rand's esoteric otr

Guest Star - Pgm 272

Don't have time for a full, hour-long drama?  Well, try "Guest Star", a quarter-hour public Treasury Department service program promoting US Savings Bonds.  This long-running series usually featured musical performances, but many consisted of comedy or drama, such as program 272 in the series, distributed for broadcast June 8, 1952.

Harry Sosnik and the Savings Bond Orchestra start things off with a peppy arrangement "Dizzy Fingers".  Then we hear the main feature, radio favorite and "Night Beat" star Frank Lovejoy in a short drama about a soldier in Korea called "Nothing Happens Here". The show was transferred from an original Allied Record vinyl transcription. Thanks again to Michael Utz for his donation of the disc to my collection.

Stars for Defense - OPS Series - Pgm 3

Well, here's some swinging music for you hep cats out there.  In episode 3 of the Office of Price Stabilization series "Stars for Defense", we hear guest Dick Haymes with Four Hits and a Miss backed by Sonny Burke and his Orchestra.

In between the reminders on how you can control inflation as we fight the Korean War, Haymes sings "I Want to Be Happy", his latest record "No Other Love But Yours", and "September Song". Transferred from original Allied Record vinyl transcription; matrix number D-88803.  Many thanks to Michael Utz for donating this transcription to the collection.

Stars for Defense (OPS Series) - Pgm 2

A couple of weeks back, we started a new public service series on the blog, "Stars for Defense".  There were two series with that title, one for Civil Defense and this one, for the Office of Price Stabilization, designed to inform consumers on what they could do to fight inflation during the Korean War.

Program 2 features the vocal stylings of Jo Stafford backed by Paul Weston and his Orchestra.  The first song on the show is "The Gentleman is a Dope". Stafford was a popular and well respected vocalist at the time, getting her big break with the Pied Pipers in the 1940s.  As a solo act, she appeared on the Chesterfield Supper Club and recorded for Capital and Columbia.  However, Jo Stafford and her husband, Paul Weston, may be best remembered for their delightful alter-egos, Jonathan and Darlene Edwards.  They won a Grammy in 1961 for Best Comedy Album for "Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris". The program was transferred from an original Allied Record vinyl transcription, matrix number D-88754.

Stars for Defense - OPS Series - Pgm 1

Let's pause for some music and information about how you can help the economy. Here's program 1 in the series "Stars for Defense", dating from the early 1950s.  There were two government series with this title; one produced for the Civil Defense Administration and the other shilling for the Office of Price Stabilization and our show comes from the OPS series.

The Office of Price Stabilization was a successor a World War II government agency intended to help the government fight  inflation because of the rationing and disruption to supplies that occurred because of the War.  The OPS was formed during the Korean War for a similar purpose and both agencies are the origin of those references you hear in old radio shows or see in old newspapers and magazines to "ceiling prices". Program 1 of the series features music from Gordon Macrae and the Norman Luboff Choir with Carmen Dragon and his Orchestra. First song is "It's a Grand Night for Singing".  Songs include  "It's a Grand Night for Singing" and a new tune called "Monotonous". The show was digitized from original Allied Record vinyl transcription, matrix number D-88783. Special thanks to Michael Utz for donating the disc to my collection.