by Ted Richmond. It was loosely based on the radio program of the same name hosted by Martin Block and Al Jarvis. The film starred Jerome Courtland, Ruth Warrick, Ron Randell, Virginia Welles, and Jarvis.

Carol Miller is an American radio personality and disc jockey. She has been a steady presence on rock radio stations in the New York City area since 1973. She began her broadcasting career as a college undergraduate, and stayed with it even after she completed graduate studies in law school. She rose to prominence at WPLJ-FM and then moved to WNEW-FM. She has been heard most recently on WAXQ-FM ("Q-104.3") and Sirius XM.

References

  1. ↑ "WNEW" (advertisement), Billboard, August 9, 1947, page 2.
  2. ↑ Hinckley, David (17 March 2004). "Future of Radio:Martin Block Makes Believe". New York Daily News. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  3. ↑ Where the Melody Lingers On: WNEW (1934–1984). New York: Nightingale Gordon. 1984. ASIN   B000KYMBDA.
  4. ↑ "Martin Block". Radio Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  5. ↑ Martin Block, Conductor of WNEW's 'Make Believe Ballroom'. Billboard. 18 April 1942. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  6. ↑ "Disk Jockey, ABC Sign Big Contract". Youngstown Vindicator. 17 March 1953. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  7. 1 2 "Make Believe Ballroom". Make Believe Ballroom. WGMC FM. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  8. ↑ "STEVE ALLEN REMODELS 'MAKE-BELIEVE BALLROOM'". New York Times. April 8, 1987. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  9. ↑ Barron, James (August 16, 1992). "Sale of WNEW-AM Could Replace Sinatra With Stock Reports". The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  10. ↑ Singer, Barry (December 7, 1992). "Good-Bye To All That". New York Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  11. ↑ https://www.nydailynews.com/1996/12/26/wvnj-signals-its-ready-to-take-on-wqew/
  12. ↑ "julieandmusic". Juliuslarosa.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  13. ↑ "About Make Believe Ballroom". Make Believe Ballroom. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Casey Kasem, You've Truly Reached The Stars". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.