The Majestic Theater of the Air, also known as The Majestic Hour, is an American musical radio program that aired on the CBS radio network between 1928 and 1932 on Sunday evenings. The series was produced and emcee'd by Wendell Hall and sponsored by Chicago's Grigsby-Grunow Company, manufacturers of Majestic Radios. [1] It began on the CBS network in October, 1928, with a coast-to-coast hookup of 29 stations. [2]
When Grigsby-Grunow expanded their broadcast to reach the full CBS network on January 6, 1929, the stars of the program were Eddie Cantor and Ruth Etting. [3] In April, 1929, singer Harriet Lee was introduced by Hall on the show as the "Chicago Nightingale", becoming a hit on the CBS network. [4]
In an August 1929 program, Hall presented the songwriters J. Fred Coots and Benny Davis singing some of their past and present song hits. The tenor Redferne Hollinshead contributed five selections with an additional two songs by Edna Sedley. [5]
Orchestra music was by Arnold Johnson and His Majestic Orchestra. [6]
The series later moved to NBC.
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
Amos 'n' Andy is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show was created, written and voiced by two white actors, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, who played Amos Jones (Gosden) and Andrew Hogg Brown (Correll), as well as incidental characters. On television, 1951–1953, black actors took over the majority of the roles; white characters were infrequent.
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, Mutual was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow. For many years, it was a national broadcaster for Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football. From the mid-1930s and until the retirement of the network in 1999, Mutual ran a highly respected news service accompanied by a variety of popular commentary shows. Mutual pioneered the nationwide late night call-in radio program in the late 1970s, introducing the country to Larry King and later Jim Bohannon.
WGN-TV is an independent television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister to the company's sole radio property, news/talk/sports station WGN. WGN-TV's studios are located on West Bradley Place in Chicago's North Center community; as such, it is the only major commercial television station in Chicago which bases its main studio outside the Loop. Its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower in the Loop.
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the CBS Evening News, CBS Mornings, news magazine programs CBS News Sunday Morning, 60 Minutes, and 48 Hours, and Sunday morning political affairs program Face the Nation. CBS News Radio produces hourly newscasts for hundreds of radio stations, and also oversees CBS News podcasts like The Takeout Podcast. CBS News also operates a 24-hour digital news network.
KOVR is a television station licensed to Stockton, California, United States, broadcasting the CBS network to the Sacramento area. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate KMAX-TV. Both stations share studios on KOVR Drive in West Sacramento, while KOVR's transmitter is located in Walnut Grove, California.
WBBM-TV is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Street in the Loop district, and its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower.
The Blue Network was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
KFBK is a commercial AM radio station in Sacramento, California. It is simulcast on KFBK-FM 93.1 MHz. KFBK-AM-FM air a news-talk radio format and are owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on River Park Drive in North Sacramento, near the Arden Fair Mall.
KQCA is a television station licensed to Stockton, California, United States, serving the Sacramento area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside NBC affiliate KCRA-TV. Both stations share studios on Television Circle off D Street in downtown Sacramento, while KQCA's transmitter is located in Walnut Grove, California.
KIFM is a radio station in Sacramento, California, that has been affiliated with ESPN Radio since February 2007. It has separate transmitter sites for daytime and night operations. Owned and operated by Audacy, Inc., its studios are located in North Highlands, with a Sacramento address. Previously, KIFM was known as KCTC, which has had a history in the Sacramento market as both an FM and AM station.
WIBW is a commercial AM radio station in Topeka, Kansas. It is owned by Alpha Media and airs a talk and sports radio format. The studios and offices are on SW Executive Drive in Topeka. The transmitter is off NW Landon Road in Silver Lake.
KMJ is a commercial AM radio station in Fresno, California. It airs a news/talk radio format, and simulcasts with sister station KMJ-FM. Owned by Cumulus Media, the studios and offices are located at the Radio City building on Shaw Avenue in North Fresno.
Wendell Woods Hall was an American country singer, vaudeville artist, songwriter, pioneer radio performer, Victor recording artist and ukulele player.
The Eveready Hour was the first commercially sponsored variety program in the history of broadcasting. It premiered December 4, 1923, on WEAF Radio in New York City. As radio's first sponsored network program, it was paid for by the National Carbon Company, which at the time owned Eveready Battery. The host for many years was the banjo-playing vocalist Wendell Hall, "The Red Headed Music Maker", who wrote the popular "It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'". Hall was married on The Eveready Hour in 1924.
Majestic Radios was an American radio brand from 1927 to 1955, trademarked as "The Mighty Monarchs of the Air". Noted for their high quality, they were initially manufactured by the Grigsby-Grunow Company of Chicago. After Grigsby-Grunow's demise in 1934 during the Great Depression, Majestic Radios continued to be made through subsequent corporate ownership changes and reorganizations for another twenty-two years. The Majestic Radio & Television Corporation was formed to produce the radios in the 1930s and 1940s. Following Majestic Radio & Television's liquidation in 1949, Majestic-brand radios were made by a division of the Wilcox-Gay Corporation at their Michigan factory in the 1950s.
The Don Lee Network, sometimes called the Don Lee Broadcasting System was an American regional network of radio stations in the old-time radio era.
Arnold Johnson was an American big band pianist, arranger, composer, and leader during the swing jazz era. He was orchester leader on the popular The Majestic Theater of the Air program on the CBS radio network beginning in 1929.
Harriet Lee was an American radio singer during the Golden Age of Radio in the 1920s–1930s. She was best known as a blues contralto on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and, later, NBC Radio Networks. Called the "Songbird of the Air", she was named Miss Radio 1931 based on nationwide submittals from radio stations, judged by Flo Ziegfeld and McClelland Barclay, to select the "most beautiful radio artist" for the Radio World's Fair in New York City. Lee was one of the highest paid radio stars that year. She hosted the Harriet Lee show on experimental New York City station W2XAB in 1931, making her one of the first singers to have a show on U.S. television.