loeper said:
Nobody had mentioned that the "top 40"format actualy saved radio as an advertising medium. rock and roll and top 40 bought radio back from life support in the early and mid 50s . up until that most big broadcasters had pretty much written radio off becuase of the explosion of TV
That's quite correct. It seems whenever anything that catering to the public's taste is eclipsed by something new, then the old thing has to either adapt or die. Radio managed to survive by transitioning from it's Golden Age to a new Silver Age, based on low-cost programming. But before you give too much credit to the development of rock and roll and Top 40 radio, bear in mind that it took a combination of several factors, all of which were needed for rock and roll Top 40 radio to succeed as it did.
First, it required the Baby Boom. There were a lot of babies born during and right after World War II, who became the teenagers of the 1950's.
Second, it required a high level of economic prosperity, most of which was the result of converting the factories built during World War II to make weapons to making consumer goods. This gave families disposable income which allowed teenagers a degree of economic freedom unknown in prior decades.
Third, it took the invention of the transistor by William Shockley, Walter Houser Brattain, and John Bardeen at the Bell Labs, and the subsequent use of transistors to create portable, battery powered radios that teenagers could use to listen to rock and roll Top 40 radio. Think about it. Can anyone claim that rock and roll on the radio would become a mass market sensation among teenagers if they could only hear it on the family Philco in the living room?
Fourth, it took the development of the 45 rpm microgroove vinyl records and record players to replace the old 78 rpm platters that had dominated recorded music for over four decades. And, to that you can also add all the developments in recording technology, including recording to tape in the studio instead of having to record direct to disc. Would rock and roll singles ever have taken off if they were on flimsy, shellac 78's that had to be played on the old Victrola that was located next to the family Philco?
Finally, it took a few people with some vision, imagination, and a lot of luck to experiment with combining all of the elements.
I admit I probably left out a few things, like Leo Fender inventing the Stratocaster and the Precision Bass and Les Paul working with the luthiers at Gibson to develop his signature guitar. Or, there's the development of high fidelity sound with multiple speakers and crossover networks that led to good sounding, loud guitar amplifiers.
So, you're correct that the Top 40 format saved radio as an advertising medium, but it took a combination of many things happening at the same time for it to happen. It wasn't a sure thing.
