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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Five Segments of Music on the Radio, 1965-1973

This is going to be a fairly simple post. I decided to gather together some of the tapes I've listened to lately which contained radio programming which primarily featured music and share them here, one after the other, with my typical sort of comments in between. There is AM and FM reflected here, Country, Top 40, Christian and what later became known as "Music of Your Life". As indicated above, the recordings on the tapes are each from somewhere between 1965 and 1973. And between them, there is just under six hours of radio recordings here. 

I'll start with a tape of just over 20 minutes, as heard on an unidentified station in 1967. I actually think it's a bit odd that the DJ never, in the course of this recording, mentions the station call letters - unless I somehow missed it. That's almost unheard of. I'd say that perhaps this was a syndicated show, but then, at the start of the segment, the DJ mentions that he's on tape today, indicating that he was usually broadcasting live. I do enjoy the small segment where he indicates that his upcoming scheduled live appearance has been cancelled, seemingly because not enough people showed up to the last one!

Download: Country Music Radio - Unidentified Station, 1967

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Staying in roughly the same time period - in this case, it's 1966 - we flip down the dial to WILS, a powerhouse Top 40 station in Lansing, Michigan. This 45 minute blast from that epochal year is not the ideal aircheck - the sound quality is poor, very poor at times, and whoever was recording the songs did not always record the DJ patter. 

This is not the case of a tape which has methodically had the DJ chatter eliminated - I have plenty of those and they are not terribly interesting, aside from hearing what regional hits there were in a given time and place - but it's not a straight-through recording of the station, either. There are lots of edits, more in some sections than others. But I found it highly enjoyable anyway, if not as enjoyable as some other tapes of this sort. And I hope you'll enjoy it, too. 

Download: WILS-AM, Lansing, MI, Spring, 1966

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Now for the longest segment here, nearly two and a half hours, which I believe is actually segments of multiple broadcasts. The station was WYON, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, just about 70 miles down the road from WILS in Lansing (above), and this is the station that had the early version of "Music Of Your Life", although I don't think that format ever featured the likes of John McCormack, or some of the other artists heard here. 

As you'll hear, this programming, in this case an evening show called "Afterglow - Music Just For You", featured a pretty wide variety of popular music, even though things such as Rock and Roll and R&B/Soul were completely avoided, and very little Country Music was heard, either. 

That sounds limiting, and yeah, sure it is, in a way. But on the other hand, here we have The Clancy Brothers, Lawrence Welk, Lobo, The Mills Brothers, Jan Garber Andy Stewart (a double play of Andy Stewart!), Perry Como, Harry James, Lenny Dee and Big Tiny Little, among dozens of others. 

This one is also somewhat choppy - ads and newscasts are cut, and plenty of times DJ patter is cut as well, but in other spots, the broadcast is heard for several minutes uninterrupted. Well, we can't have everything. 

Download: WYON, Grand Rapids, MI, Circa 1973 - "Afterglow - Music Just For You"

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Moving Way Out West, two years earlier, and into another type of broadcast altogether, here we have a show which aired on KHOF, Los Angeles, on November 11, 1971. At that time, the station was apparently owned by FBN - "The Faith Based Network", and here we have 35 minutes of their morning programming. Commercials and other things which aired that morning appear to have been edited out - there are short gaps between the segments (which I cut down to the merest of seconds here). It was Veteran's Day, of course, but why would that be mentioned within a religious show, huh? I'm also puzzled by what makes trumpet solos religious (I know, I know, the original song being played is a religious song, but still...). Otherwise, I have nothing else to say. 

Oh, yes I do. This came to me on one o' them big ten inch reels, complete with a sheet indicating what was on the tape. That's reproduced, below. I also have at least two more episodes of this show, from that same time period, if anyone is interested. Actually, I have them even if no one is interested. 

Download: Religious Music Programming from KHOF, Los Angeles (FBN - The Faith Based Network), 11-11-71

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Finally - and perhaps this is the most fun of the five tapes - here are some recordings made in Pittsburgh in 1965. There are two stations reflected here, both featuring the Country Music of the day, and I caught the names of Roy Scott on WPIT (730 AM), and Bobby Hudson on WEEP (1080 AM). Wikipedia tells us that WPIT was, and still is, a Christian radio outlet, but clearly, in 1965, anyway, they offered Country Music for four hours every afternoon, and horse racing coverage (and perhaps other sports) in the evening. WEEP, which is now WNNL, began playing Country Music that very year, 1965, and became a powerhouse in the format. 

These segments are a bit more cohesive than the tapes shared above, but commercials, news and some chatter has still be excised out by whoever recorded this material. There is enough sports reporting that the tape can be narrowed down to September of 1965 (Joe Torre was suspended for bumping an umpire). And there are a couple of magical jingles here. The simple one at 37:30 for the weather report is one of my favorite jingles ever. 

This is right about the point that the trends in Country Music starts losing me - I'm much more a fan of the 1950's sounds than the dominant styles heard here - with the exception of the phenomenal Roger Miller, who is not heard here. Even still, I found this hugely entertaining. Enjoy!

Download: Country Radio, September, 1965 Roy Scott on WPIT and Bobby Hudson on WEEP

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Very short reels will return next time!

Christmas (Almost) Through and Through

As I've done just about every year, I am again offering up a Christmas post. The only difference is that one of today's tapes also contained significant (and interesting) non-Christmas related material, so I've tacked that on at the end. 

First, and perhaps most interesting culturally, is this tape I came across somewhere, featuring former first lady (and so much more) Eleanor Roosevelt reading from "A Christmas Carol" to a group of children, as well as some chatter afterwards. This came to me on two tapes, but I've joined them here.  Curiously, this tape is dated 1/25/56, but I have to think that's actually 12/25/56 or something - why would she have been reading a Christmas story in late January. 

Anyway, this recording does not seem to have been shared anywhere, outside of this offering, and I can find no reference to her having read this book on 1/25/56 or on any other date in such a setting, among her published diaries, which can be found online. Perhaps I missed it. Anyway, it's a pretty neat, rare recording. 

Download: Eleanor Roosevelt Reads "A Christmas Carol"

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Next up, a recording I've labeled "Christmas and Winter Songs and Poems with a Young Child", and that pretty much sums it up. Starting with "A Visit From St. Nicholas and progressing through some songs and some conversation, this is, as far as I'm concerned, an adorable recording. 

Download: Christmas and Winter Songs and Poems, etc, with a Young Child

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Now, let's drop in for nearly an hour of Music and Conversation at Senator Smith's house. It's 1951. I think I once tried to figure out exactly who this "Senator Smith" was - I think he was a state senator - but attempts just now to remind myself were unsuccessful. I suspect someone will chime in. 

Download: Music and Conversation, Christmas Night, 1951, at Senator Smith's House

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This one is nothing more than a short excerpt from a radio presentation of some Christmas hymns and songs, complete with a bit of historical information from an announcer. 

Download: A Short Radio Christmas Program

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On one of those tiny, three inch reels, I found this brief compendium of holiday programming, including some moments from the Glen Campbell show, among others. I've been unable to determine the year for these recordings - again, maybe someone else can figure it out. 

Download: The Glen Campbell Show and Other TV Recordings, Christmastime

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And finally, the entire contacts of a tape which starts with a chorus rehearsing some Christmas songs and goes on to include some interesting country music recordings. 

The choir rehearsal is most interesting to me for the presence of a lilting melody which I found belongs to a Mexican hymn, here translated into English. It's quite beautiful and the words are very effective. I only found one website which features the lyrics to this song in English, and that is here. It's called "Pedida de la Posada" or "The Search for Lodging".

Download: A Choral Group Rehearses Christmas Songs

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When that rehearsal is over, most of the rest of side one of the tape contains a short recording of Kenny Biggs playing country music on WEEP. I featured another tape featuring the same singer/deejay about 18 months ago. My tapes have been moved so many times that it's hard for me to know for sure, but perhaps these were from the same collection. 

Download: Kenny Biggs on WEEP, Pittsburgh

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On the other side of the tape are several recordings by a country and western band. There appear to be at least a few different sessions recorded here, but I'm guessing they are all from the same band. Perhaps someone out there will disagree. There was also music from a band on the last few seconds of side one, and I've tacked those onto the end of this section. 

Download: A Few Songs from a Country Band

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Finally, the band music heard above is followed by some VERY poorly recorded material, also from WEEP, and also apparently involving Kenny Biggs. This is music which was broadcast live over that station from The New Aurora Hotel, which was located in the extraordinarily chunkily named "The McKees Rocks Bottoms" area of Pittsburgh. Despite the poor recording - which I've attempted to improve, to little effect - I thought this was worth hearing. 

Download: Country Music from The New Aurora Hotel in The McKees Rocks Bottoms, on WEEP

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I wanted to get this out a week before Christmas, and have failed to do that already, so the Acetate of the month and the Very Short Reels feature will not be featured in this post. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Country Radio in 1965, Fake Radio in 1977, Ruthie is Cute, Mary is Not, Some Telephone Mayhem, and a Fifth Anniversary

 Hi, 

First, I want to offer a sincere and very deep thank you for anyone who read my last post, the one about my mother's life story. It is much appreciated. I particularly want to thank those who offered comments, either in the comment section of the post, or directly to my e-mail address (something which a few of my more frequent correspondents have). Each of them is treasured and, again, very much appreciated. 

Second, I want to thank an anonymous poster who responded to a March post (before the "mom" one), with a major correction, and one that I probably could have researched if I wasn't just going by notes that I made when I was 15. It seems that my labeling of the years when I recorded the "WIND Top 1000" is wrong. And I should have realized that anyway. The commenter has pointed on that the news reports during the broadcasts labeled "1971", including one about a mine explosion, are from the third week of July, 1972. What I should have noticed is that both broadcasts features the inclusion of "American Pie", which could not have been on the list in 1971, as it didn't finish its chart run (and qualify for such a list) until 1972. So either those recordings are from two different broadcasts of the list, both in 1972, or the shorter segment is from 1973. I'm guessing the former, since there are no 1973 hits in that broadcast. But anyway, one thing for certain is that the longer segment should be labeled as being from the third week of July, 1972 and not from 1971. Oops. Thank you for the correction!

Finally, I've been asked in the past to let folks know when I have reels for sale on eBay, and right now, that is the case. I have 20 reels listed. None of these feature anything I've shared in this blog - for the most part they contain material that I was not all that interested in. The listing is here. That auction ends on 5/11/23. And if you click on "see other items", you will find that I have listed more than two dozen acetates from my collection, as well. 

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I'll start today's offerings with the one (or in this case, two) that I am certain will be the most popular of all of those in this post. These two sound files contain the entirety of a reel of tape which captured some now-vintage country music radio, specifically, a show hosted by DJ Kenny Biggs, on WEEP, Pittsburgh. Based on the songs played, particularly those identified as currently on the chart or newly released, this is from some time in the fall of 1965. 

The first segment is just over an hour of his show, unedited and complete with DJ patter, station ID's, ads, etc. The flip side of the tape starts with several minutes which contain edits between the songs, but eventually, the edits stop, and a good percentage of the second side also features a lengthy unedited segment of a Kenny Biggs aircheck. 

Download: The Kenny Biggs Show, WEEP, Pittsburgh, Fall, 1965, Part One

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Download: The Kenny Biggs Show, WEEP, Pittsburgh, Fall, 1965, Part Two

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And now for something just barely related to the above two tracks. Here are a few kids presenting their version of a radio station just over a decade later. A sports report near the end of this segment demonstrates that this tape is from 1977, but I believe all of the "hits" featured are from 1975, for some reason. They don't really have the DJ / music mixed at the same volume level at all, but still, it's cute, particularly that sports report and an ad for an acne product.  

The tape starts with a station intro, before cutting away to a few moments of cello practice, which is interrupted by noise from the kids. The actual "radio station" stuff starts about 50 seconds in. 

Download: Some Kids and Their Fake Radio Station, WPDL, 1977

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Here's another home recording, one which is even shorter than the above, (7 1/2 minutes) and which I find quite endearing. This is a child named Ruthie and her family, and they're just going doing the things one did when one's family had a tape recorder - testing the microphone, interviewing a child about her birthday and singing songs. For me, the best part is at the end, when the children present take turns singing one line apiece of a very well known commercial for Nestles' Chocolate, complete (the last two times) with one of the children becoming frustrated with another child who keeps coming in too early - "don't break in my line!" 

Download: Ruthie and Her Family - Testing the Microphone, Ruthie's Birthday, Prayers, Jingle Bells and Nestles Commercial

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Okay, so nearly three years ago, I posted a woman named Mary M. Davis being ridiculous. Here's most of what I wrote at the time: 

This is a bit of virulently right wing propaganda - John Birch Society style - railing against the United Nations. I only have tape four of the series, and if I had more, I'd annoy you with those, too. A quick search shows that Mary Davison wrote multiple books on this and related subjects, and was called a "whistleblower about the United Nations" at least once.

As it turns out, I do have another tape from the series, so if you enjoy this sort of thing, you're in luck. Here it is: 

Download: Mary M Davison - The United Nations, Tape Three

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On the flip side of the tape, there was a bit of bonus anti-UN blathering from Hugh A. Locke, Jr., who manages to take a truly inspiring story (assuming it's true) and turn it into a John Birch Society-esque talking point.  

Download: Hugh A Locke, Jr - 1967 Speech At New England Rally, Part Three

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Ages ago, I bought several boxes of tapes all from the same location, many of which proved to contain Bell Telephone training tapes from Ohio. I've shared several of them, over the years. Here is one which is highly annoying - not as annoying as Mary M Davison, but annoying. 

There is a lot of noise on this tape, particularly a whole lot of repetitive beeping, interspersed with one sided conversations which appear to have been made to a person (or people) who were on a ship (or ships). But you can only hear one side of the conversations. There is also a whole lot of repetitive beeping. Oh, and the opening 20 seconds or so are particularly hard to listen to, and are followed by about 15 seconds of near-silence. What I've described above really starts about 35 seconds in. 

This tape is labeled "Traffic Training Tape" on the front of the box:

On the side it says, "Telephone Transmission Impairments and Sounds" (which it definitely is not - I have that tape, which was also in the collection), and on the tape itself, there is a sticker which says ""Training Tape Telephone Sounds":

After reading each of those titles for this tape, and listening to this reel, I'm still not sure what this is, or who was supposed to learn what from these 14 minutes of recordings. 

Maybe this is only going to appeal to three people (or fewer), but I do occasionally like to give a bit of the flavor of just how wide ranging the tapes in my collection can be. 

Download: Telephone Sounds - Traffic Training Tape

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And finally, a very very short "Very Short Reel". Here are 39 seconds which I found at the end of an otherwise reel of bland music recorded off of records. I suspect this is what was left from a longer recording, the rest of which was erased. From just a short 71 1/2 years ago, here is a tiny fragment of a few people just having a light hearted conversation about what was apparently the fifth day of marriage for two of the people heard here. 

Download: Unknown - Our Fifth Day Wedding Anniversary, November 24, 1951

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Happy Birthday, Sweet 16, The Ups and Downs of Radio Work, Some Live Music, and Other Wonders

Welcome back to my archives!!!

I have very little time this week, so I will be far less verbose than usual. 

First up is a tape I've owned, and loved, for decades. It comes from Lake Forest, IL, and features two different recordings from the 1957-58 school year of a bunch of girls who were, apparently, mostly High School Juniors that year. Nearly the entirety of both tapes is made up of the girls singing, which I enjoy mightily. 

Here is the relevant (i.e. the marked-up) part of the tape box: 

First up, with have Joan's 16th birthday party, wherein the girls sing a number of fight songs, including some lyrics to the Notre Dame song - about drinking - that I've never heard anywhere but on this tape. They also sing the songs of a couple of nearby high schools, including ones that no one in Lake Forest would have attended, which seems a little weird. Throw in some current pop songs, including the utterly wonderful "Just Between You and Me", originally by the Chordettes, and you have an irresistible little segment. 

Download: Joan's 16th Birthday Party, 9/19/57

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Immediately after this is what's listed as the "Junior Luncheon", which does feature, as the box indicates, an unfortunate hum. I've tried to minimize this hum, but have been unable to do so without also impacting the sound of the recording. Here, again, there is a bunch of singing, although it sure sounds to me as if they are wishing the Senior Class well as they leave the school - why that would be the subject of a Junior Luncheon I'm not sure. But I'm guessing - hence the date - that this happened later in the school year, probably the Spring of 1958. 

But the kicker for me here is that all the songs sung have new lyrics, each of them about a specific girl to whom they are singing. I just think this is a great deal of fun. 

Download: Joan's Junior Luncheon, Lake Forest, IL, Likely 1958

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Let's switch gears here pretty radically and listen to six and a half minutes of production material recorded for radio station WEEP in Pittsburgh, in January of 1976. 

The box has this sticker on it: 

These short little segments are all over the map, and nearly all of them are pretty entertaining, especially if you ignore the John Denver concert promo. Another fun little tape. 

Download: WEEP, Pittsburgh - Radio Productions -January 1976

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So that last sampling was a lot of fun. From about as far away as you can get and still be (I think) in radio, here we have someone I think is practicing being a DJ, or perhaps trying to make a demo tape, or... well, I just don't know. 

It seems pretty half-assed, or perhaps even quarter-assed, but it is incompetent in a fairly interesting way, so I'll just share it here and see if anyone out there has a better idea what's going on. 

Download: Unknown - Possibly DJ Practice

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And in case you wanted to hear some early Randy Travis, guess what I.....

Oops, sorry, this isn't Randy Travis. It's Travis and Randy. See: 

And if you'd been one of the what sounds like no more than five people who were at the Ramada Inn in Tucson, on 10/29/71, you could have heard this little set of music (and probably a lot more, but this is all that was on the tape). 

Download: Travis and Randy at the Ramada Inn, Tucson, Arizona, 10-29-71

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Now it's time for our "Acetate of the Month". In this case, someone named E. Frederick recorded four songs on the accordion - two on each side of a ten inch acetate, way back on November 27th, 1940. The two sides of the record look like this: 

And they sound like this: 

Download: E Frederick - Dizzy Fingers & Two Guitars - 11--27- 40 (Presto Acetate)

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Download: E Frederick - Nola & Beautiful Days - 11-27- 40 (Presto Acetate)

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And finally, a VERY short example of a "Very Short Reel", and an enigmatic one at that. I'll let the track I've titled "Can You Hear That There?" speak for itself. 

Download: "Can You Hear That There?"

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