So What's A Radio Transcription and Why Are The Labels Important?

Back in the old days... and I really mean the OLD, OLD days, just how did people record radio shows? Tape recorders were invented during World War II, but weren't much used to record radio programs until 1949. Bing Crosby was the first radio star to "tape record" his show in 1946, and he did it by buying part of the company that manufactured the machines, the Ampex Company. Well then, how were radio recordings made in the early 1940's and even before that? The method was to use an "Electrical Transcription."

An Electrical Transcription was a phonograph record. Phonograph records were first sold to the public in 1888, electrical transcriptions were NEVER sold to the public, and weren't invented until 1926. Electrical Transcriptions (known as E.T.'s) were different from music records for the home in many ways:

• Home use phonograph records were recorded at 78 rpm, E.T.'s were recorded at 33 1/3 rpm. No, there weren't any LP records for sale in 1926, but they were recorded at the speed later adopted by LP records in 1948, when the first LP was sold.
• E.T.'s were different from music records for home use in other ways. Transcriptions could record up to 15 minutes per side (essential for radio), home-use records would play 3+ minutes.
• Home-use records were 10 or 12 inches in diameter. Electrical transcriptions were almost always 16 inches in diameter. Home-use records ALWAYS played from the outside towards the center, transcriptions did that too most of the time. But many were played from the inside out.
• Home-use records used a stylus (or "needle") 3 mils wide. Electrical transcriptions used many different size stylii, most of them at 2.5 mils wide.
• Electrical transcriptions were sometimes PRESSED or sometimes CUT on a lathe. Home-use records were ALWAYS pressed.

The reasons for these changes were technical in nature, but they made radio transcription discs impossible to play on a home phonograph. One thing they had in common was the use of paper labels to identify the recording's contents. Each network and each radio station that "cut" discs on a lathe also had labels, and all of them were different. Sometimes the label was printed, sometimes space was left on the label to write in or type in the name of the radio program being recorded.

Even though radio transcription discs were never intended to be seen by the public, the designs on the labels were sometimes quite fanciful. After playing the disc on the air, the radio engineer usually initialed the label and wrote the date the show was played on the air.

Jerry Haendiges was one of the many collectors of radio recordings on "Electrical Transcription" discs. But unlike any other collector, he photographed the labels on both sides of each transcription. Following are about 19,000 "transcription" labels. Jerry had many more transcriptions, but had to discontinue the practice for health reasons.

Here are some hints to make searching these labels easier:

Just above the top row of labels, there are 2 brown labels and a down arrow on a white background.

If you're searching for a particular show label near the front of the alphabet, press the button that says, "Next." Keep pressing "Next" until you come to the program title you're looking for.

If you're searching for a particular show label near the end of the alphabet, press the button that says, "Last."

If you're looking for a show label in the middle of the alphabet, slide the arrow between the brown buttons up or down, until you find the show title you're looking for.