3D Radio Timeline - the 1950'S

3D Radio timeline - the 1950's

1950

The Wheare Committee report failed to find any clear evidence of the 'harmful influences' that the cinema exerted over impressionable young people.

Radio program My Favorite Husband moves to TV as I Love Lucy.

CBS broadcasts in colour to 25 television sets.

Vidicon camera tube improves television picture.

Nielsen's Audimeter tracks television audiences.

April Mr D.W. Standeven, who was president of Halifax RUFC, presented the ground to the club in memory of his late father.

Boothtown’s John Reginald Halliday Christie’s evidence helped to convict Timothy Evans for the murder of his wife, Ethel Evans and their baby daughter whose bodies had been found in the top floor flat at their house.

Halifax born actor Wilfred Pickles awarded the OBE

Legendary singer, Al Jolson, dies on the 23rd of October

Mitch Miller signs as A&R man with Columbia Records

Patti Page becomes the first (and only) artist to have a Number One record on the Pop, R&B and Country charts concurrently

Al Cernick is signed to Columbia by Mitch Miller, who changes the singer's name to Guy Mitchell

1951

January - British Board of Film Censors responded to Wheare's recommendation by replacing the H certificate with an X certificate for films to which children under 16 would not be admitted. The change was relatively subtle but showed up over time: the emphasis was no longer on dramatic 'horror' but on sex and violence.

Color television sets go on sale.

In Cleveland, disc jockey Alan Freed introduces the term Rock And Roll

The Nagra tape recorder adds precision, quality sound to silent cameras.

FCC approves test in Chicago of Phonevision subscription TV, $1 for a movie.

Cinerama will briefly dazzle with a wide, curved screen and three projectors.

Still cameras get built-in flash units.

First transcontinental telecast.

Bing Crosby's company tests videotape recording.

High Sunderland, built in about 1600 on the moors at Horley Green,

overlooking Halifax’s Shibden Valley was demolished. A highly ornate building, it is generally agreed that High Sunderland provided Emily Bronte with the inspiration for the physical appearance of Wuthering Heights in her famous novel - she had worked as a governess in nearby Southowram. An attempt was made to sell it either to the Bronte Society or Halifax Corporation but was decided that the cost of repairs outweighed the house’s value

Work at Halifax Flour Society Limited, Bailey Hall ceased in April but the mill was almost immediately bought up by the confectionery giant John Mackintosh and Sons Ltd, which already owned the adjacent Albion Mills.

Speedway promoter Bruce Booth brought midget car racing to the Shay in November to boost funds. 15,000 spectators witnessed this one-off venture - 3 times higher that the average speedway gate.

The Lyric Cinema Queens Road, Halifax closed on 13th July capacity 540

Sir John Cockcroft from Todmorden won the Nobel Prize for Physics along with Professor Walton for splitting the atom

International trends Karlheinz Stockhause begins recording "elektronische musik"

Bakersfield sound in country music develops in Bakersfield, California as a reaction against the dominant Nashville sound - artists like Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart begin their career

Piano Red ("The Wrong Yo Yo", "Just Right Bounce", "Laying the Boogie") is the first blues singer in history to appear on the pop charts

Cool jazz is formed as a fusion of jazz and bossa nova

Ray Boley sets up Canyon Records to record Navajo singer Ed Lee Natay; Canyon Records goes on to become the most influential label in Native American music

Alan Freed begins broadcasting black R&B to white teenagers on his radio show, Moondog Rock'n'Roll Party

Howlin' Wolf and Joe Turner begin popularising a "shouting" style of blues singing

1952

3-D movies offer thrills to the audience.

Sony sells a miniature transistor radio.

The word "anchorman" is used at CBS Television News, 4th company, Elland Boys Brigade later adopt the name causing a split in local opinion between progressives and traditionalists.

American Bandstand broadcasts get kids dancing.

On 31 March, speedway promoter Bruce Booth announced the end of

speedway at The Shay 'while rates and taxation remains at the present

levels'.

Halifax born organist, composer, radio lecturer, teacher and author of three books Sir George Dyson received the Knight Commander of the Victorian Order (KCVO)

Big Daddy (1930-1997) the son of a drayman in the Wilson Street area of Halifax and named Shirley Crabtree after the Charlotte Bronte book his grandmother loved became a professional wrestler in 1952

Les Paul invents the first solid body electric guitar, the Gibson In Memphis,

Roscoe Gordon records "No More Doggin'", the origin of the rhythm of ska music

In Jamaica Stanley Motta makes the first recordings of mento

Hard bop emerges with recordings by Miles Davis (Miles Ahead), Sonny Rollins (Way Out West) and J.J. Johnson (Blue Trombone)

Bill Haley's pioneering recordings ("Rocket 88") mark the beginning of rockabilly as a distinct genre and commercial force

The Weavers are forced to disband after being accused of Communism

1953

Playboy arrives, with Marilyn Monroe stretched out on the cover

The pre-recorded reel-to-reel tape at 7 1/2 ips goes on sale.

Hollywood hopes wide-screen CinemaScope will counteract TV.

Bill Haley records first rock hit, "Crazy Man Crazy".

All senior school pupils at the time of the Coronation received a Selsdon six-chamber propelling pencil. Juniors were given a Wyvern six-chamber propelling pencil. Infants and children under five not attending school all got a Coronation souvenir spoon.

Horse haulage finally ended and so did the golden age of canal traffic in Calderdale

5th November Halifax actor Eric Portman came to Halifax to open Mollett's

store in Silver Street.

Mass murderer John Reginald Halliday Christie was hanged. Born at Black Boy House, Boothtown, Halifax he was tried and on July 15 1953 after new tenants moved into the murder house and bodies were discovered under floorboards, walled up in cupboards and buried in the garden.

The Orioles' "Cryin' in the Chapel" is the first record by a black group to be a #1 pop hit

Elvis Presley makes his first recordings

1954

Sporting events are broadcast live in color.

Stereo music tapes go on sale.

Radio sets in the world now outnumber daily newspapers.

Transistor radios are sold.

Pre-recorded open-reel stereo tapes go on sale, $12.95, from RCA Victor.

Rock And Roll music becomes popular - Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, etc

Halifax RLFC draw with Warrington at Wembley 4-4 then lose in the

replay at Odsal Stadium 8-4. Record crowd of over 102,000 still stands today

Asquith Bottom dating from 1556 was demolished. It had the distinction of being one of very few timber framed Tudor buildings in the Calderdale area

Million Dollar Diamond the first full-length 3-D film to be made in Britain from a story by Halifax author Maurice Procter

Cross Field Bus Station was opened in Halifax

The Imperial café in George Square, Halifax closed in October

The North Bridge passenger station in Halifax closed

Halifax born painter Matthew Smith knighted. He studied under Henri Matisse in Paris and held his first one-man show in 1926.

RAI, an acronym for Radiotelevisione Italiana the premier television network of Italy founded on January 3. (translation - "Italian Radio and Television").

In Jamaica the first sound systems dominated by future record producers like

Sir Coxsone Dodd, King Edwards and Duke Reid - these parties are playing jump blues, R&B and other, mostly American, musicians

Bill Haley and his Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", beginning the first rock and roll craze among mainstream listeners; many consider this the end of Tin Pan Alley's dominance of pop music, as well as the first use of pop in a film soundtrack

Doo Wop is at its peak of popularity

Cha-Cha-Cha begins as an American craze, bringing charanga bands to New York City

1955

Network affiliation of AM radio stations in U.S. drops to 50%.

Todd-AO process for musicals continues Hollywood's wide-screen efforts.

Movie studios open their vaults for television rentals, sales.

First Rock And Roll song to top the chart Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock."

“Have a Go “ was broadcast from Warley, from the same church schoolroom, in fact, where the young Wilfred Pickles had made his first public appearance, reciting a poem. It was estimated that this edition of the show - the 250th - was heard by 23 million people.

The Weavers return to folk music after years of being blacklisted; their concert at Carnegie Hall helps to re-establish folk music's popular acceptance

Lonnie Donegan's "Rock Island Line" is the first skiffle song to be recorded

Bo Diddley invents the "ham bone" rhythm

The Chordettes and The Chantels are the first girl groups

Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman" is perhaps the earliest example of secularised gospel music, or soul

Chuck Berry begins recording, establishing the guitar as the focal point of rock, and introducing descending pentatonic double-stops

Art Blakely and Horace Silver form a band (Art Blakely & the Jazz Messengers) which sets the stage for the hard bop revolution

1956

Ampex builds a practical videotape recorder for TV networks, stations.

First transatlantic telephone calls by submarine cable.

Elvis Presley spreads rock to a world audience with first film, Love Me Tender.

Transistors go into car radios.

The pager. Hospitals are quick to buy.

Halifax RLFC win at Wembley against Salford

Brookfoot mill was converted for use by the newly created Kosset Carpets Ltd It had been occupied by Turner and Wainwright Toffee Manufacturers

Park Wood crematorium, Elland Wood Bottom, was completed at a cost of £90,000.

Marks & Spencer bought the Rose and Crown, at the corner of Cheapside and Southgate. This was a very old pub which the author Daniel Defoe is said to have stayed at during one of his visits to Halifax he came in 1704 and 1725 from the Halifax brewers Richard Whitaker and Sons.

11th March Halifax actor Eric Portman brought the London company of

Separate Tables to Halifax for a special production to raise funds for the

Failing Grand Theatre

Ska emerges

CordobaMusic of Trinidad and TobagoMighty Sparrow's "Jean and Dinah" is the last hit for classical calypso. The song became a hit and led to a new interest in pop-calypso.

Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" begins his period as the most famous American musician and teen idol, and begins the peak of popularity for rockabilly

Screamin' Jay Hawkins releases "I Put a Spell on You" inventing 'voodoo' rock.

1957

Baitings reservoir was opened by Henry Brook, Minister of Housing and Local Government. Around 200 workers were involved in building work at any one time but turnover was high and during the nine years of construction more than 3,400 people were employed. Many of them were from overseas, especially Poland and Ukraine.

Halifax’s ancient Moot Hall, where the district’s medieval overlords meted out justice, was demolished after a Government visit deemed that it could be saved for £500. The Ancient Monuments Board decided that “it was not of sufficient importance to warrant its preservation”.

Webster’s Silver Street cafe in Halifax went self-service

The Halifax Gala started and took place in September, although it soon became a fixture of early June. It was organised by members of Halifax Round Table and their project was an instant success. Some 10,000 people attended Manor Heath for the first gala and the then handsome sum of £600 was raised to be shared among the charities that took part.

Halifax born painter Sir Matthew Smith died. His paintings appear in both the Tate and National Portrait Galleries, London.

Bossa nova emerges from Brazil with artists like João Gilberto ("Bim Bom"), and Antonio Carlos Jobim ("Desafinado" -- the first Bossa Nova record)

Tony Crombie & His Rockets, an English band, popularises rock and roll in Iceland with a series of thirteen concerts; authorities don't approve and try to offer non-rock related activities for Icelandic youth

Skiffle begins its peak of mainstream popularity, as British rock and roll continues to develop into a distinct form

The chart success of

• Johnny Cash ("Home of the Blues", "There You Go")
• Ferlin Husky ("Gone", "A Falling Star"
• George Hamilton IV ("Only One Love")
• Marty Robbins ("Knee Deep in the Blues", "A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)") mark the beginning of the Nashville sound's domination of country music

Link Wray's "Rumble" is the first record using the "fuzz tone" sound

Cubanbolero becomes popular, leaving a lasting influence on the Nashville Sound with its slow meter (2/4)

1958

Videotape delivers colour.

Stereo LP records go on sale.

Broadcast is bounced off a rocket; it is pre-satellite communication.

First successful U.S. satellite, Explorer I, sends signals about Van Allen Belt.

Number of drive-in theaters in U.S. peaks near 5,000.

Cable carries FM radio stations.

Live television drama is replaced by videotaped programs.

Billboard's "Hot 100" chart lists the hits.

Manor Heath Mansion built by carpet magnate John Crossley in 1852 and during the Victorian era it had many distinguished guests, including the Prince of Wales was demolished

Queen’s Hall, at the King Cross end of Queens Road was put up for sale in June. The lower floor was known as the Arcadian Rooms, where smaller dances, suppers and receptions were held. Public and private dances were held in the larger Queen’s Ballroom on the first floor.

Marks & Spencer’s in Halifax opened in November

Music of Jamaica Local R&B bands begin recording commercially for domestic audiences

Blues musicians like Big Bill Broonzy, Alexis Korner, Cyril Davies and Muddy Waters achieve great popular acclaim in Britain

Cuban bolero music is briefly popular, and leaves a long-standing influence on the Nashville Sound

The Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley" helps to jumpstart a revival in folk music The 'Five' Royales' "The Slummer the Slum", which uses guitar feedback and distortion

Musicians like Eddie Cochrane lead the instrumental rock boom

Chuck Willisdied10/04 aged 30 Car Accident

Johnny Acedied24/12 aged 25 Suicide

1959

The Grammy Awards, starting with 1958 music.

From Ampex, a mobile videotape recorder.

Local announcements, weather data, and local ads go on cable.

An all-transistor radio can fit into a shirt pocket.

Room at the Top adapted from John Braine's first novel was filmed in Halifax starring Laurence Harvey as Joe Lampton

BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress and Oscar for Simone Signoret for Room At The Top

Two years after Baitings reservoir had opened the old bridge resurfaced

“King And I” performed in May before the Palace Theatre was closed.

The best known anecdote about the Palace is that in order to stop the mortar freezing while it was being built in the cold winter of 1902, sugar was added to the mix. Hence the oft-repeated joke that the Palace was built of sugar and that it was “Britain’s sweetest theatre”. The Palace attracted top stars, including Charlie Chaplin and George Formby

Two Whitbread directors joined the Whitaker's board with the result that Whitaker's Public houses immediately stocked Whitbread beers.

Halifax Technical High School, Illingworth opened 5th May

Palladium Cinema, Elland closed in June. The last film was San Francisco with Clark Gable

Motown Records formed by Berry Gordy Jr in Detroit.

Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reid, among others, found Jamaicanska-oriented labels, setting the foundation for a distinctively Jamaican music scene

Recordings by

• Ornette Coleman (The Shape of Jazz to Come)
• Sun Ra (The Nubians of Plutonia)
• John Coltrane (Giant Steps)
• Cecil Taylor (Stereo Drive, Love for Sale)
• Eric Dolphy (Hot & Cool Latin)

mark a mainstream resurgence in jazz, which has morphed into hard bop, avant-garde jazz and fusion -- most important is Kind of Blue by Miles Davis

The Drifters' "There Goes My Baby" is one of the first American pop songs with a Latin rhythm

Buddy Hollydied03/02 aged 22 Airplane crash

J.P. Richardson(The Big Bopper) died 03/02 aged 24 Airplane crash

Ritchie Valens died03/02 aged 17 Airplane crash

Guitar Slimdied07/02 aged 32 Pneumonia