Club and Dance Djs :: Radio DJs

Radio DJs

Radio DJs have been around almost as long as the radio technology that supports them. Disc jockeys were originally responsible for providing segues between one musical or variety segment and another, and indeed for selecting the music that was played.

Early disc jockeys used records and transmitters to broadcast their 'shows' within a small physical area. When radio began to be taken-up by the public as a means of entertainment and reception of information and news, disc jockeys evolved from merely being responsible for music selection to controlling the behind-the-scenes programming and the on-air voice overs. The first known disc jockey celebrity was Martin Block, an American who broadcasted during the 1930s. Following the success of other radio DJs, music promoters and record companies realised that radio presented a unique opportunity - by paying DJs to favour records by particular artists, the record labels could control sales and indeed the success of the artists in question. This became known as the 'payola scandal', and was eventually stopped in the 1960s.

As television came on to the scene and music shows and dedicated channels took large portions of the listening audience that radio relied upon, the occurrence of radio DJ stars began to die out. It has only been in recent years that elebrity DJs hav begun to make a come-back, with well-known figures such as Terry Wogan and Chris Moyles in the UK and Rick Dees and tern in the US retaining popularity.