''The Eveready Hour'' was the first commercially sponsored variety program in the history of broadcasting. It premiered December 4, 1923 (or, according to other sources, November 4, 1923, or February 12, 1924), on WEAF Radio in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. 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'" (Victor Records). Hall was married on ''The Eveready Hour'' in 1924.
History
The program started locally on radio station WEAF in New York City in December 1923. The idea for the program came when the National Carbon Company's George Furness tuned in WJZ that summer and heard Edgar White Burrill reading Ida M. Tarbell's ''He Knew Lincoln''. Envisioning the unexplored possibilities of radio programming and advertising, Furness became the producer and supervisor of ''The Eveready Hour'', a show he structured to bring the full spectrum of American culture to the airwaves. Media critic Ben Gross later stated that "Immediately after its première in 1923, it became the most important program in broadcasting."
In early 1924, ''The Eveready Hour'' began to be carried simultaneously by a second station, WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, and the number of outlets was expanded to a group of Eastern and Midwestern stations "as quickly as WEAF could add stations" to its " WEAF chain" radio network. On election night, November 4, 1924, the program, hosted by Wendell Hall, was carried by 18 stations, with
Will Rogers
William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...
,
Art Gillham
Art Gillham (January 1, 1895, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri – June 6, 1961, Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia) was an American songwriter who was among the first crooners, a pioneer radio artist, and a recording ...
Radio Corporation of America
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
, becoming the basis of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in early 1927. ''The Eveready Hour'' continued as a featured broadcast on NBC until 1930.
A 1926 ''
Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...
'' advertisement for ''The Eveready Hour'' and Eveready Batteries showed a fantasy illustration of radio listeners above the following copy:
:Like the fabled ship in which Jason brought home the enchanted fleece of gold, ''The Eveready Hour'' brings a rich treasure of entertainment to charm the harbor-homes of its hearers. Inaugurated two years ago, ''The Eveready Hour'' was an adventure in broadcasting – an hour of connected entertainment, uninterrupted by the frequent injection of the name of the broadcaster.
:Radio has already become a highly specialized art worthy of the most scrupulous code of ethics, and ''The Eveready Hour'' represents a sincere effort to pioneer in providing the most acceptable form of radio entertainment.
:Eveready programs cover a wide range of entertainment and human interest, transporting us to periods of wholesome simplicity; to barren islands where marooned sailors meet adventure, starvation and death; to battle-scarred France with singing doughboys; to emotional heights by telling with music the stories of the seasons; and to memories of yesteryear aroused by old ballad and musical comedy favorites.
Guests included Lionel Atwill, Arthur "Bugs" Baer, Belle Baker,
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era.
Some of h ...
,
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Irvin S. Cobb, Richard Dix,
Emma Dunn
Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English actress. After starting her acting career on stage in London, she became known for her works in numerous films and Broadway productions.
Career
Emma Dunn appeared onstage in ...
, Lew Fields, the Flonzaley String Quartet and Laurette Taylor. Directed by Paul Stacey and Douglas Coulter, the show featured an orchestra conducted by
Nathaniel Shilkret
Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director.
Early career
Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents w ...
. In 1924, Charles W. Harrison brought together the Eveready Mixed Quartet, a group that included Harrison, soprano Beulah Gaylord Young (Harrison's wife), contralto Rose Bryant and bass Wilfred Glenn. Tom Griselle provided the piano accompaniment. Harrison also led a male quartet for the radio show.
The songwriter
Yip Harburg
Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards " Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" (w ...
was involved in several shows as indicated by existing scripts:
*''The Mayor of Hogan's Alley'' ("Eveready Hour," CBS radio, 1929 Feb 19) Typed script of one-act musical play; music by Jay Gorney and Henry Souvaine ith script by E.Y. Harburg – 27 pages.
*''How's the Judge ' ("Eveready Hour," CBS radio, 1929 May 14) Typed script of one-act musical play; music by Jay Gorney and Henry Souvaine ith script by E.Y. Harburg – 27 pages.
*''For Dear Old Delta'' ("Eveready Hour," CBS radio 929 Typed script of one-act musical play; music by Jay Gorney and Henry Souvaine ith script by E.Y. Harburg – 29 pages.
Surviving recordings
The only known recording of an ''Eveready Hour'' broadcast was made by an engineer at the Edison Laboratory in
West Orange, New Jersey
West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...
, on the evening of May 15, 1928, from the over-the-air signal of station WEAF. This remarkably clear recording contains a local announcement by a WEAF staff announcer, Paul Dumont, and then the first 18 minutes of the hour-long broadcast. This same recording holds the distinction of being the earliest known aircheck (off-air recording) of a live dramatic radio broadcast. In other words, it was a recording of a radio transmission that was not a news event, speech, or music-only presentation. This rare recording is now archived at the Edison National History Site (ENHS), which is part of the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...