March 11, 2023 • 10 mins
Nick Nickolas 3rd. Born September 9, 1910, Nick was named after his father and grandfather. It was an odd moniker to grow up with during his school years, and became his trademark as a singer in the 1930’s. Follow Nick through his formative years in the 20's, His singing career during the 30's and his radio career in the late 40's and 50's. A complex somewhat shallow character on air, Nick is capable of emotional depth and personal understanding when standing alone . He is capable of going with the flow, and is open to opportunity when it presents itself. Even if comes in the form of a young female wanna-be news anchor with ASD named Tracy Albright.
Sputnik Satellite Radio Show. Season One
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Greetings to you friends from the airwaves, broadcasting to the nation and around the
(00:07):
world, coming to you from NIC 1150 AM radio.
This is Blair Hebert, story creator of the Sputnik Satellite Radio Show.
Today we're looking at the character, backstory and timeline for Big Band Singer and Swing
Radio DJ, Nick Nicholas.
Born September 9, 1910, Nick Nicholas III was named after his father and grandfather.
(00:31):
It was an odd moniker to grow up with during his formative years, but became his trademark
as a singer in the 1930s.
Heldest of three, Nick became man of the house when his father went missing during the First
World War.
He was only a month away from discharge from the Muse-Argonne Offensive in 1918, but was
never heard from again.
(00:52):
This loss had a lifelong effect on Nick.
It left a nagging anxiety and fear that one day life would pull the rug out from under
him.
The loss was particularly hard on Nick's mother, who received a small pension and raised her
children in poverty.
Low-wage jobs paid an average of $25 a week for men and $18 for women.
(01:15):
Nick's mother was forced to work to support her children and could barely keep a roof
over their head.
Nick knew from a young age he was not cut out for mindless labor and began reading voraciously
and increasing his vocabulary to increase his odds of being a success one day.
His visits to the library opened his eyes to the larger world of the born wealthy and
(01:36):
the rising stock market.
The New York Times had interviews with rich businessmen like John J. Raskob who touted
that if Americans invested $15 a month into the stock market, in 20 years they could have
$80,000.
Million dollars in today's money.
Raskob insisted that almost anyone who is employed could do this if they would only
(02:00):
try.
For wealthy Americans like Raskob, the roaring 20s was a time of immense economic prosperity.
Yet for the average American, it wasn't.
So if low-income workers had followed Raskob's advice, they would have lost all their principal
and capital earnings in the stock market crash at the end of the decade.
(02:22):
Nick was not like other boys in his teens and he didn't have an interest in competitive
sports or hanging out in gangs.
He was somewhat introverted and more interested in reading and listening to music, particularly
church music.
Not the hymns of the large stone churches in the center of town, but rather the storefront
gospel assemblies on Main Street.
(02:45):
Gospel music had become a part of the American sonic landscape in the 1920s and Nick was
a believer.
Through records, live shows and radio broadcasts, gospel music expressed the spiritual longing
of the working class Americans.
Down to earth folks whose religious traditions were rough-hewn and uncomplicated by ritual.
(03:07):
They just needed to clap and shout to sing and sway.
Nick would sneak away from home early Sunday mornings and hang around the open ramshackled
back doors of the pop-up churches and sing worship music along with the believers inside.
In August 1929, Ladies' Home Journal published an article titled, Everybody ought to be rich.
(03:31):
Based on the book title of John J. Raskob, by then, Nick's view of life had changed and
he thought the article unfairly biased, comparing the Ladies to his own hardworking mother.
He felt a righteous indignation over the lack of assistance and caring for the poor working
families.
Within a month, the 1929 stock market crashed and Nick had an epiphany.
(03:56):
He decided there was no magic formula to getting rich, only personal intuition, guts and hard
work.
So he set about to build his brand.
He was going to be a celebrated entertainer.
Starting out, Nick used the only tools God gave him, good looks, sharp dress code and
a smooth baritone singing voice.
(04:20):
Still in his 20s during the dirty 30s, Nick was always hungry, while still developing his
musical talent and often found himself singing for his supper.
He was always chasing money, take care of his single mother and saving for the big investment
he would make one day.
The one that would show the world he was a self-made man.
(04:40):
His hunger for attention matched his hunger for food in those days.
With every dollar he saved, he invested into his wardrobe and his growing jazz record collection.
Nick's charm, good looks and flair for fashion always made an impression and helped to hide
his anxiety and fear and desperation.
He learned the fine art of appearing cool, man.
(05:04):
This ego drive helped get him much needed attention from big bands looking for a front
man.
As a result, he develops a solid repertoire of songs and becomes known as a dependable
crooner right up and beyond the entrance of the US into the Second World War.
Along the way during the 30s, Nick makes friends with a bevy of cool cats, musicians, vipers,
(05:27):
con artists all out to make a buck, some at the expense of others.
This made him a bit cynical and cautious while traveling from town to town on the trains
off to the next gig.
But he becomes lifelong friends with fellow musicians like Slim Galeard and Fats Waller,
Jazz Jazz.
It was from these groovy hip cats he picks up the hip jive talk and slang that would
(05:50):
later become his trademark DJ rap.
At age 32, Nick enlists in the US Army to go and fight overseas like his father.
Shockingly, he gets rejected due to an unknown irregular heartbeat.
He feels a deep shame from this and is afraid to go on stage and being labeled a coward.
Eventually he comes to terms with himself and continues to do what he does best, singing
(06:15):
in swing bands, playing for troops on the bases and in dance clubs, filled with folks
from all walks of life just waiting for the war to end.
In 1945, the troops return home. America changes rapidly as young couples get married, have
kids and build new family homes.
Nick finds his singing career in decline as couples trade dance music for lullabies.
(06:40):
Times have changed.
Still unmarried, Nick begins looking for his niche market to invest his savings into.
He decides to branch out into radio broadcasting and become a DJ personality.
With his sizable jazz record collection and moderate savings, he embarks upon a plan to
acquire a radio license and start his station.
(07:01):
It is at this time he meets Daryl Lang, who has been tinkering with international broadband
and shortwave radio for years, and who is known in the industry as an amateur radio
expert.
Together they pursue Daryl's dream of building a local AM radio station of 50,000 watts,
whose daytime pattern can reach all Midwest America and the West Coast.
(07:24):
At night, switching its pattern to include an additional sub-frequency, the broadcast
pattern reaches most of continental USA and Canada.
This is a prize radio frequency pattern, with a huge swath of listeners able to tune in
nightly.
As a bonus, the station gets to choose its own call letters, and in June of 1947, Nick
(07:46):
1150 Radio is born.
The large advertising potential for such a demographic is the station's net worth, and
Nick works the phone selling airtime while also spinning records.
Daryl keeps the transmitter going 24-7, with an operator playing magnetic tape-recorded
music and canned commercials all night.
Nick works the mic announcing advertising during the day.
(08:09):
This goes on for a full decade and launches the station as a solid advertising platform
and develops into a premium swing radio station in the early 50s.
When rock and roll hits the airwaves in the mid-50s, Nick ignores the sign of change and
refuses to switch the format from swing.
New syndicated stations start popping up and competing for a younger audience.
(08:32):
Nick 1150 sees long-time advertising clients move to radio competitors and television,
some leaving radio altogether.
All the car dealerships want to focus on the younger audience listening to rock and roll
AM stations.
Children of the Lindy Hop era are now buying Chevy's with AM radios listening and bopping
(08:52):
to the big backbeat of rock and roll.
They are now the new demographic with money to burn as they all have new factory jobs
manufacturing for the world.
A maiden USA sticker is a symbol of pride.
As Nick 1150 advertising revenue dries up, Nick takes on debt to keep the station alive.
(09:12):
He does not let on to the staff that they are existing month to month until the inevitable
happens.
The bank calls in alone and Nick cannot pay staff.
Two months go by without pay and all the excuses are used up.
Nick faces the demise of his beloved Nick 1150 radio.
It's now October 1st, 1957, the day of reckoning.
(09:35):
Never transpires next will affect his world and he is of the opinion that anything can
happen.
All he can do is hold on tight.
Little does Nick know, but the world is about to change in the launch of a Soviet rocket
ship and he's just along for the ride.
We hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into the life and times of Nick Nicholas III and
(09:56):
subscribe to our podcast.
Join us for the next week as we dive into the life of Tracy Albright, hero of the story.
Tracy is an amazing character who eventually moves on from small town life and Nick 1150
radio to make her mark on the world stage.
But that's a story for another day.
This is Blair Hebert signing off.
(10:17):
Stay safe, keep on rocking in the free world.
Greetings to you friends from the airwaves, broadcasting to the nation and around the
(00:07):
world, coming to you from NIC 1150 AM radio.
This is Blair Hebert, story creator of the Sputnik Satellite Radio Show.
Today we're looking at the character, backstory and timeline for Big Band Singer and Swing
Radio DJ, Nick Nicholas.
Born September 9, 1910, Nick Nicholas III was named after his father and grandfather.
(00:31):
It was an odd moniker to grow up with during his formative years, but became his trademark
as a singer in the 1930s.
Heldest of three, Nick became man of the house when his father went missing during the First
World War.
He was only a month away from discharge from the Muse-Argonne Offensive in 1918, but was
never heard from again.
(00:52):
This loss had a lifelong effect on Nick.
It left a nagging anxiety and fear that one day life would pull the rug out from under
him.
The loss was particularly hard on Nick's mother, who received a small pension and raised her
children in poverty.
Low-wage jobs paid an average of $25 a week for men and $18 for women.
(01:15):
Nick's mother was forced to work to support her children and could barely keep a roof
over their head.
Nick knew from a young age he was not cut out for mindless labor and began reading voraciously
and increasing his vocabulary to increase his odds of being a success one day.
His visits to the library opened his eyes to the larger world of the born wealthy and
(01:36):
the rising stock market.
The New York Times had interviews with rich businessmen like John J. Raskob who touted
that if Americans invested $15 a month into the stock market, in 20 years they could have
$80,000.
Million dollars in today's money.
Raskob insisted that almost anyone who is employed could do this if they would only
(02:00):
try.
For wealthy Americans like Raskob, the roaring 20s was a time of immense economic prosperity.
Yet for the average American, it wasn't.
So if low-income workers had followed Raskob's advice, they would have lost all their principal
and capital earnings in the stock market crash at the end of the decade.
(02:22):
Nick was not like other boys in his teens and he didn't have an interest in competitive
sports or hanging out in gangs.
He was somewhat introverted and more interested in reading and listening to music, particularly
church music.
Not the hymns of the large stone churches in the center of town, but rather the storefront
gospel assemblies on Main Street.
(02:45):
Gospel music had become a part of the American sonic landscape in the 1920s and Nick was
a believer.
Through records, live shows and radio broadcasts, gospel music expressed the spiritual longing
of the working class Americans.
Down to earth folks whose religious traditions were rough-hewn and uncomplicated by ritual.
(03:07):
They just needed to clap and shout to sing and sway.
Nick would sneak away from home early Sunday mornings and hang around the open ramshackled
back doors of the pop-up churches and sing worship music along with the believers inside.
In August 1929, Ladies' Home Journal published an article titled, Everybody ought to be rich.
(03:31):
Based on the book title of John J. Raskob, by then, Nick's view of life had changed and
he thought the article unfairly biased, comparing the Ladies to his own hardworking mother.
He felt a righteous indignation over the lack of assistance and caring for the poor working
families.
Within a month, the 1929 stock market crashed and Nick had an epiphany.
(03:56):
He decided there was no magic formula to getting rich, only personal intuition, guts and hard
work.
So he set about to build his brand.
He was going to be a celebrated entertainer.
Starting out, Nick used the only tools God gave him, good looks, sharp dress code and
a smooth baritone singing voice.
(04:20):
Still in his 20s during the dirty 30s, Nick was always hungry, while still developing his
musical talent and often found himself singing for his supper.
He was always chasing money, take care of his single mother and saving for the big investment
he would make one day.
The one that would show the world he was a self-made man.
(04:40):
His hunger for attention matched his hunger for food in those days.
With every dollar he saved, he invested into his wardrobe and his growing jazz record collection.
Nick's charm, good looks and flair for fashion always made an impression and helped to hide
his anxiety and fear and desperation.
He learned the fine art of appearing cool, man.
(05:04):
This ego drive helped get him much needed attention from big bands looking for a front
man.
As a result, he develops a solid repertoire of songs and becomes known as a dependable
crooner right up and beyond the entrance of the US into the Second World War.
Along the way during the 30s, Nick makes friends with a bevy of cool cats, musicians, vipers,
(05:27):
con artists all out to make a buck, some at the expense of others.
This made him a bit cynical and cautious while traveling from town to town on the trains
off to the next gig.
But he becomes lifelong friends with fellow musicians like Slim Galeard and Fats Waller,
Jazz Jazz.
It was from these groovy hip cats he picks up the hip jive talk and slang that would
(05:50):
later become his trademark DJ rap.
At age 32, Nick enlists in the US Army to go and fight overseas like his father.
Shockingly, he gets rejected due to an unknown irregular heartbeat.
He feels a deep shame from this and is afraid to go on stage and being labeled a coward.
Eventually he comes to terms with himself and continues to do what he does best, singing
(06:15):
in swing bands, playing for troops on the bases and in dance clubs, filled with folks
from all walks of life just waiting for the war to end.
In 1945, the troops return home. America changes rapidly as young couples get married, have
kids and build new family homes.
Nick finds his singing career in decline as couples trade dance music for lullabies.
(06:40):
Times have changed.
Still unmarried, Nick begins looking for his niche market to invest his savings into.
He decides to branch out into radio broadcasting and become a DJ personality.
With his sizable jazz record collection and moderate savings, he embarks upon a plan to
acquire a radio license and start his station.
(07:01):
It is at this time he meets Daryl Lang, who has been tinkering with international broadband
and shortwave radio for years, and who is known in the industry as an amateur radio
expert.
Together they pursue Daryl's dream of building a local AM radio station of 50,000 watts,
whose daytime pattern can reach all Midwest America and the West Coast.
(07:24):
At night, switching its pattern to include an additional sub-frequency, the broadcast
pattern reaches most of continental USA and Canada.
This is a prize radio frequency pattern, with a huge swath of listeners able to tune in
nightly.
As a bonus, the station gets to choose its own call letters, and in June of 1947, Nick
(07:46):
1150 Radio is born.
The large advertising potential for such a demographic is the station's net worth, and
Nick works the phone selling airtime while also spinning records.
Daryl keeps the transmitter going 24-7, with an operator playing magnetic tape-recorded
music and canned commercials all night.
Nick works the mic announcing advertising during the day.
(08:09):
This goes on for a full decade and launches the station as a solid advertising platform
and develops into a premium swing radio station in the early 50s.
When rock and roll hits the airwaves in the mid-50s, Nick ignores the sign of change and
refuses to switch the format from swing.
New syndicated stations start popping up and competing for a younger audience.
(08:32):
Nick 1150 sees long-time advertising clients move to radio competitors and television,
some leaving radio altogether.
All the car dealerships want to focus on the younger audience listening to rock and roll
AM stations.
Children of the Lindy Hop era are now buying Chevy's with AM radios listening and bopping
(08:52):
to the big backbeat of rock and roll.
They are now the new demographic with money to burn as they all have new factory jobs
manufacturing for the world.
A maiden USA sticker is a symbol of pride.
As Nick 1150 advertising revenue dries up, Nick takes on debt to keep the station alive.
(09:12):
He does not let on to the staff that they are existing month to month until the inevitable
happens.
The bank calls in alone and Nick cannot pay staff.
Two months go by without pay and all the excuses are used up.
Nick faces the demise of his beloved Nick 1150 radio.
It's now October 1st, 1957, the day of reckoning.
(09:35):
Never transpires next will affect his world and he is of the opinion that anything can
happen.
All he can do is hold on tight.
Little does Nick know, but the world is about to change in the launch of a Soviet rocket
ship and he's just along for the ride.
We hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into the life and times of Nick Nicholas III and
(09:56):
subscribe to our podcast.
Join us for the next week as we dive into the life of Tracy Albright, hero of the story.
Tracy is an amazing character who eventually moves on from small town life and Nick 1150
radio to make her mark on the world stage.
But that's a story for another day.
This is Blair Hebert signing off.
(10:17):
Stay safe, keep on rocking in the free world.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!