A Few Fun Moments with WCBS, New York, circa 1954

First off, I want to offer up a tremendous THANK YOU to The Wire Magazine, who did a very nice write up of this site, and also made reference to several of my posts from the WFMU blog. It's in issue number 381. They can be found @thewiremagazine on Twitter and on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/The.Wire.Magazine

And now, back to the countdown:

I have something extra special for today. Contained on a three-fourths-full, 10 inch reel of tape were some marvelous sounds from WCBS in New York - the first segment featuring some behind the scenes work as two of the on-air personnel cut a few very interesting promos, and the second segment featuring some on-air work by a female DJ, the likes of which I've never heard live on the radio in the fifty-plus years that I've been listening.

Some time ago, my beloved reel to reel machine developed an allergy to playing 10 inch reels, and I am very thankful and deeply indebted to long time reader and commenter Timmy for offering to help digitize those things I own which are on these large reels. THANKS!!!

The first part of the tape features the hosts of the two morning shows, Jack Sterling and Martha Wright, promoting each others' shows together, in several takes of a variety of playful interactions. You can read about Jack Sterling here. The back scratching one seems destined to make it into more than a few people's "sound-files-to-play-with" file, including mine. A great little segment.

Download: Jack Sterling and Martha Wright - WCBS Promos
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When this is over, we're then treated to nearly 15 minutes of on-air work from someone named Bea Wayne (or maybe it's Bea Wain). As I mentioned, this is quite different from any radio show I've ever heard. Ms. Wayne does the Tintex singing commercial live, has piano accompaniment for her song intros and outros, and does a complete, live performance of "Deep Purple", in between playing the various hits of the day (including the marvelous "Skokiaan", although not in either of my favorite versions), hits which most definitely date this recording to 1954. There's also a neat Nescafe commercial!


Download: Bea Wayne - WCBS Aircheck
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It's 1983: Stereo Review Previews CD's... and More

At the end of a reel of rather nondescript radio announcer/commercial voices demo, I found a series of five short programs called "Radio Magazine", promoting Stereo Review Magazine.

What interested me about these programs is that the first few of the 90 second features are all about the coming world of the Compact Disc, which was so new at this point (sounds like it must have been June of 1983 - promoting the July issue of the magazine), that few outside of Japan would have seen or heard one.

Editor William Livingston, who tells us, in a marvelously ridiculous, pompous voice, just how wonderful the CD is. I heartily disagree with his finding that they are superior to records. They certainly weren't in the early days, and improvements since then haven't convinced me.

The first two segments are about the sound of CD's, while the subsequent three cover the equipment you might use - what you already own that you can still use with CD's, what portable units are available (and which are worth buying), and the type of speakers you might want.

Download: William Livingston - Previewing the Compact Disc Revolution
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An Evening of Music with the Muir Family

Today, an example of the sort of tape I just live to discover. On both sides of this five inch reel of tape, members of a family named Muir (and a few kids from other families - perhaps relatives or friends) display their musical abilities, whether developing (in terms of the kids' instrumental abilities) or well-honed (as in some lovely harmony singing).

 

Those who like highly produced or even auto-tuned music, as well as those who don't want to hear down-home Christian songs may not dig this too much, but if you're a fan of home-made, heartfelt music, this is for you.

 

We start slow, with a piano piece by one of the kids, and a trumpet piece by another one, followed by a very short guitar/vocal performance of "Surfin' U.S.A."

 

Download: 1.) Piano Piece

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Download: 2.) Trumpet Piece

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Download: 3.) Surfin' U.S.A.

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Then, for me, the magic starts, as the pianist, guitarist and trumpeter team up on a short version of an old-timey song. This is ragged as all git-out, but it's honest and sweet and homey and makes me feel overwhelmingly nostalgic and very close to teary.

 

Download: 4.) You Tell Me Your Dream, I'll Tell You Mine

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The guitarist of the house now entertains with a country song which is unfamiliar to me, with simple strumming and a wonderful, aching vocal. I wish there was more of this material, actually.

 

Download: 5.) I Hate to Lose You

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Then most of the family gets together, and I find the resulting sounds to be just wonderful. The vocals and harmonies are just a bit ragged, but that makes the whole enterprise that much more real. They team up for three traditional religious songs (the third of which is missing the opening lines).

 

Download: 6.) Do You Know My Jesus?

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Download: 7.) How Great Thou Art

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Download: 8.) In Times Like These

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Next, a brief moment with the baby of the family, just three years old, and not actually quite ready for her close-up, as she's not able to carry a tune just yet.

 

Download: 9.) Jesus Loves Me

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For whatever reason, there follows an even briefer moment of conversation about how some recent repairs have left someone's car worse off than it was before.

 

Download: 10.) "The Car Ain't Been Right Since..."

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Next up, two more religious numbers, first, a duet, and then a trio, neither one of which strikes me as being as wonderful as the three earlier ones. The second one has a small section which was erased by someone laughing.

 

Download: 11.) Whispering Hope

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Download: 12.) God Leads Us Along

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The end of the tape is taken up by a couple of jokes, and here they are:

 

Download: 13.) Jokes

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Here is the back of the tape box. The way the tape played for me, out the box, had the second listed side here first, so that it how I digitized it. No telling which side was originally first - even the writing on the box simply says "one side" and "other side".

 

Thanks to the Muir Family. This is magical.