Nat Johnson: My Early Radio Days

Nat Johnson at WBCN

I aired, for the first time in America, a stereo broadcast of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Listeners were astounded – and generally seemed quite captivated.

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Recollections of a WGBH-FM Volunteer (1951-52)

From Russ Butler A small announcement in The Boston Globe caught my attention. It was 1951, and I was a 17-year old junior in a Boston high school and fascinated with radio broadcasting. The one column-inch notice read that a new FM radio station would begin broadcasting from studios in Symphony Hall. Next day, I…

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In a World All Its Own (1955)

From John Nadeau — 3/2007 When we did simulcasts on radio and TV, my station break announcement sounded like this: “This is the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council…WGBH-FM at 89.7 megacycles and WGBH-TV, channel 2, in Boston.” I joined the staff of WGBH-FM-TV in 1955. The two stations identified themselves as “noncommercial and educational” because…

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Portraits from the ’60s

From Don Hallock Here’s a collection of images rediscovered by Steve Gilford in May, 2002. The captions are largely in his own words. Photos credited, where available. From Steve Gilford As for the Conference Room, when we moved into 125 Western, I was so struck by the size of the conference room table, I took…

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Stories and photos From Studio A (1955)

Images From John (Rocky) Coe Bob Larsen in Studio A Control Room (with Judy Larsen in the background) — August 1955 Story by Michael Greenebaum Performance — String group — Nov. 1955 The photo of the chamber orchestra … is of the first televised concert of Harvard’s Bach Society Orchestra, conducted by me. For all…

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Discovering Discovery (1956)

From Don Hallock This 1956 film about the making of Mary Lela Grimes (Sherburne’s) kinescoped NET series on science for children was resurrected for the reunion. It is a show within a film, showcasing the 84 Massachusetts Avenue facility and many of our best remembered WGBH friends. A teleprompter mounted on the front of Frank…

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Then and Now (1955-2000)

From Don Hallock The Buildings Then: The station in 1958, occupying a rather dusty second and third floor roller-skating rink in an old brick building located opposite MIT at 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge. (Photo by Brooks Leffler.) In 2000, WGBH sprawled over extensive real estate near Harvard. This is the main studio building at 125…

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