rand's esoteric otr

Jack Baker - Pgm 141

Recordings of dj programming from the classic old time radio era are few and far between.  We can thank Armed Forces Radio for preserving "The Jack Baker Show".

Baker was a country dj that broadcast his program from Chicago, at least according to one listing I found from a collector of dj airchecks.  It was picked up by AFRS for a daily 15-minute show.  Program 141 features "Cheaters Never Prosper" as the first tune.  Certainly doesn't sound like country music today, does it? Our show was digitized from an original AFRS vinyl transcription and is a previously lost/uncirculated show.  It's dated March 23, 1951 in the disc matrix.

Show Stoppers - Pgm 19

"Show Stoppers" is one of those obscure little programs that seems to have slipped through the cracks over the years.  Sponsored by Koret of California, the series features guests who talk about their show-biz careers and the turning points in their lives that led to their success.  Goldin lists several programs in the series with some interesting guest stars.

Program 19 in the series features band leader and radio host Kay Kyser talking with host Knox Manning.  Kay Kyser is best known to old time radio fans as the host of the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge" on NBC.  But, here in North Carolina, he's remembered as a loyal alumnus of the University of North Carolina and one of the key figures that helped establish UNC's public television station.  You can find an authorized biographical website at http://www.kaykyser.net/. Our mp3 originated from an NBC Orthacoustic transcription pressed for Textile Broadcasts, Inc, 846 S. Broadway, Los Angeles 14, California.  The matrix number is HD6-MM-7306-1, which I think would put this disc being mastered in 1946.

Breakfast in the Blue Ridge - Audition Sales Pitch

Now let's take a look "behind the scenes" of old radio. "Breakfast in the Blue Ridge" was a popular syndicated country music program featuring "National Barn Dance" performers Lulubelle and Scotty.  In this post and the next, we hear two sides of the Audition disc for the series, circulated to station programmers and advertisers.

First off, we hear Lulu Belle and Scotty and their announcer Jack Stillwell giving us their pitch for the series, which is modeled on chat and talk morning shows like "Tex and Jinx". Lulu Belle and Scotty were originally from Boone and Spruce Pine, North Carolina and were quite popular in the 30s and 40s in the early country music scene.  After their retirement from show business, Lulu Belle served two terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives and she was her memory was honored by a resolution of the NC legislature in 2001. The program was digitized from original vinyl transcription from Brinkley Recording Company, 232 E. Erie Street, Chicago made for Attractions, Inc. The disc label, by the way, spells her name as "Lulubelle", but references on the web show her proper name as "Lulu Belle"

Breakfast in the Blue Ridge - Audition Sample Episode

Now, following from the previous post, here's the sample episode of "Breakfast in the Blue Ridge" from the flip side of the audition disc. The first song is "The Charming Black Mustache".

The show was digitized from original vinyl transcription from Brinkley Recording Company, 232 E. Erie Street, Chicago made for Attractions, Inc.

Melody Round-Up - Pgm 533

For you Lum and Abner fans out there, here's a bit of an oddity. "Melody Round-Up" was a fifteen minute country music series that took different forms in its run on the Armed Forces Radio Network.  Some programs in the series were reduced versions of regional country music programs or shows by personalities like Gene Autry.  Others, such as the one you're about to hear, were more like dee-jay shows.

Program 533 in the series is hosted by Chester Lauck and Norris Goff, radio's "Lum n' Abner", spinning tunes by the Riders of the Purple Sage and reading dedications to Armed Forces personnel.  The first song on the show is "Following the Sun All Day". This previously lost episode of the series was transferred from an original AFRS vinyl transcription. Again, my thanks to listener Michael Utz for his donation of the disc to my collection!

Melody Round-Up, Pgm 963

"Melody Round-Up" was a quarter hour of country music broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Service, drawing on programs from Gene Autry and others.

Program 963 in the series proves that you just never know what you're going to find on an AFRS disc until you play it.  This episode contains episodes of "Corn's a Crackin'", a live country music program broadcast from the Shrine Mosque in Springfield, Missouri.  I haven't run into any examples of "Corn's a Crackin'" circulating among otr collectors and have only run into a handful of references to it on country music history sites.  The series was probably related to the influential ABC television program "Ozark Jubilee".  I found an interview with country performer Roy Lanham where he notes that "Corn's a Crackin'" was carried on ABC; I'm guessing the show dates from the early 1950s. This episode includes Sally and Sue singing "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You"; a guitar and banjo duo, Dale and Benny", performing "Bye, Bye Blues"; gospel quartet the Matthew Brothers singing "We'll Stand the Storm"; a steel guitarist billed as "Junior" doing "Rose Room"; the Prairie Playboys singing "The Hills of Old Kentucky" and an unidentified fiddler player doing a tune called "Tom and Jerry". The program was transferred from an original AFRS vinyl transcription.  The other side contains an show with musical excerpts from one or more episodes of "Gene Autry's Melody Ranch", btw.

Ted West and His Range Riders - September 2, 1946

Recently, I've been buying some old time radio transcriptions from another collector.  Once in a while, he throws in odd discs for free - parts of shows with missing discs or acetates with test material or sound effects and music that were tossed from local radio stations. A few of these discs came from WREN, a radio station in Lawrence, Kansas, and include excerpts and around three almost complete episodes of a local music program, "Ted West and His Range Riders".  So, here's one of the discs with the Range Riders program of September 2, 1946.  The group performs songs such as  "Back in the Saddle Again", "Take Your Girlie to the Movies (If You Can't Make Love at Home)" and "You Don't Love Me But I'll Always Care". WREN was originally located in Lawrence, Kansas, before moving to Topeka in 1947.  The station was purchased by Presidential candidate Alf Landon in the early 1950s and was in operation through the late 1980s. There's a bit of WREN history that survives in Topeka - a giant wren statue that used to be perched on top of the radio station.  (You can see another picture of it here.)  The bird was sold off as a fundraiser when a Christian radio station bought the building in the early 1990s and was the statue was purchased by a local historical society.  If you're visiting Topeka, you can also take a gander at a giant meat cleaver and Truckhenge that are located nearby. The show was transferred from an original WREN acetate.  Note that, at the beginning, you'll hear brief excerpts from an episode of "Easy Aces" and an NBC news broadcast that are also on the disc, probably recorded to test some equipment at the station.  The "Range Riders" show starts about one minute into the file. Apologies for the rough sound, but the years haven't been kind to this one of a kind disc.  I've got a couple more Range Riders shows I'll post in coming months if folks are interested.

Southland Echoes - Pgm 49-19

Note:  This program contains racial stereotyping themes that may be offensive to some listeners. A listener to the blog emailed me to let me know of his interest in the history of the "Grand Ol' Opry" and his delight in hearing "Southland Echoes", which features Opry performers Jam-up and Honey.

So, let's give another episode a spin from the series.  Program 49-19, probably syndicated in 1949, includes "Right Will Always Win" and "I've Changed My Mind", sung by the Homeland Harmony Quartet and "My Little Yoho Lady" and "At the Old Barn Dance" performed by the Jones Sisters.  Jam-up and Honey do a comedy routine about a horse that one sold to the other. The show, originally sponsored by Black Draught Laxative and Cardui for Women, was transferred from an original red vinyl transcription from the Nelson Chesman Company, Chattanooga.

Southland Echoes - Pgm 49-18

Note: This program may be offensive to some listeners due to racial stereotyping themes. Our surreal quarter hour of gospel music, yodeling, Blackface comedy and laxative commercials returns with another episode of "Southland Echoes". The series was syndicated circa 1949 by the Nelson Chesman Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee and sponsored by Black Draught Laxative and Cardui for Women.

In program 49-18, the Homeland Harmony Quartet sing "Wayside Wells" and "I'm Gonna Cling to the Cross 'Till I Die" and the Jones Sisters give us "I Hate to See You Go" and "My Mother's Watlz". Blackface comedians Jam-up and Honey perform a routine that compares math to marriage.

Southland Echoes - Pgm 49-17

Note: This program may be offensive to some listeners due to racial stereotyping themes. Another episode of "Southland Echoes", a weekly quarter hour program of music and comedy syndicated to stations serving hillbilly audiences circa 1949. The program was syndicated by the Nelson Chesman Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee and sponsored by Black Draught Laxative and Cardui for Women.

The Homeland Harmony Quartet performs "I Love My Savior, Don't You?" and "Lord Lead Me on". The Jones Sisters do a nice yodeling tune, "Down at the General Store", and "Two Little Overall Girls". Jam-Up and Honey contribute a routine about buying a car. Some shows in this series have an odd technical problem in the form of a brief drop out that is in the transcription disc; in this show, the drop out is heard in the opening theme song. This isn't a problem with the MP3 file.