This March I will be participating in the mont
h-long Slice of Life Challenge. Each day I will be posting a ‘slice’ from my life. This year I am using Natalie Goldberg’s book Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir to provide my sparks for memoir writing. Each post will be a quick write using one of Natalie’s exercises to practice the skill of noticing and remembering.
I’m not sure RADIO has as prominent a role in people’s lives these days. With streaming services, podcasts, and on-demand audio many of us may only encounter radio in our cars as we commute. I’d love to hear about your memories of radio.
litcoachlady 
I am considerably older than you are, but I remember WIBG in Philadelphia, listening to the hits–“The Geater with the Heater,”–when I came down to the Philly area for college. Before that, when I was a kid, we listened to radio programs: The Jack Benny Show, Our Miss Brooks, The Shadow, The Squeaky Door, The Lone Ranger. Before TV arrived in every home, we had radio. I remember sitting on the floor in front of the radio listening to tap dancing! Yes, TAP DANCING!
My parents talked about listening to radio programs in the evening. I can only picture them as those kids from A Christmas Story sitting around the glowing radio with Little Orphan Annie being broadcast. I’ll bet you have some sweet memories, Diane!
I do!
Radio . . . hmm . . . farm markets at noon. Numbers, boring! Music: Leo Greco and his accordion music with many polkas. I do remember being excited when we got a stereo with a radio. Prior to that it was literally, “Don’t touch that dial!” as the radio was controlled by the adults in the house! Great memories!
Oh yes! The market reports “Corn traded lower down 3 cents. Soybeans were also down 2 cents a bushel in heavy trading.”
I think we were all at the mercy of the grownups for what was tuned in. That’s why I was so excited to get my first transistor radio! I got to be in charge of the dial!
I love your handwriting! What I remember about radio is making mixed tapes and our own “radio shows”. We’d pop a tape in, get our microphone and record songs and then talk in between them. I don’t think we ever even listened to what we recorded but it was so much fun! Thanks for stirring up this memory. 🙂
I can remember trying to tape record radio songs and being so mad at DJs for talking through the intros and timing their dialogue to end as the lyrics began. I wanted to yell, “Shut up! I’m taping!” We never tried talking in between them. I love that!
Oh, radio…you took me back to my older sister fixing my hair— a rare event, she seldom deigned to pay any attention to me—while the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” played on our local station KISN. Today I struggled for something to write. I could’ve come here first. That memory is so vivid and the soundtrack of my life: KISN!🎶🎶
I can just hear the radio call sign being sung by some DJ “KISN!🎶🎶”!
I remember the volunteer fire department my dad was a member of having picnics at the town park on Memorial Day. Transistor radios and the Race Day page from the Indy Star in hand, we would listen to the Indy 500, trying to keep track of each driver. We never made it, we were kids… the call of the playground was stronger.
Yeah, listening to hours of Indy racing would not be that pleasurable to me either. I can remember that was always on our tv over Memorial Day and I would glance but never become riveted by it. What a cool memory, Diane.
The moment I will always remember is tuning into a program one evening that I used to listen to with my parents (can’t remember what). To my surprise some solemn kind of music was playing instead. I told my parents that the program wasn’t happening and we waited and waited and finally there was a newsflash to report that JFK had been assassinated (I was living in the UK). Over fifty years later, that radio moment is imprinted on my mind!
OH WOW!! What an incredible memory! Thank you for sharing that.
I enjoyed reading about your memories of radio. I felt very much at home with those artists and tunes. As a tween I remember listening to WGAR with John Lanigan in the morning the radio in my room. It was an AM station and I even remember hearing “Paul Harvey … good day!” In the car it was either WJMO, the AM soul station when I was younger, or one of those easy listening stations that my parents listened to. Staying up to hear the #1 song for the year – Yup. One year I remember waiting and waiting and then the #1 was Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meatloaf and I had never heard of it before! I was both indignant and a bit ashamed. Thanks for sparking this trip down memory lane!
Haaa! I can imagine your reaction when the #1 song for the year was unknown to you! “How could it be #1 if I never even heard of it?!” I guess we all were tuned in to what our parents selected much of the time-that’s why I loved my little transistor…I was in charge!