When radio became all the rage in the middle 1920s, it was seen as a threat to the phonograph business. Companies like Victor were very nervous when the radio came in, as it seemed that they couldn’t keep up with the constant variety of shows being broadcast. Executives like Eddie King felt threatened by the new industry, but others embraced the new technology. Some did this so much that they left recording to solely work on the radio. Okeh took an unusual step and fully embraced the radio in addition to their record sales, all the way back at the beginning in 1922.
There of course had been some more experimental radio broadcasts prior to 1921, but more of the wider public was finally treated to the radio revolution in 1922. At the time record companies like Edison, Victor, and Columbia were quite fearful of the idea that every household in the United states could be treated to new music and programs every night, rather than buy records. While yes, this was a legitimate fear, as by 1923 and 1924, record sales in general did drop significantly partially due to radio, it did not make record companies irrelevant.
We often think of Okeh today as a very historic and progressive record label for its day, and yes it certainly was, it however did not start that way. When Okeh was founded in 1918, the company was run by older men in the record business. When famous talent man Ralph Peer joined Okeh in 1919 he was genuinely shocked that such a wealthy and highly regarded record company was so behind the times in its material and management. He was later interviewed and stated thus:
“They were way down; I think they sold three or four million records a year, which was nothing…When I went to New York, they were just starting, they didn’t have anybody…”
To a certain extent, he was right, the material Okeh put out in its first two years wasn’t any different from what other companies were releasing at the time. They had many aging performers making records regularly for them, like Arthur Collins and Billy Golden. Part of what was likely holding them back was Fred Hager. Hager was the manager of the Okeh studio and talent, a suit if you will. Most of Okeh’s management was born in the 1870s, certainly not part of the new Jazz age generation like Peer. Even though Hager could be a stick in the mud, he was quite fascinated with new recording technology when it arose. It’s what got him into recording all the way back in 1898. His curiosity was still vivacious by the 1920s.
He had become fascinated with the idea of wireless broadcasts, so much so that he got his name somehow attached to the popular song “Kiss Me by Wireless” in 1921. In the next year, this fascination could actually materialize. In April 1922, Okeh decided to run an experiment of a few weekly radio shows. These experiments ended up being a massive success, so their shows continued weekly. In the beginning of their shows, the content was clearly selected by Hager, as it was a lot of Justin Ring accompaniments, Harry Reser, and Byron Harlan. Harlan was prominently featured in many of these programs throughout 1922 and 1923, as by that time Hager owned the rights to Cal Stewart’s “Uncle Josh” character and sketches. Hager intended to make Harlan the new Uncle Josh on the radio. Cal Stewart died in 1919, but the wider public still was very aware of and nostalgic for his material. Many of these earliest radio shows included Harlan performing Uncle Josh sketches. A few magazine pages that Hager saved from 1922 survive to this day in what remains of his once massive collection. Little did Hager know that these experiments would end up giving him and his studio a new career path. It seems that Okeh had finally found itself in the changing times.
It is difficult to determine exactly how long Okeh kept up these regular programs, but it definitely led to many new radio stars. It sparked a new career for many performers. If you go through New York state newspapers between 1922 and 1924, you will see dozens of programs being produced by the Okeh staff. However, by 1924, Okeh stopped attaching their name specifically to advertise the radio shows. By that time, there wasn’t much of a need for it. Justin Ring performed in pretty much every one of these shows, and soon he became a recognized name to not just New York radio listeners, but up and down the East Coast
By the fall of 1923, Fred Hager left recording to spend more of his time in radio. He was convinced that working there was the way of the future. To a certain extent, he was right. Even though companies like Victor and Columbia were initially frightened by the emergence of radio, they eventually relented and joined the new industry by the late 1920s. Of course Columbia brought what would later become CBS. It should also be noted that while Hager left recording for Okeh, he did later work for CBS around 1928, there is a photo that proves this.
While all of this is fascinating, the earliest days of radio can never be truly heard. Each of these shows happened and then disappeared into the ether. These were conducted long before the idea of radio transcriptions; those didn’t begin in some form until the late 1920s. It would be incredible to hear what listeners were treated to by the Okeh staff in those earliest days, there is no way to bring it back. Many people became stars solely on the radio who we will never really get to hear, but the record of their impact remains to this day in magazines and newspapers.
R. S. Baker has appeared at several Ragtime festivals as a pianist and lecturer. Her particular interest lies in the brown wax cylinder era of the recording industry, and in the study of the earliest studio pianists, such as Fred Hylands, Frank P. Banta, and Frederick W. Hager.
