July 28, 2025, 5:34pm MDT
The first “music and spoken words” aired in the Tabernacle Choir in Temple Square was held on Monday, July 15th, 1929, and was scheduled for 3pm
A single microphone was attached to the ceiling for the choir and announcer, long cables were connected to the KSL radio controller, and there was a city block. Ted Kimball, 19, son of organist Edward P. Kimball, climbed the 15-foot tall ladder to release each song sung by the choir.
A short article the day after Deseret News was called “very satisfying” by the success of the first broadcast. The broadcast was sent via telephone system to WJZ in New York and went to over 30 stations, including KSL.
“In the opinion of National Broadcasting Co. officials, Tabernacle Choir and Organ’s weekly broadcasts prove the most popular program,” concludes the article.
96 years later, on Sunday, July 13th, 2025, we reached the 5,000th week of the 360 Voice Starbuckle Choir’s 30-minute weekly “Music & The Solaked Word” broadcast.
Find out more about the historic broadcast from the Church’s news archive.
Milestone Broadcast
First broadcast: July 15, 1929
1,000th broadcast: October 17, 1948
2,000th broadcast: December 17, 1967
3,000th broadcast: February 15, 1987
4,000th broadcast: April 30, 2006
5,000th broadcast: July 13, 2025
First broadcast
The programme for Monday, July 15th, 1929 was under the direction of Edward P. Kimball and Coach Anthony C. Lund on the organ. The broadcast was opened as it was still the case by “gently raising the sacred tension.”
The Korale of “Meistersinger” by Richard Wagner’s “B-Flat Minor Sonata”, First Movement, Boslip (Organ solo) “The Morning Breaks” is the finale of “Tanger” from “Pirgloss” (organ solo) by Edward Kimball (organ solo)
As the first broadcast was over, Lund said: “Amazing! I’m glad it’s finished,” he then glanced at the microphone and added, “Well, I hope it’s off.”
To aid in the sound quality of a single microphone, a large red curtain was hung in the first row of benches and the tabernacle of the carpeted bench.
tuning…
•The first broadcast on July 15, 1929 arrived at more than 30 stations.
• “Music & The Spoken Word” moved to a Sunday morning location in September 1932 when KSL switched networks.
•The 1,000th broadcast on October 17, 1948 reached an estimated radio audience of 10 million listeners.
• By the time its 2,000th broadcast on December 17, 1967, “Music & The Spoken Word” aired on 300 US radio stations and 128 television outlets. Broadcast through television, AM/FM, shortwave radio, and US military radio. It is now available in Canada, South, Central America, and Europe, Australia and New Zealand, reaching an estimated two-thirds of the world.
•By the 5,000th broadcast, 6 million people from 50 countries around the world were tuned radio, television or online.
Singing on 2,000 broadcasts
It was the 2,000th episode on December 17, 1967, and there were five choir members who participated in the first broadcast of 1929.
Cornelius G. Van Osdeinna Van Osjessie Evans Smithkenneth Rogerson Margaret S. Hewlett
Temple Square Conductor’s Tabernacle Choir
John Parry 1849-1854 Stephen Goddard 1854-1856 James Smees 1856-1862 Charles John Thomas 1862-1865 ROBERT SANDS 1865-1869 George Armorge 1869-1880 1916-1935J. Spencer Cornwall1935-1957 Richard P. Condy1957-1974 Jay E. Welch1974 Jerold Ottley1974-1999 Craig Jessop1999-2008MackWilberg2008-Present
Presenter of “Music and Speaked Words”
Ted Kimball, 19, climbed a 15-foot ladder and read the name of the music number each week until he was called on a mission to France. Other KSL staff filled the position of its announcer, including Anar J. Grade, stationmaster “who was convinced that the choir would become a good network function,” according to a report from Church News, which aired on December 16, 1967.
A young missionary named Richard L. Evans began in June 1930. The reading material for the music title has now become “meaningful reading of the song’s message.” Over time, this was expanded to 2½ to 3 minutes of “spoken language,” according to the archives. He continued these “sermons” after becoming a member of the quorum of the 12 apostles.
Elder Richard L. Evans 1930-1971J. Spencer Kinard 1971-1990lloyd D. Newell 1990-2024Derrick Porter 2024-Present
