Radio, Radio and More Radio

When I went to select things to post this time around, I sort of found that I had a LOT of various radio-related items - an abundance of them it seemed. So I decided to nothing but RADIO in today's post. 

All of the tapes featured here are recordings made of actual radio broadcasts, except the first one. And this first one is probably my favorite of the batch - just ten minutes or so of what I've called "1970's Ads and Music Beds". Presumably these all came from the same company, but I do not know who was behind this tape, or why it has completed ads paired with background music for ads. It just is. Enjoy!

Download: A Short Compilation of 1970's Ads and Music Beds

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Here's one I've labeled "Religion News, Circa 1956". Perhaps someone out there can narrow it down further: 

Download: Religion News, Circa 1956 

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And now, from more than a decade later, and from a far more Earthly realm, here is The Old Redhead, also  no doubt known to many in his orbit as "The Old Jackass", Arthur Godfrey. I have shared other Godfrey segments before - just click on the Arthur Godfrey tab below or put his name in the search at upper left. Like those previous segments, this comes from the waning days of Godfrey's radio show, in this case June 4 of 1969. Let's listen in: 

Download: The Arthur Godfrey Show, 6-4-69

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Just over two years ago, in this post, I wrote about a tape of a program called "London Mirror", saying: 

Now here is a bit of programming, from the BBC, that I find absolutely fascinating. It is an edition of what was apparently a weekly show, one which captured as much as possible of what was going on in world of entertainment and theatre in London. Again, this was captured on a weekly basis, with new material every week, some of it from records, but mostly recorded specifically from this program.

I later shared another episode from the same tape. While both of those tapes were dated well (by newspaper clippings in the box), the third episode on the box was not identified in any way. But as the other two were from the second half of November, 1961, I'm guessing this is from the following week, or shortly thereafter. I continue to find these tapes fascinating. 

Download: London Mirror - Unknown Date, Probably Late 1961

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Now here's an odd one, and I wish I had this entire program - some of it was erased by something far less interesting. It's a radio drama presentation of the story of "Rumpelstiltskin". And I really don't know anything more about it. I do think it's very worth hearing. 

Download: Radio Production of 'Rumpelstiltskin' (Incomplete)

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This next tape is labeled "Brief Excerpt from WOR, June, 1963", and indeed is what it is. But I should also mention that the sound quality starts out absolutely abysmal and gets steadily better throughout, but never approaches "good" quality. The segment starts with a mention of a 1964 gift catalog, but either that was extremely pre-mature or this is actually from two different recordings (which I doubt) because the sports report is definitely from late June of '63. 

Download: Brief Excerpt from WOR, June, 1963

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Now, what compilation of radio would be complete without a lengthy (perhaps over-long) AM radio tribute to musicians from the Big Band era. Well, I run a full service site here, so I have just what you were looking for. A radio station called WHEL, at 1570 AM, in New Albany, IN, ran a tribute the Dorsey Brothers and their various bands. That station's is now known as WLRS, and was only WHEL for 13 years, ending in 1978. My guess is that this tape comes from closer to the end of that period. Here is a 77 minutes excerpt of that Dorsey presentation: 

Download: Tribute to the Dorsey Brothers on WHEL, 1570 AM, New Albany, IN

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And now for our Acetate of the Month. This one is a short, vintage recording from radio station WJJD in Chicago. This AM station existed for some 63 years in Chicago, before rapidly switching call letters three times in four years. It is now WYLL. It is possible, or even likely, that the last 68 seconds here actually comes from another station, as WJJD had a country format at the time (it was later Chicago's first Top 40 station). This segment is, admittedly, very badly recorded and hard to listen to, but it does keep with this post's theme of radio material. 

Download: Audiodisc 6 inch Acetate - WJJD, Cowboy Song, Piano Instrumental

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And finally, a Very Short Reel. I have previously shared segments of country music programming from WEEP in Pittsburgh, and here is just a bit more of that station, However, this is a brief segment of the nationally syndicated Mutual News (including a commercial) as heard over WEEP from some time between 1966 and 1968, based on the news heard. Perhaps someone else can narrow it down closer based on the news reported. I have been unsuccessful in trying to do the same. 

Download: Brief Fragment of Mutual News on WEEP, Pittsburgh

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Top 40 Radio in 1963, Lawyers Entertain in 1953, Arthur Godfrey in 1969, Testing the Microphone in 1967, North Dakota Knickerbockers, and an Arrogant Blue-Nose Browbeats a Citizen.

I'll start off with some good old Top 40 Radio recordings, as those seem to be among the most popular things I share. Here is just over an hour of such programming, from WEAM, a powerhouse in Arlington, Virginia. One caveat - Vintage Top 40 recordings are usually the most interesting to folks due to the material between the songs - the commercials, the DJ patter, etc. That's what you'll get in the first 32 minutes here. The second side of the tape (the final 32 minutes) are far more edited and mostly feature the local and national hits of the day. 

I remain amazed, as I always am by tapes of this vintage, by the fact that the standard procedure on these stations seemed to be to play one song, then a commercial, then another song, then another commercial, etc. 

And maybe I'm just being dense (which is not at all unlikely), but I cannot for the life of me figure out the point of one line in a cigarette commercial, one which (I was actually impressed to hear) encouraged only adults to smoke. It features the following line: "Lucky Separates the Men from the Boys.... But Not From the Girls". Huh? 

Download: WEAM, Top Forty Radio, Arlington, Virginia, 1963

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Now, here's a tape which is a real time capsule, and a fascinating look at a very specific time and place. For here we have 30 or so minutes of various entertainments as they were provided to a convention of lawyers in 1953. There is a small vocal group with piano who sing a few songs at the start, and later a folk singer type who sings some slightly bawdy material, then, at the end, a bit of a racy story - the sound quality gets poor near the end and the tape runs out before we get to the end of the story.

This was clearly a room full of nothing but (or very nearly nothing but) male lawyers, which is no surprise, given the date. And as befits a show geared towards a very male group of highly educated professionals, in 1953, the centerpiece of this tape, and clearly the bit which was meant as the highlight of the entertainment, is what I would, in retrospect call its lowlight: a sketch in which a group of lawyers present what a lawyers' coffee klatch / card playing session would look like if all of the lawyers behaved and talked as their wives do, when at their own get togethers. Ho ho ho. It's cringeworthy.  

Download: Entertainment at a Lawyers' Convention, 1953

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Here's a short, fun little tape I listened to for the first time recently. I don't know if this was a syndicated program or if The Knickerbockers were local to North Dakota, but for 11 1/2 minutes, they provided a performance of what were, even in 1951, some old-timey songs for the listeners of WDAY. The show was called "Harmony Lane", and the reference to the recent death of a songwriter (who also was a professional boxer!) nicely provides us with a date for this program. 

Download: Harmony Lane, with The Knickerbocker Four on WDAY, North Dakota, 1951

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I have been periodically sharing the contents of several tapes which feature Chicago radio icon Jack Eigen, including in my last post. What I'd forgotten about those tapes (until I pulled them out) is that they also contain some recordings of the syndicated program hosted by Arthur Godfrey. The show ran for under an hour (I would assume after a newscast). 

I have said repeatedly that I don't particularly enjoy Jack Eigen's shows and don't fully understand the appeal. But Eigen's shows were award-worthy compared with these late-era Godfrey shows (and, I'm guessing, the same could be said about earlier examples of his show, which ran for decades). Godfrey has a small band of sycophants who laugh at all of his cringeworthy jokes (as bad as any of the laughing goons heard today on hundreds of local morning radio shows), does live, boring reads for a variety of cheap products, and generally provides morning entertainment seemingly designed to put the listener back to sleep. Ecch. 

I suppose my reaction to these shows could also be influenced by having read many things about what an enormous jackass Godfrey was. 

I have more of these - please let me know if you want to hear them. And why. 

Download: The Arthur Godfrey Show, 5-22-69

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Here's a fun - and then later, a bit boring - fairly brief tape, presumably from 1967. I'm honestly including this one mostly for completeness sake - what's on the other side (below) is MUCH more interesting. But the opening segment, in which a couple of kids sing two fairly disparate top 40 hits from 1967, is pretty entertaining. From there on out, it's sort of a slog through a lot of microphone tests, first with interminable "number" tests and then checking the levels via reading of local news reports. Then you'll be ready for the fireworks on the other side of the tape... 

Download: Unknown - A Few Hits from 1967 and Lots of Microphone Testing

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I really shared the above tape for a sense of completeness, as it is the second side of the tape which is more interesting, and I would say, by far the most compelling recording I am sharing today. 

The Women's Christian Temperance Union, which was founded in Ohio but has been based in Evanston, IL for more than a century, was one of the premier driving forces behind Prohibition, if not the single biggest driver of the movement that led to it. And of course, what the bluenoses at the WCTU couldn't foresee in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century was that Prohibition would give rise to the ever increasing success organized crime, a problem that has never left us since.  (As I've mentioned in passing, my maternal grandfather was the spokesman for the WCTU in the 1920's and early 1930's (prior to his moving on to radio work and nationwide media prominence), to my mother's eternal embarrassment.)

Anyway, even though this is from the flip side of the tape above, I can't assume it's also from 1967. Because the flip side also contained some extremely badly recorded excerpts from 1950's Liberace TV episode. So it really could be from any point from the mid-1950's on. 

Regardless of the date, this is an amazing and despicable recording. A Mrs. Mars, of the WCTU, calls a locally prominent man (he doesn't seem to be a politician, but he seems to be a citizen of some significant influence). I am not sure I've gotten his name right - it sounds like Lusford, but could well be something else. Mrs. Mars records the call and makes no mention of this to the man she is calling - I don't know if that was illegal at the time or not. My supposition is that she wanted to have proof of whatever it was he might say, should she later wish to undercut his influence or catch him in a later contradiction or lie. She seems to have no problem recording herself engaging in her own inexcusable behavior - no doubt because she had no problem with engaging in that behavior. 

As I always say, your mileage may vary, but I hear a bully, one who is self-assured of being holier than thou about just about everyone, capable of using her influence to undercut anyone she doesn't approve of. She draws lines in the sand. For example, one candidate for office was one arrested for bootlegging (which by definition must have been at least 20, possibly 30 years earlier). And she seems to have spies in Mr. Lusford's place of business, as she knows for a fact that another candidate of questionable integrity recently visited that building, and stayed there quite a long time. Mr. Lusford must tell her at least three times that he didn't see the man, but she is not impressed. There are other questions of the "when did you stop beating your wife" nature along the way. 

I was reminded several times of Joe McCarthy's methods while listening to this tape, and I know that similar browbeatings have taken place over the years in Congress and elsewhere by people with certain agendas. 

Have a listen.

Download: Mrs. Mars of the WCTU Calls Mr. Lusford

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And now it's time for the "Very Short Reel" for this post. It's getting to be time that some people might be thinking about what they'll be doing on the last night of the year. So here is an ad agency named "Sound Resources" with two ads - a 60 second one and a 30 second one - for the Treasure Island Casino's New Year's Party. I advise calling first - I sort of doubt the details heard in this ad still apply. 

Download: Sound Resources - Treasure Island Casino's New Year's Party

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