In 1926, a remarkable new technology was changing evenings in Memphis.
Radio.
Instead of leaving home for a theater or concert, Memphians could turn a dial and hear music, news and entertainment transmitted through the air. WMC was at the center of that change.
Owned by The Commercial Appeal, the station had begun broadcasting only a few years earlier. By August 1926, WMC was transmitting with 500 watts of power and bringing an expanding schedule of programming into homes throughout Memphis and the surrounding region.
Much of early radio was live. Local musicians and orchestras performed in studios. Speakers delivered talks. News and information could reach listeners far more quickly than through traditional print.
WMC even broadcast concerts involving the chimes atop the Columbian Mutual Tower—today’s Lincoln American Tower. Earlier in 1926, a carillon performance played from the tower was rebroadcast by WMC. It must have seemed extraordinary.
For almost all of human history, hearing a musical performance required being physically close enough to the musicians to hear them. Now a family sitting in a Memphis living room could hear performers miles away.
Radio also began connecting Memphis culture to audiences far beyond the city.
Within a few years, Memphis stations would help introduce blues, country, gospel and other forms of Southern music to enormous new audiences.
We often tell the story of Memphis music through records and recording studios.
But before Memphis became famous for Sun, Stax or Hi Records, another technological revolution was already underway.
Memphis had discovered broadcasting.