In the year 1977, significant events in radio broadcasting included the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

participating in a call-in radio program.

Events

*January – WRSQ-FM (104.9) signs on the air in

Geneseo, Illinois Geneseo is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,539. Geneseo is 20 miles east of the Quad Cities, at the intersection of Interstate 80, U.S. Route 6 and Illinois Route 82. Geneseo is well k ...

, United States, as a sister station to WGEN-AM (1500 AM). The station's first call letters are short-lived, as the station will quickly adopt the callsign WGEN-FM. The initial format is

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

with a community focus. *February 18 –

Belgischer Rundfunk Belgischer Rundfunk (BRF) (''Belgian Broadcasting'') is the public-service broadcasting organisation serving the German-speaking Community of Belgium. Based in Eupen, with additional studio facilities in Sankt Vith and Brussels, BRF produces one ...

(BRF) is founded and takes over responsibility for public-service radio broadcasting in the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

in Belgium. *March 5 - President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

participates with

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

in the ''Dial-a-President'' radio program on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. *May 12 -

WTIC-FM WTIC-FM (96.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in Farmington. WTIC-F ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

switches from

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

to a new

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

format designed by consultant

Mike Joseph Mike Joseph (born 23 July 1971), known as Bench Press King, is a Bench press Powerlifter and 10 times British, European and World Bench Press Champion and holder of four World Records as well as holding a record in the Guinness Book of World Reco ...

. This successful new approach will later be termed

Hot Hits Hot Hits was a radio format created by consultant Mike Joseph in the 1970s. That concept, which helped spur the birth of what is now known as CHR, also revitalized the Top 40 format and would play a role in bringing the format to the FM band throug ...

. *July 1 - CKO (a Canadian all

news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...

network) begins broadcasting. *August 16 - Radio and television stations nationwide interrupt regular programming to report the death of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. *September 1 -- Dave Lingafelt begins airing "The Whacky Wake Up Crew" on

WNNC WNNC (1230 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting an oldies music format and licensed to serve the community of Newton, North Carolina, part of the Hickory-Newton-Conover metro area. The station is owned by Newton-Conover Communications, ...

-AM in Newton, North Carolina. He has been on the air for more than 35 years and has since purchased another AM station as well as 95.7 WXRC "The Ride."

No dates

KSTP-FM KSTP-FM (94.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. It is the flagship FM station of Hubbard Broadcasting and airs a hot adult contemporary radio format. The station has ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota adopts its long-running

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

format.

Debuts

*5 February: ''Adventure Theater'' (a children's program, not to be confused with ''

Adventure Theater ''Adventure Theater'' is a dramatic anthology series that aired on NBC from June 16, 1956, through September 1, 1956. The series was produced in England in 1953, but was never broadcast there as a series. It was also known as ''Calling Scotland ...

'', a 1956 anthology series on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

) debuts on

Closings

*29 May:

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

's all-news "News and Information Service" ceases operations, citing a low number of affiliates. Most stations switch to different formats, but

KQV KQV (1410 AM) is a non-commercial radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and covering the Greater Pittsburgh Region. Owned by Broadcast Educational Communications, the station simulcasts FM 88.1 WKGO in Murrysville and airs an easy liste ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

launched a locally based production for its all-news format, which it maintains to the present day.

Births

* September 3 -

DJ Envy RaaShaun Casey (born September 3, 1977), known professionally as DJ Envy, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, and radio personality.DJ Envyat AllmusicBaker, Al (May 13, 2006D.J. Is Arrested Over His Threat to Rival's Child ''The ...

, American DJ and host of

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...

* November -

Heidi Cortez Heidi Cortez (born March 11, 1981) is an American entrepreneur, coach, speaker, writer, and advisor. In November 2005, Cortez was hired by Howard Stern to be the radio host and co-writer on a segment on his Sirius XM satellite channel. On the sho ...

, American model, writer, and radio host

Deaths

* April 15 -

Bud Ballou Dudley "Bud" Ballou (December 11, 1942 – April 15, 1977) was an American disc jockey and radio personality active for fifteen years on several commercial radio stations during the 1960s and 1970s. Ballou was born and raised in Liverpool, New York ...

, 34, American radio

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

* May 2 -

Sid Collins Sid Collins (born Sidney Cahn Jr.) (July 17, 1922 – May 2, 1977) was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952–1976. Collins coined th ...

, 55, American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

on the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

from 1952 to 1976 * June 14 -

Alan Reed Alan Reed (born Herbert Theodore Bergman; August 20, 1907 – June 14, 1977) was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on ''The Flintstones'' and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, includin ...

, 70, American actor * October 14 -

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

, 74, American singer, actor and early radio personality * November 8 - Ted Ray, 71, English comedian

References

Radio by year {{year-stub