rand's esoteric otr

Coronation of King George VI - May 12, 1937

With the recent news about the announcement of a royal wedding, I thought it would be a good time to visit a curious disc set in my collection that featured another royal event in the news. In the middle of the unrest in Europe, Great Britain faced an upheaval in the monarchy with George VI's ascension to the throne.  George's elder brother, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry the socialite Wallis Simpson.  The story received considerable coverage here in the US and the networks carried the BBC's coverage of the coronation of the new king.

This disc set includes the ceremonies leading up to the coronation, the coronation itself, along with the new monarch's first speech and sounds as if it was recorded either direct from the shortwave feed or from a network line carrying the shortwave broadcast.  It's unclear to me if the coverage is continuous or represents various excerpts from the broadcast. The origins of the disc set are obscure, but it appears to be produced by a small company as a souvenir of the event for US listeners.  It gives a good idea of what listeners heard stateside that tuned in to a royal event that only happens once a generation. Our digital file was transferred from an original blue shellac 8-sided 12" 78 rpm set on the General Sound and Transcription Company label, matrix numbers AT1210 through AT1217.  The style of the pressing and matrix numbers indicates it may have been pressed by Columbia. Update, 11/20/2010:  Date corrected.

American Family Robinson - New Series - Pgm 143

And finally our last episode of "American Family Robinson - New Series". Program 143 continues the story as the Robinsons go on a trip to Hollywood.  Mr. Robinson tries his hand at making hot dogs as Myra finds a woman who is contributing to War industry.  The show was broadcast the week of June 1, 1941.

This uncirculated episode of the series was digitized from an Orthacoustic vinyl transcription pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 065463. I'd like to offer my thanks again to the Old Time Radio Researchers Group that donated both the "American Family Robinson" and "New Series" discs to my collection a few months ago.

American Family Robinson - New Series - Pgm 142

Well, we're up to the last two shows I have in the serial "American Family Robinson - New Series", released by the National Association of Manufacturers to promote conservative political polices for businesses.  This week I'm posting the last two shows together since they're a bit later in the series and in a different storyline that the episodes heard in weeks past. The first "Family Robinson" series in the 1930s was created to combat Roosevelt's New Deal policies.  The "New Series" was written more to promote the idea that businesses could be on a war footing without any government intervention.

These last two shows deal more directly with that theme, which was more obtuse in previous episodes.  In program 142, Luke and Myra are on their way to Hollywood and Mr. Robinson talks with a salesman who is being "loaned" to work a lathe to help the War effort. This show was recorded for broadcast the week of June 1, 1941.  Keep in mind that this was six months before Pearl Harbor - it really demonstrates how the war in Europe had everyone preparing for the worst and realizing we probably couldn't stay out of conflict. This previously lost episode of the series was transferred from original and Orthacoustic vinyl transcription pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 065462.

Columbia Workshop - January 11, 1942

In keeping with our Independence Holiday patriotic theme, we next offer up a seldom heard little broadcast from the "Columbia Workshop" series.  This one is circulating among collectors, but this copy offers a sound upgrade for the show.

"Free Speech" was originally broadcast January 11, 1942.  It's a drama where different voices of the past, such as Churchill and Socrates, speak about the right to free speech.  The featured soloist is Lansing Hatfield, Metropolitan Opera Baritone and John Daly is your announcer.  The show was directed by Earle McGhill and music is from "The People, Yes" by Carl Sandburg, William C. White and Earl Robinson. During the program, they announce that this is a rebroadcast of a program heard a few weeks earlier.  Goldin speculates it might have been heard on December 7, 1941; I would guess it was done as part of the larger Bill of Rights anniversary celebration that month that gave us Norman Corwin's "We Hold These Truths" heard earlier on the blog. The show was digitized from an original Columbia vinyl transcription set, matrix numbers YTNY 996 and YTNY 999, probably pressed for educational institutions.  My apologies for the very slight groove damage in the first few minutes of the program. Hats off to blog listener Michael Utz for donating this wonderful rare disc to my collection!

American Family Robinson - New Series - Pgm 79

Things are heating up in "American Family Robinson - New Series", our syndicated propaganda serial from the National Manufacturers Association (aka the National Industrial Council).

The Emporium's competitor, Gus Popelmeier, trying to expose the truth behind Luke and Myra's "Perfect Couple" publicity stunt, has found out that Luke has run away from home and is perfectly giddy about Luke and Myra's problems, planning his latest move.  Meanwhile, Aunt Agatha and Windy Bill try to figure out what to do next. Of course, "American Family Robinson" wouldn't be complete without a dig a liberal policies.  In this show, Aunt Agatha and Windy Bill's conversation turn to a thirty hour workweek, with Agatha noting that the French were taken over by the Nazis because of their shortened workweek. Strange that this series, designed to promote Conservative political views for business and manufacturing, depicts business people as some of the most sad, deceiving and crass folks on the planet.  It makes for more fun and drama, but gives a very different picture of business owners than the original mid-30s effort heard a few months ago on the blog. Program 79 in the series, recorded for release the week of October 20, 1940, was transferred from an original Orthacoustic vinyl transcription pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 056441-1A.

WEEI Job Center - January 11, 1948

Now another one of my local radio oddities.  I've posted several local shows over the past few months that originated in 1947-48 and seemed to be grouped together for some type of competition.

"WEEI Job Center" was a local program from a Boston station that announced jobs available for returning vets.  The show also includes an interview with a guest who discusses psychometric testing of job applications.  It was broadcast January 11, 1948 from 10:30 am to 11:00 am and, unfortunately, only the first half of the program survives. This obscure little bit of history was transferred from an original WEEI lacquer.

American Family Robinson - New Series - Pgm 76

We skip ahead a few weeks in this week's look at "American Family Robinson-New Series", picking up the story with program 76 in the series for release the week of October 13, 1940.

The owner of a rival department store has planted a dictaphone in the Robinson household, hoping to catch Luke and Myra arguing to expose their image of "the perfect couple" as a sham.  As the show opens, Luke, in a conversation with Aunt Agatha, is bemoaning the fact that he's having to work so hard on this publicity stunt.  Somehow, this turns into a conversation on how businesses, if they don't get the word out about how they're preparing for the possibility of war, might find themselves working for a dictatorial government. The show was created and distributed by the National Industrial Council (aka the National Association of Manufacturers) as part of a propaganda effort to influence public opinion on liberal government policies.  The transfer is direct from an original Orthacoustic vinyl transcription pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 055676-1

American Family Robinson - New Series - Pgm 65

Now back to the continuing story of our politically conservative capitalist family in "American Family Robinson-New Series", a serial syndicated by the National Industrial Council (aka the National Association of Manufacturers).

In program 65, for release the week of September 1, 1940, Luke, the Baron and Myra pack up and finally head for home after the camping trip.  This someone how leads to a discussion about preparations for the war and accusations by pacifists that industry is war mongering. The show was transferred from a vinyl Orthacoustic transcrption pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 051991-1

Command Performance - Pgm 146

I've got a special fondness for the Armed Forces Radio Network's variety programming they put together for the troops.  They're a little more loose and raucous than the network shows and you never know who might turn up or what they may come up with on the program.

In this post, we hear "Command Performance", program 146.  The show is hosted by Fred Waring and the opening tune is a wonderfully goofy version of "Old Rockin' Chair" performed by Waring's orchestra and chorus.  The show includes a tour of the sounds of New York with the city's columnists including Dorothy Kilgaren. The show was transferred from original Navy Department AFRS vinyl transcription, probably pressed by RCA.  Matrix numbers ND4-MM-9463 and ND4-MM-9464.

Voice of the Army - Pgm 269

Many transcriptions in my collection were created for the War effort to entertain the troops or inform the public at home about the good cause.  This one's a bit unusual, since it looks at some of the major changes that would happen when the War would be over.

It's program 269 of the series, "Voice of the Army".  Titled "Report Number B-129", the show presents the results of a survey done of GIs about what they planned doing with their lives once the War was over and they returned to civilian life.  Frank Lovejoy plays a soldier who returns to civilian life and finds it lacking; of course, he decides to return to service in the Army. The transcription was probably pressed by RCA and carries matrix number ND5-MM-11488.