Wade Lane’s Home Folks - Pgm 14

I’m not sure whether to praise or curse collector David Lennick for selling me a half-dozen discs of this show.

“Wade Lane’s Home Folks” was a syndicated program, probably originating from the 1930s and produced by Mertens and Price, South Main Street, Los Angeles.  The discs I obtained date from the 1940s when it was still being run at least on some stations in Canada.  I did some Google searching and didn't turn up much about the series outside of US copyright entries for the show from 1938 and listings for it on local radio stations starting in that year and running through the mid-40s.

I found one reference to Wade Lane on page 7 of the January 30, 1943 edition of “Billboard” magazine in the Radio Talent - Hollywood column:

“WADE LANE, heard over KNX as Your Singing Neighbor, recently marked the 10th anniversary of his first KNX-CBS program.  First job on Columbia was with Raymond Paige’s California Melodies.”

The concept of "Wade Lane's Home Folks" is a bit like “Singin’ Sam”, if Singin’ Sam was on lithium and liked to invade your home with slightly creepy sentimental stories.  Wade starts off each show wandering into your house, uninvited, and proceeds to warble old songs in a deep bass voice that makes Vaughn Monroe sound like a boy soprano.  Then he rambles on about some experience he had with his neighbors related to the songs he’s singing.  He probably shows up in their dark living rooms univited, too.

Program 14 in the series starts off with Wade singing “Throw Another Log on the Fire” and deals with a story about a young couple, a knife, and domestic violence.  The shows don’t have titles, but I affectionally call this episode “The Cut Up”.

I told you it was creepy.  Listen to show late at night in the dark and it will give you more chills than “Lights Out!”

As you listen, just remember it’s only fifteen minutes of your life you’ll never get back.

Our mp3 was transferred from an original sixteen inch shellac transcription, matrix number B5147.  The show was recorded in the Hollywood studios of Recordings, Inc.  My guess is that it was pressed by Allied.

It’s too bad this show wasn’t more well-known.  Bob and Ray would have had a field day with it.

I’ve got around a dozen of these things.  Do you really want to hear more of them?