Music from Studio X was an American network radio program of recorded music on the
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
originating from
WOR in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The program premiered on July 9, 1956 with host
John A. Gambling John Alfred Gambling (February 5, 1930 – January 8, 2004) was an American radio personality. He was a member of the Gambling family, three generations of whom - John B. Gambling, John B., John A. and John R. Gambling, John R. - were hosts of WOR-A ...
; it was heard Monday through Saturday between 9:05 PM and 1 AM EST, and on Sundays between 1:30 PM and 5 PM, with a 15-minute news break at 11 PM by newscaster Lyle Van. The theme music was written and conducted by Joe Leahy. Columnist J. P. Shanley's
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
' review of July 10, 1956 praised the program, calling it "a welcome step in the direction of civilized radio entertainment", designed to appeal to "listeners who are interested neither in the classics nor in rock and roll". Lush instrumentals and vocal recordings were aired, many of them original to the program. On the program's premiere broadcast, music from the then-contemporary "
My Fair Lady" was featured.
General Teleradio, later known as
RKO-General
RKO General, Inc. (previously General Teleradio, RKO Teleradio Pictures, and RKO Teleradio) was, from 1952 through 1991, the main holding company for the noncore businesses of the General Tire and Rubber Company and, after General Tire's reorganiz ...
, a division of the
General Tire
Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, & H.B. Pushee as ...
& Rubber Co. at that time controlled
RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
and its record subsidiary
RKO/Unique Records RKO/Unique Records began in 1955 as Unique Records, a New York City pop music record label founded by band leader Joe Leahy. After several small pop hits, such as "Man in the Raincoat" by fourteen-year-old Priscilla Wright, the label was acquired by ...
as well as the Mutual network, and used the Studio X program to promote recordings by RKO/Unique artists; including performers like
Rudy Vallee,
Ted Lewis, and
The Harmonicats, whose most successful years were past them by this time. RKO/Unique also released an LP of Joe Leahy's theme music from the program.
WPAT-FM in
Paterson,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
had been presenting a similar program entitled "Gaslight", except without broadcasting vocal music. WOR actually did construct a special studio - Studio X - for the new program at the station. "Music from Studio X" was heard from WOR for three years, until 1959.
American music radio programs
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