Radio Jamaica Celebrating 70 Years

Sunday July 4, 2021 Page 9 Rediffusion subscriber still had service by wire. RJR crews were, in fact, out on the road making repairs during the storm itself to ensure that the station would remain on air. Hurricane Charlie created the biggest death toll of any Jamaican natural disaster in the 20th century. More than 150 people died. Just as important was the cultural impact of radio. At the beginning of the 1950s, most Jamaicans got their entertainment via live shows and concerts. Music was mainly performed in church, by church groups, or by mento bands at community gatherings, and at house parties. The cost of record players and records was prohibitive, and as a result, such devices were only owned by a few upper middle class and upper class Jamaicans. As a rule, recorded music was not available to the general public. The sound system industry was at its very beginning and would not develop into the popular movement until the end of the 1950s. RJR changed all of that, as its overnight music programming and music in its daily shows exposed the average Jamaican to recorded music for the very first time. The music that RJR played covered a wide range of genres from classical through Pop, R&B, Latin, and Country. Coincidentally, the commercial recording industry in Jamaica also began in 1950 at the same time as the start of RJR. This made mento recordings available to be played on radio. The impact of this on Jamaican culture cannot be overstated. Outside of the bands that were resident in hotels and the mento groups that performed throughout the island in bars, restaurants, and for private functions, musicians had no outlet for their music. The new recording industry, which had its outlet on radio, developed swiftly, and by the early 1960s, had transformed Jamaica into a global music power, with the addition of the new music form, ska. The other major cultural impact of radio was the development of Jamaican drama, with the advent of the Jamaican radio serial and radio series. This allowed Jamaicans to hear themselves and the Jamaican language on radio and gave an outlet to Jamaicans who were actors, writers, producers, and sound effects experts. RJR also began airing popular variety and talent shows, including Talent Parade , carried live from the Carib Theatre, and Vere John’s Opportunity Hour . Other popular shows included Alma Mock-Yen’s Tea Time and Marie Garth’s Busy Bee Club for children. These programmes introduced Jamaica to a new cadre of performers who would become iconic in the nation’s cultural development. Prime among these were Louise Bennett and Ranny Williams. Radio Jamaica also became the main recording hub for local commercials. Many early musical recordings and all the early radio plays were recorded at RJR, whose ‘Studio One’ became the industry standard. Move to Lyndhurst Road In August 1951, the station moved from 2 Seaview Avenue to its current location, the iconic ‘Broadcasting House’ at 32 Lyndhurst Road. A little-known fact is that in 1953, RJR began FM transmission. Frequency modulated (FM) transmitters were installed at Coleyville and Tinson Pen, making Radio Jamaica the first station in the British Commonwealth to broadcast regularly scheduled programmes on the FM band. RJR was mandated to cover the entire island with radio broadcasting. Initially, about 200 wireless receiving sets were set up in designated listening posts around the island, at schools, police stations, and village stores, where Jamaican radio became a social phenomenon. Radio Jamaica’s licence was also the first commercial radio licence in Jamaica, allowing, for the first time, for the station to sell advertising time. Primary Source RJR had by then become the nation’s primary source of communication through programmed music, regular newscasts, dramas, discussions, concerts, and other forms of entertainment, challenging the entrenched position of the local newspapers. Eventually, when the Government decided to operate its own public broadcasting station that witch would assume the name Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC), Radio Jamaica’s parent name was formally changed from the Jamaica Broadcasting Company to Radio Jamaica Limited . RJR became not just a radio station, but THE radio station and was at the forefront of the information sector as the most trusted and reliable source for up-to-date and accurate news. Its iconic programming, including shows like The Good Morning Man Show , The Midday News, BBC News at 8 a.m., with its super accurate time check, local drama Dulcimina , and foreign soaps Dr Paul and Portia Faces Life , were extremely popular. As too were sportscasts, live outside broadcasts, parliamentary reports, discussion programmes, and hugely popular music programmes. These programmes saw the station remain miles ahead of its competition well into the 21st century. RJR established the tone for Sunday radio and made Saturdays “race day” for the entire island. The nation woke up to RJR. Housewives and those at home in the morning were glued to the soaps while the afternoon was dedicated to music and youth, featuring deejays such as Charlie Babcock, Winston “The Whip” Williams, and Don Topping, and the ladies of radio including Dottie Dean and Marie Garth. After years of broadcasting solely on the AM band, in September 1972, RJR began commercial transmissions on a new entity “RJR FM”. This was the first commercial FM station in the British Commonwealth (outside of Britain itself). FM services led to the creation of FAME FM, and the new station attracted a slew of youthful listeners. Its leading lights included Norma Brown-Bell, Paula-Anne Porter Jones and François St Juste, who all became celebrities in their own right. Alma Mok Yen and Dorothy La Croix (Dottie Dean) continues on page 10 continued from page 8