The Eveready Hour was a variety show radio program that was first broadcast on December 4, 1923 (or, according to other sources, on February 12, 1924) on WEAF Radio in New York. The first commercially-sponsored variety program in the history of broadcasting, it was paid for by the National Carbon Company, which at the time owned Eveready Battery. A variety show is a show with a variety of acts, often including music and comedy skits, especially on television. ... Radio broadcasts have been a popular entertainment since the 1910s, though popularity has declined a little in some countries since television became widespread. ... December 4 is the 338th day of the year (339th on leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sportsradio 66 WFAN AM 660 kHz, often referred to as The FAN, is a radio station in New York City. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... To sponsor something is to support an event, activity, person or organization by providing money or other resources in exchange for something, usually advertising or publicity, and always access to an audience. ... Energizer Holdings (formerly Eveready Battery), headquartered in St. ...

The Eveready Hour is considered by radio broadcast historians to be the first commercially sponsored variety program in the history of the medium. The program started locally on radio station WEAF in New York City in 1923 and became a multi-station feed in 1924 over a hookup of stations, mostly in the East and Midwest, which would later serve as the basis of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), beginning in 1927. The Eveready Hour continued as a featured broadcast on NBC until 1930.

Guests included Lionel Atwill, Arthur "Bugs" Baer, Belle Baker, Eddie Cantor, Pablo Casals, Irvin S. Cobb, Richard Dix, the Fonzaley String Quartet and Laurette Taylor. Directed by Paul Stacey and Douglas Coulter, the show featured an orchestra conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret. Lionel Atwill in Mystery of the Wax Museum Lionel Atwill (March 1, 1885 - April 22, 1946) was a stage and film actor born in London, England. ... Belle Baker (b. ... Eddie Cantor in the 1920s Eddie Cantor (January 31, 1892 - October 10, 1964) was a comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, and one of the most popular entertainers in the United States of America in the early and middle 20th century. ... Casals redirects here. ... Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (1876–1944) was an American author, humorist, and columnist who lived in New York and wrote over 60 books. ... Richard Dix publicity photo Richard Dix (July 18, 1893 - September 20, 1949) was an American actor. ... Theater legend, born Helen Loretta Cooney (although other birth names have been tossed about) in New York on April 1, 1884, whose major roles include her unforgettable performances in the eponymous Peg o My Heart and as deluded Southern matriarch Amanda Wingfield in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams...

The only known recording of an Eveready Hour broadcast was made by an engineer at the Edison Laboratory in West Orange New Jersey on the evening of May 15, 1928, from the over-the-air signal of station WEAF. This remarkably clear recording contains a local announcement by a WEAF staff announcer, Paul Dumont, and then the first 18 minutes of the hour-long broadcast. This same recording holds the distinction of being the earliest known aircheck (off air recording) of a live dramatic radio broadcast (in other words, a recording of a radio transmission that was not a news event, speech or music only presentation). This rare recording is now archived at the Edison National History Site (EHNS), which is part of the National Park Service. May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Listen to

• Thomas Edison's Attic: Blues singer Martha Copeland sings on The Eveready Hour (May 15, 1928)

External link

• E.Y. Harburg Collection: The Eveready Hour scripts