Performing Arts

Chattanooga Radio and Televisionprovides an informative entertaining look at Chattanooga's broadcast history through the images and stories of its participants.

To those born and raised in Chattanooga, certain names bring a smile to their faces: Miss Marcia, Bob Brandy, Mort Lloyd, Dr. Shock, and, of course, Luther.

These are among the icons of Chattanooga broadcasting. They are the faces and voices that awakened Chattanoogans each morning, delivered the news, or made them laugh. Ever since two high school pals put the city's first radio station on the air in 1925, Chattanooga has been blessed with an abundance of memorable personalities. Some passed through on their way to national fame, while others have made Chattanooga their home for more than half a century.

Author David Carroll, a Chattanooga radio and television personality since 1975, utilizes his friendships with hundreds of local radio and television personalities to bring their stories to life.

The Stories Behind Iconic Venues

Theaters in the Tri-Cities featured everything from early minstrel shows of the nineteenth century to the modern multiplex movie houses of the twenty-first century. It’s a complex subject that is closely connected to the region’s overall history. The Barter Theatre is the official theater of Virginia. Memorial Hall Theater, which opened in 1904, may be the oldest operating venue in the region. The Johnson City Transit Center now sits at the previous site of four famous theaters. Robert Sorrell details the history of these iconic theaters and the influence they had on their communities.