Episodes
Sunday Jun 13, 2010
Smiley Burnette Show - Pgm 177
Sunday Jun 13, 2010
Sunday Jun 13, 2010
A big tip of the hat to Michael Utz, who recently donated some wonderful discs to my collection.
Here's one of the highlights - a previously uncirculated episode of the syndicated RadiOzark series, "The Smiley Burnette Show". Program 177 includes really nice Western swing versions of "Caravan" and "Sleepy Time Gal" in the show. And the sound on this near mint condition disc is marvelous - it's one of the best recorded shows I've run into. By the way - did you know that Smiley, in addition to being a sidekick for Gene Autry in films and a familiar face on television's "Petticoat Junction" was also a talented musician that wrote over 400 songs? The show was transferred from a RadiOzark vinyl transcription; it's banded into three parts for inserting announcements by your local announcer. "WLOG - 10/31/51" noted in pen on label.Thursday May 27, 2010
Village Store - Pgm 58
Thursday May 27, 2010
Thursday May 27, 2010
From October 26, 1944, we pay another visit to the "Sealtest Village Store", originally heard on NBC. In this post, we hear the show as it was broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Service as program 58 in the series. Joan Davis takes a trip to the beauty shop; regular Jack Haley is also heard on the program.
This previously lost/uncirculated episode of the series was digitized from an original Navy Department AFRS vinyl transcription.Friday May 21, 2010
Dennis Day - Pgm 114
Friday May 21, 2010
Friday May 21, 2010
This transcription's a bit rough in places, but it gives us another previously lost episode of "The Dennis Day Show", aka "A Day in the Life of Dennis Day".
In program 114 of the series as it was broadcast on AFRS, originally heard November 5, 1949 on NBC, Dennis enters a cigar slogan contest. His opening tune on the show is "I Never See Maggie Alone". The show was transferred from a vinyl AFRS transcription; the date is from the disc matrix.Friday May 07, 2010
Hildegarde - Pgm 25
Friday May 07, 2010
Friday May 07, 2010
And now a bit of musical-comedy featuring the vivacious and talented Hildegarde, the girl from Wisconsin that grew to fame as an exotic and mysterious cabaret singer who "sings the way Garbo looks".
Originally broadcast as "The Raleigh Room" on October 9, 1945 on NBC, we hear program 25 in the series as it was broadcast on AFRS. The show opens with Hildegarde singing "Sing, Everybody, Sing" and our guests for this episode are Walter Abel, Lee Sullivan and Patsy Kelly. The program was transferred from original AFRS vinyl transcription, matrix numbers HD5-MM-12909-1 and HD5-MM-12910-1, probably pressed by RCA. Date is from the transcription matrix.
Friday May 07, 2010
Dinah Shore - Pgm 15
Friday May 07, 2010
Friday May 07, 2010
I've not been able to pin down a date on this previously lost/uncirculated "Dinah Shore" program. It sounds like it might be from her circa 1943 series sponsored by Birds Eye on CBS.
In program 15 of the series as broadcast on AFRS, Dinah opens up the show with "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else". In the comedy segments, guest Wally Brown has decided to become a detective. Brown appeared on several episodes of Dinah's 1943 series for Birds Eye. He was a comedy partner with Alan Carney and the team was promoted by RKO as a kind of low-rent Abbot and Costello. Probably their most (in)famous movie together was "Zombies on Broadway". The show was transferred from an original Navy Department AFRS vinyl transcription. There's no date in disc matrix
Thursday Apr 22, 2010
Your Movietown Radio Theatre - Pgm 109
Thursday Apr 22, 2010
Thursday Apr 22, 2010
And now a fun little episode of the ZIV syndicated series, "Your Movietown Radio Theatre". Program 109 in the series is "The Luck of Adam", a story about an advertising man who makes a bet with a newspaper woman about how gullible people can be. The show features Cesar Romero, Barbara Woodell, Herb Butterfield, and Daws Butler. There's no opening announcement in the transcription - that would have been provided by your local announcer. The show was digitized from original an ZIV vinyl transcription set, matrix numbers UR 166275 AU1 and UR 166276 AU1. Goldin dates the show to 1948. Sorry, but no label scan on this one - the disc was water damaged and the label is obscured.
Thursday Apr 22, 2010
The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour - March 14, 1935
Thursday Apr 22, 2010
Thursday Apr 22, 2010
It looks like folks are interested in hearing some of the more unusual shows in my collection that I've dubbed from reel to reel tapes and lp discs. So, here's a test post to get us started. "The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour" was, for several years, one of the biggest shows on radio and is probably the program that defined the radio variety show format for the 1930s. I particularly enjoy the series, at leas the few examples I've heard, since it's a throwback to a style that's closer to vaudeville. The program of March 14, 1935 has Rudy Vallee and the Connecticut Yankees playing host to Dennis King in a dramatic sketch about an Irish patriot, "Robert Emmet". A highlight of the program is comedian Monroe Silver recreating his famous Victor recording, "Cohen on the Telephone". The show also includes comedy by George Shelton and Tom Howard and much more. The show, originally broadcast on NBC, was sponsored by Fleishmann's Yeast and probably comes from a WEAF, New York aircheck. This particular file was digitized from a 3 3/4 ips quarter track tape from an unknown dealer and probably dates from the 1970s. You'll hear some dropouts in the first couple of minutes of the show, a common problem with reel to reel tapes of this vintage, but the sound is pretty good overall. This is one of four broadcasts from this period on the tape that I've not run into in mp3 format.
Saturday Apr 03, 2010
Charlie McCarthy - Pgm 85
Saturday Apr 03, 2010
Saturday Apr 03, 2010
Note: This program has been removed from my site, as of August 21, 2010. Recently, Radio Spirits has issued take-down notices to archive.org and other sites concerning claims they have on particular series and shows. These claims not only include exclusive license for particular series, but also claims on images, likenesses and recordings of particular personalities. Since Radio Spirits doesn't publicly provide a list of shows they license or estates they represent, I'm taking preventive action and removing some programs from my site, based on forum posts and archived news articles I've seen on their claims and the estates they say they represent. - rand I never really understood the point of a ventriloquist on the radio, especially with one like Charlie McCarthy - a little boy in a tuxedo, constantly in trouble like a little kid, but skirt-chasing like a late-teen with overactive hormones. Creepy!
In this post we give a spin to the broadcast of December 10, 1944 from NBC, rebroadcast as program 85 in the series on the Armed Forces Radio Service. Charlie tries sell his pet porcupine and also answers a lonely hearts ad for Bergen. The guest on the show is Signe Hasso. You probably don't remember her today, but RKO signed her for a contract and promoted her as the "next Garbo". Her career stalled a bit, but she did get some nice roles in "Heaven Can Wait" and "A Double Life". Wikipedia notes that she won acclaim in later life for her writing and poetry, including translations of Swedish folk songs into English. The show was transferred from an original AFRS Navy Department vinyl transcription and the date is in the disc matrix. Many thanks to listener Michael Utz for his donation of the disc to my collection!Saturday Apr 03, 2010
Grand Marquee - January 23, 1947
Saturday Apr 03, 2010
Saturday Apr 03, 2010
"Grand Marquee" is a series I'd never heard of before getting a line check lacquer of one of the shows in the series. It sounds like an anthology series directed at women and the show originated in Chicago.
From January 23, 1947 broadcast on NBC, we hear Olan Soule, Beryl Vaughn and announcer Kleve Kirby in "Love is a Better Word", a comedy about a young woman who is surprised to find a stranger at her door who asks her to marry him. (You might recall Beryl Vaughn from another series on the blog, "Choose a Song Partner".) The program is sponsored by Rayve Shampoo and Yankee Clover Toilet Water and Perfume. And a bit of trivia about Beryl Vaughn - she was a featured player on radio's "Sky King". Oh, and her husband might sound familiar - Ken Nordine. The show was transferred from an original line check lacquer transcription set from an unknown NBC station. The recording includes the NBC id and chimes, but no system cueTuesday Mar 02, 2010
Bob Burns Show - November 16, 1944
Tuesday Mar 02, 2010
Tuesday Mar 02, 2010
In listening to many classic otr shows over the years, I never paid much attention to Bob Burns and he isn't particularly well-known today. But, at the time, he was a major personality. He started out on the Paul Whiteman and Rudy Vallee shows in the 1930s and was a regular on "Kraft Music Hall". He hosted his own radio show from 1941 through the end of the decade and had a syndicated newspaper column.
In this post, we dig up what I think is a previously lost episode of the "Bob Burns Show" from November 16, 1944. Originally broadcast on NBC, this version was heard on the Armed Forces Radio Network and was distributed as a replacement for program 62 in the "Village Store" series. Bob talks about being recognized as a celebrity in Hollywood and does routines around his upcoming trip to Chicago. The show was transferred from an original Navy Department AFRS vinyl transcription; the program date is from the transcription matrix.