Coloring Sound: Religion, Race, and Music in Radio’s Network Era

ABSTRACT During the 1930s and 1940s, powerful national radio networks influenced how Americans imagined themselves and their communities. This article examines how racial and religious outsiders, such as Black Protestants and white Latter-day Saints, infiltrated networks’ exclusive programming lineups. It argues that outsiders used sacred music to carve out space for themselves on network radio, profoundly shaping how Americans heard race and religion in the process. To get on the air and to stay there, outsiders skillfully navigated the demands of white industry executives and multiracial audiences. These often-conflicting demands produced a complex mixture of sounds that both challenged and reinforced the assumed whiteness of network radio and the nation it purported to reflect. Using network records, newspapers, listener letters, and a few extant recordings, the article illustrates the subtle yet integral role of sound in forming racial and religious identities, including the emerging category of “American religion.” It highlights how broadcasting’s so-called “religious ghetto” was home to radio’s largest concentration of nonwhite performers until the 1950s. Examining these marginalized programs reveals a more racially diverse radio audience than commonly assumed, as well as how nonwhite Americans listened closely and sought to influence these flawed yet beloved programs. This history underscores the complex promise and peril of cultural representation for underrepresented groups.