What happened this week in 1935? "Your Hit Parade" began its radio broadcasts.
Even though Spare A Dime's performances for the 2013 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts are complete, we'll be continuing our daily blog posts throughout the festival – and beyond, to May 6, the anniversary of the founding of the Works Progress Administration.
Today, our history Sunday post is particularly appropriate for a musical blog! On April 20, 1935, "Your Hit Parade" began its radio broadcasts. Every Saturday night, the show reviewed the top 15 songs of the week, both by song purchase data (including sales of records and sheet music) and by audience surveys. The earliest format involved a presentation of the top 15 songs. The show popularized the idea of a countdown to the top three finalists and featured a performance of the number one song as a finale. Since the show was sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes, songs not on the top fifteen list (including past favorites and popular standards) were performed as "Lucky Strike Extras." The show stayed on the radio until 1950 when it moved to television for an additional nine year run.
Today, our history Sunday post is particularly appropriate for a musical blog! On April 20, 1935, "Your Hit Parade" began its radio broadcasts. Every Saturday night, the show reviewed the top 15 songs of the week, both by song purchase data (including sales of records and sheet music) and by audience surveys. The earliest format involved a presentation of the top 15 songs. The show popularized the idea of a countdown to the top three finalists and featured a performance of the number one song as a finale. Since the show was sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes, songs not on the top fifteen list (including past favorites and popular standards) were performed as "Lucky Strike Extras." The show stayed on the radio until 1950 when it moved to television for an additional nine year run.