Birthday profile

Oscar Brand

Oscar Brand, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and author (died 2016)

Born
February 7, 1920
Died
September 30, 2016
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1920

About Oscar Brand

Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio and TV host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Canadian and American patriotic songs. Brand's music ran the gamut from novelty songs to serious social commentary and spanned a number of genres. Brand also wrote a number of short stories. For 70 years, he was the host of a weekly folk music show on WNYC Radio in New York City, which is credited as the longest-running radio show with only one host in broadcasting history. In Canada, he was host of the televised folk concert series, Let's Sing Out!, which ran from 1963 to 1967, first on the CTV network, then on CBC, featuring Canadian and U.S. folk stars of the day. He also hosted shorter-lived CTV series while Let's Sing Out! was on CBC. The show ran more or less continuously from its debut on December 10, 1945 to September 2016, making it the longest-running radio show with the same host, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1976, Brand recorded the campaign song for former Democratic Georgia governor Jimmy Carter's successful presidential campaign titled "Why Not the Best?".

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Oscar Brand timeline

  1. The show ran more or less continuously from its debut on December 10, 1945 to September 2016, making it the longest-running radio show with the same host, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
  2. In 1976, Brand recorded the campaign song for former Democratic Georgia governor Jimmy Carter's successful presidential campaign titled "Why Not the Best?".

The world when Oscar Brand was born

Oscar Brand was born in 1920. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1920

  • #1 song"Swanee" – Al Jolson
  • Top movieThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
  • Best-selling bookThe Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth sold to the New York Yankees
  • Top headlineWomen win the right to vote with the 19th Amendment
  • Technology milestoneFirst commercial radio broadcasts
  • Defining fadFlappers and the Jazz Age
  • Notable inventionBand-Aid adhesive bandages
  • World population1.86 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • U.S. population106.0M

1920 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Oscar Brand's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19202026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$6,296$435,000
Average income$3,269$67,500
Movie ticket$0.15$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population106.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.