It is said that Walter Winchell invented the term "disc jockey" as a means of describing Block's radio work.

[4] A native of Los Angeles, Block began working in radio in Tijuana, Mexico and then as junior assistant to Al Jarvis at KFWB when he began playing records on the air introducing them with information he'd gleaned from Billboard and Variety, creating the show The World's Largest Make Believe Ballroom.

When his career had stalled in Los Angeles, Block moved his family to New York; he was only there for a week before he got an announcing job.

[1] Block purchased five Clyde McCoy records, selecting his "Sugar Blues" for the radio show's initial theme song.

His alibi was that he was home at the time, listening to the show, describing how Guy Lombardo, who was to appear on Make Believe Ballroom, was unable to keep the engagement and sent a telegram, which was read on the air.

[10] Two years later, current events unwittingly entered the "Make Believe" world with Louis Armstrong singer Midge Williams' renditions of two American popular songs in Japanese.

NBC received many telephone calls and telegrams protesting her performance from listeners who were irate over the recent Japanese invasion of China.

[2] That same year, Block hosted what was billed as a "$20,000 Jam Session" on the show, featuring artists including both Dorsey brothers, Count Basie, Harry James, and Gene Krupa.

[15][16] When Spike Jones and his City Slickers returned from entertaining the troops in 1944, the New York hotel room shortage meant the musicians had nowhere to sleep.

[20] The illusion was shattered by a 1948 musical short in which Block talked about the show while sitting in front of his extensive record library.

[6][21] When Block heard that Voice of America would begin broadcasting a popular music program, he volunteered to host the show without pay.

[26] In 1945, a busy Block was doing the Supper Club announcing for the first broadcast, going to WNEW for his own Make Believe Ballroom, working on a CBS radio show called Johnnie Johnston three days a week via telephone from WNEW, then returning to Chesterfield Supper Club for the later broadcast for the West Coast.

[25] He began a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a series of short musical films, under the umbrella title, Martin Block Presents, in 1947.

[32] Block was also able to continue with Chesterfield Supper Club while in California as the announcer for the Tuesday and Thursday broadcasts from Hollywood with Jo Stafford after she moved there.

He worked at salvaging the disks, selling them to the National Jazz Museum in 2010; many of Martin Block's old radio editions of Make Believe Ballroom are part of this collection.