Well, private life and work have both been fairly overwhelming these last few weeks - not necessarily in a bad way, but far too much for me to do what it takes to post here as often as I'd like.
To make up for that, here's another three for the price of one posting, three utterly unrelated bits of tape from the collection.
Up first, it's another piece of Shortwave recording of an Australian radio program. A fellow in Maine was in the habit of recording these shows, and at some point, part (or all) of his collection fell into my hands. I've posted two of these tapes before, which you can find here. Like the more recent of those two posts, this one features an episode of "Listener's Mailbag", which, as I said in February of last year, just fascinates me. It's comments from the US regarding Radio Australia and many other related things, with comments and answers from the host. When I shared another episode, I made this comment: "I find this a charming concept and effort, the likes of which have been completely lost in our modern world."
Download: More Shortwave From Australia
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Next up, here's something which could not be more mundane - a phone call from one home to another. For whatever reason, the caller chose to record this call. I have found a small number of these over the years, but typically there is something of importance about the call, either with regard to the circumstances of the call or some situation needing discussion. That doesn't seem to be the case here - just two friends (or perhaps more than friends) having an eight minute phone conversation. The amateur sociologist in me (which, admittedly, is probably what drives a lot of my reel collecting) finds this sort of thing captivating.
You should also be aware that there is extensive dialing and operator interaction over the first third of this 12 minute tape. The caller make several failed attempts to reach his other party, then tries the operator - the actual call doesn't start until nearly the four minute mark.
Download: John and Irene - A Phone Call
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Finally, here's a bit of 1960's radio history that I'd never read about - not surprising, as it may not have lasted very long. Here is a site (the owner of which no longer seems to be involved with it) which has a bit of information about the show. Bill Cosby produced a radio show, circa 1967, featuring short comedic sketches. The following episode was found in the midst of a short tape tape of various recordings of Chicago top 40 radio stations. It's a cute little bit of dry radio humor, and very much has the tone (although not the focus) of Cosby's mid-'60's albums.
Download: Bill Cosby - The Bill Cosby Radio Show
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I hope you found something to enjoy here, in this cornucopia of sounds.
Caller John may possess a Louisianian accent. The interviewer of Cosby's "jaguar" sounds as though it could possibly be Wally Cox.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the "Bill Cosby Radio Program" website that was linked to in the article, Frank Buxton did all the "straight man" roles with Bill Cosby. I agree that it does sound like Wally Cox; I assume this was intentional.
DeleteI enjoy doing a bit of detective work based on the clues in your recordings. For example, for the "Listeners' Mailbag" segment, the following information can be found from searching the Web:
ReplyDelete1) Keith Glover's last broadcast was on December 28, 1980; this sets an upper limit on the date of the recording.
2) "Mr. R.B. Gee" gives his address as "843, 310 Bloor Street West, Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada". He was using a "4-tube receiver, two years old" and "80 feet above ground". The address corresponds to the Tartu College Student Residence and, based on his apartment number and antenna height, "R.B. Gee" probably lived on the eighth floor. Tartu college was built in 1970, giving a lower limit on the date. Canada introduced a 6-character postal code system starting in 1971; it would have been rolled out to Toronto by 1974. Since the address is given using the old postal zone "Toronto 5" rather than postal code "M5S 1W4", we can guess that the recording was made before 1974. This also ties in nicely with the fact that the 2-year old receiver used four vacuum tubes; transistors had pretty much taken over by 1974.
So my guess is that the recording was made sometime between 1970 and 1974. Does the original tape box have any markings which might confirm this?
I can never get enough of your vintage recordings.
ReplyDeleteAn extra, value-added thanks goes to the excellent detective work by an anonymous source. The additional background detail adds all the more interest to these recordings.
Thank you once again, Bob!