Happy National Disc Jockey Day! Each year, today recognizes any and all of the DJs playing the music and spinning the records. The observance takes place annually on January 20th.
A disc jockey, or DJ for short, is a person who plays recorded music either on the radio or at a club or event.
The first disc jockey was an experiment on the airwaves. In 1909, sixteen-year-old Ray Newby was a student under the supervision of American inventor and pioneer radio broadcaster Charles David “Doc” Herrold at Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless.
It was here that Newby played the first records over the airwaves before the word disc jockey even existed.
It was here that Newby played the first records over the airwaves before the word disc jockey even existed.
What started as an experiment from the Garden City Bank Building where the college was located in San Jose, California, was soon being replicated by radio broadcasters across the country. Initially, Newby primarily broadcast his news, music, and entertainment live.
It wasn’t until twenty-five years later that syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator Walter Winchell coined the term "disc jockey".
Today, contemporary DJs play music from vinyl to digital. Regardless of the medium they use, the term disc jockey still applies.
Hip-hop DJs became popular in the late 1970s and 1980s, using multiple turntables and using the turntables themselves as an instrument to alter the music. Mobile DJs often act as the master of ceremonies at events or parties directing the evening’s activities.
HOW TO OBSERVED
Share and give your favorite DJ a shoutout using #NationalDiscJockeyDay on social media.
HISTORY
National Disc Jockey Day honors the death of American disc jockey Albert James “Alan” Freed. He passed from uremia and cirrhosis brought on by alcoholism in Palm Springs, California on this day in 1965. Freed was 43.
Also known as Moondog, Freed was an influential disc jockey in the 1950s. He is credited with popularizing the term “rock ‘n’ roll” that was used to describe the new genre of music.
While the day honors Freed, National Day Calendar® has been unable to identify the founder of the observance.
#NationalDiscJockeyDay
@nichecinema
No comments:
Post a Comment