Robert's Posts

Best of Just for Laughs

Posted by Robert on March 29, 2012 at 9:20pm

Just for Laughs: Gags (JFL Gags) is a Canadian silent comedy/hidden camera reality television show that is under the Just for Laughs brand. On December 26, 2002, JFL Gags began airing on CBC and The Comedy Network in Canada. Just for Laughs: Gags currently airs Weekdays at 6 pm, Just for Laughs: Gags does not air on CBC anymore. The show also airs on Telemundo in the United States, Multishow Channel in Brazil and occupies a Summer prime time slot on SIC in Portugal.

This series' format is the typical hidden camera comedy show, playing silly pranks on unsuspecting subjects while hidden cameras capture the people's response (similar to UK hidden camera comedy shows). This show plays music in the background, but does not contain any sound and dialogue (except for brief sound effects and laughter) but you can occasionally hear the actors and victims talking. It is filmed in Downtown Montreal and rural Quebec although some segments are filmed in the UK or Mexico. Sound effects, music and a laugh track are added in post-production.

Download Here

THE DAMBUSTERS (1954 dramatization of Paul Brickhill's best-selling novel about World War II)

Posted by Robert on March 25, 2012 at 8:30am

A 1954 dramatization of Paul Brickhill's best-selling novel about World War II. The documentary series focused on the 617 Dambusting Squadron and is full of air force adventure. There were 26 half-hour episodes, and the cast also featured Charles "Bud" Tingwell Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16 &17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis. The Mohne and Eder Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley, while the Sorpe dam sustained only minor damage. All 26 episodes in excellent condition

Background

During the height of World War II it was the target of British Bomber Command to damage and destroy as much of Germany's industry as possible. After all, it is industry that is at the heart of any war effort. After in depth studies and many attacks of the industrial areas in Germany, the British soon realised that after an attack, the factories were soon rebuilt and more importantly dispersed over a wider area which made them more difficult to attack again.

It quickly became apparent though that there were limitations to where industry could be located. All industry requires power and therefore it must be located within a reasonable distance from a power source. This changed the way in which Bomber Command thought about attacking Germany's industry. Instead of attacking the factories, attacking their power sources was a much better strategy. The main advantage of attacking power sources is that many more than one factory uses the same power source. Destroying one power source would therefore lead to disruption in many factories and industries.

Bomber Command's attention then turned to which power sources to attack to give maximum damaging impact on the industry in Germany. Three sources of energy were identified; coal mines, the Rumanian oil fields and the hydroelectric dams. Two of these were quickly discounted. Coal mines were relatively easily repaired or rebuilt and the RAF possessed no aircraft with a suitable range to attack the oil fields located in far east Germany.

Despite the problems with the other two targets, the hydroelectric dams of Germany's Ruhr Valley were probably the best targets. These dams supplied water and power to the industry of the Ruhr Valley which was the heart of Hitler's war machine, as well as controlling the water levels in canals that transported materials to and from the factories. Huge resources of coal and iron ore saw the Ruhr Valley grow into the heartland of the country's industry during the early 20th century. Along with many large cities in the surrounding area, the dams were built during the growth period to cope with the inevitable power and water requirements. It was estimated that one quarter of Germany's water was consumed by this industrial area.

Of the 20 massive dams constructed in the Ruhr Valley, six dams were selected as targets with three of these being the primary targets. The Mohne, the Eder and the Sorpe dams were the three primary targets. Between the Mohne and Sorpe, they held back 76% of the total water available to the industrial valley, one of the main reasons they were two of the primary targets. If breached these dams would bring the whole industrial valley to a stand still, causing massive damage to the steel industry devastating production of tanks, aircraft, guns and locomotives which were all vital to Germany's war effort.

Mohne Dam

Ironically, attacking the dams in Ruhr Valley was not a new idea. In anticipation of war, Britain began looking at industrial targets in the Ruhr as early as 1937. The dams were high on the target then, but these plans were shelved because of one major problem which eluded Bomber Command. How do you hit and breach a dam? - A problem which was far more complex than it appeared, especially over 60 years ago. Read More Here

All in One Zip File

Dambusters.zip

Single Episodes

Film

Download Movie Here

THE SOUND OF WAR

Posted by Robert on March 24, 2012 at 5:30pm

The Sound of War is an 18 episode collection. Jay Hickerson's "The Ultimate Guide to all Circulating Shows" states that this is how many were produced.

The series used the tagline "The Actual Sound Record of World War II. A drama preserved for all time through the medium of radio. An era not to be forgotten." The Sound of War contains many sound clips, some rare from such notable figures as Adolf Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Benito Mussolini, Neville Chamberlin, General Douglas McArthur, Charles DeGaulle, Hermann Goering, and many more.

It's not clear when the show was broadcast but they appear to be from the late 1950s or early 1960s. There are three episodes that are all labeled "The Fall of France" but they are indeed unique to each other. The producers seemed to place an emphasis on this period for some unknown reason.

The shows were produced by Bud Greenspan and narrated by his brother David Greenspan, also known as David Perry. The two went on to produce many film sports documentaries largely about the Olympics.

Wireless Theatre Company

Posted by Robert on March 24, 2012 at 9:00am

Wireless Theatre Company is an award winning audio theatre company producing original radio drama, comedy, stories, poems, sketches and live radio recordings. Most of the content can be downloaded free from the web site directly to your iPod or MP3 player by simply signing up free.

They have won TWO awards at the fantastic Radio Academy's Production Awards 2011. Best Entertainment Producer and Best Online/Multi Platform Creator.

The top five downloads are:

1. Springheel'd Jack, Ep 3

2. Sherlock Holmes

3. Springheel'd Jack Ep. 2

4. Stage Fright

5. Gino Ginelli Is Dead

All of the content has excellent acting and performances. On the web site you can preview the productions without signing up for the free downloads.

It Happens Every Spring

Posted by Robert on March 20, 2012 at 9:00pm

It Happens Every Spring is a 1949 comedy film starring Ray Milland and directed by Lloyd Bacon.

A college professor is working on a long-term scientific experiment when a baseball comes through the window, destroying all of his glassware and spilling the fluids that the flasks and test tubes contained. The pooled fluids combine to form the (fictitious) chemical "methylethylpropylbutyl," which then covers a large portion of the baseball. The professor soon discovers that the fluid, along with any object with which it makes contact, is repelled by wood (cf. Alexander Fleming's serendipitous discovery of penicillin).

Suddenly, he realizes the possibilities and takes a leave of absence to go to St. Louis to pitch in the big leagues, where he becomes a star and propels his team to the World Series.

Download: It Happens Every Spring.mp4

Radio Versions

Here is two radio versions both starring Ray Milland

Lux Radio Theater 49-10-03 It Happens Every Spring

Screen Director's Playhouse 50-04-14 (064) It Happens Every Spring (HQ)

The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft

Posted by Robert on March 19, 2012 at 6:00pm

"The Call of Cthulhu" is one of H. P. Lovecraft's best-known short stories. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in Weird Tales, February 1928. It is the only story written by Lovecraft in which the extraterrestrial entity Cthulhu himself makes a major appearance.

It is written in a documentary style, with three independent narratives linked together by the device of a narrator discovering notes left by a deceased relative.

The narrator pieces together the whole truth and disturbing significance of the information he possesses, illustrating the story's first line: "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity; and it was not meant that we should voyage far."

"Of such great powers or beings there may be conceivably a survival... a survival of a hugely remote period when... consciousness was manifested, perhaps, in shapes and forms long since withdrawn before the tide of advancing humanity... forms of which poetry and legend alone have caught a flying memory and called them gods, monsters, mythical beings of all sorts and kinds..."

(allow a few seconds to buffer, file is 101mb)

The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft

London Nightlife in the 1950's

Posted by Robert on March 14, 2012 at 6:00am

Here is a look back at the past from a little short film by Claude Goretta and Alain Tanner called "Nice Time".

Part 1

Part 2

The U-Boat That Lost Its Nerve (1975, SNT) (James Follett)

Posted by Robert on March 3, 2012 at 10:00am

A WWII historical drama regarding an informal trial of a German U-boat officer in a POW camp.

Cast

Lt-Cmdr Hans Rahmlow David Ryall
Lt Bernhardt Berndt Nigel Lambert
Lt Wolfgang Stein Michael Deacon
Chief Engineer Michael Shannon
Lt-Cmdr Otto Kruger Paul Gaymon
Major Conrad Shulke Stephen Thorne
Lt Paul Faulk Alan Dudley
Cmdr Willi Leymann Trader Faulkner
Home Guard Captain Jack Carr
Corporal Sion Probert
Harmonica Harry Pitch

Saturday Night Theatre Radio Play
Running Time 88 Minutes.
1st Broadcast 22nd February 1975
2nd Broadcast 24th February 1975

The U-Boat That Lost Its Nerve (1975, SNT)

20 Gig of Free Storage from DivShare

Posted by Robert on February 23, 2012 at 4:30pm

We are always looking for extra storage and DivShare now offers 20 gig of free storage for those files. Your uploads are kept online forever and will not expire, plus you can embed an audio player for your post.

Sign Up free or read more here

Sample Player

Jack Benny's Golden Memories of Radio (HQ at 320 kbps)

Posted by Robert on February 12, 2012 at 3:00pm

Recordings narrated by Jack Benny and Frank Knight.

JBGM Side 01 - Remember The Golden Days Of Radio.mp3

You can find the set in OTR Collections Group

Gunsmoke Interviews

Posted by Robert on February 7, 2012 at 8:30pm

Gunsmoke was an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.

The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961 and is commonly regarded as one of the finest radio dramas of all time. The television version ran from 1955 to 1975 and is the longest running prime time drama and the second-longest running prime time fictional program in U.S. television history, its record surpassed only by the Disney anthology television series and Hallmark Hall of Fame.

Here is two interviews about the old time radio series.

Interview George Walsh

Inverview William Conrad

James Arness - Star of TV's "Gunsmoke" As Matt Dillon,
U.S. Marshall Taped April 21, 2006. Very nice interview with James Arness on the series Gunsmoke. Talks some about transition of the radio show to the TV series

The Doris Day Show

Posted by Robert on January 22, 2012 at 8:30am

Doris Day (born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff; April 3, 1924) is an American actress and singer. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording, "Sentimental Journey", in 1945. After leaving the Les Brown & His Band of Renown to try a solo career, she started her long-lasting partnership with Columbia Records, which would remain her only recording label. The contract lasted from 1947 to 1967, and included more than 650 recordings, making Day one of the most popular and acclaimed singers of the 20th century. In 1948, after being persuaded by Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne and her agent at the time, Al Levy, she auditioned for Michael Curtiz, which led to the lead in Romance on the High Seas, her first film with close friend, Jack Carson.

With a legendary Hollywood "girl next door" image and capable of delivering comedy, romance as well as heavy drama, she appeared in 39 films, released 29 albums, spent 460 weeks in the Top 40 charts and eventually became one of America's most beloved entertainers. She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Pillow Talk, won three Henrietta Award (World Film Favorite), a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Legend Award from the Society of Singers, Los Angeles Film Critics Association's Career Achievement Award and, in 1989, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures.

The Doris Day Radio Show began on CBS airing first on Friday, March 28th 1952 featuring, many stars and friends that helped her during her rise to fame. The Doris Day Radio Show's first show had guest Danny Thomas, her co-star from I'll See You In My Dreams (1952). Other featured guest were Kirk Douglas,Cornel Wilde, Howard Keel, George Murphy, Frankie Laine, Gene Nelson, Mary Wickes, and Ronald Reagan.

The Doris Day Show TV series, an American sitcom, was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run. It is also remembered for Day's claim, in her autobiography Doris Day: Her Own Story (1975), that her husband Martin Melcher had signed her to do the TV series without her knowledge, a fact she only discovered when Melcher died of heart disease on April 20, 1968. The TV show premiered on September 28, 1968.

Doris Day Show, The 52-03-28 (12) First Song - Who, Who Who, Guest - Danny Thomas
Doris Day Show, The 52-04-11 (14) First Song - Just One Of Those Things, Guest - Ray Bolger, Frank Loesser
Doris Day Show, The 52-04-18 (15) First Song - Shanghai, Guest - Ray Bolger, Mary Wickes
Doris Day Show, The 52-04-25 (16) First Song - Oops, Guest - Gordon MacRae
Doris Day Show, The 52-05-02 (17) First Song - Nobody's Sweetheart, Guest - Donald O'Connor, Liberace
Doris Day Show, The 52-05-09 (18) First Song - It's A Lovely Day Today, Guest - Gordon MacRae, Mary Wickes
Doris Day Show, The 52-05-16 (19) First Song - 'S Wonderful, Guest - Harry James, Guy Mitchell
Doris Day Show, The 52-05-23 (20) First Song - On Moonlight Bay, Guest - Dennis Day, Ray Noble
Doris Day Show, The 52-11-25 (46) First Song - Just One Of Those Things (Kirk Douglas)
Doris Day Show, The 52-12-23 (50) First Song - Here Comes Santa Claus

All Star Western Theater

Posted by Robert on January 14, 2012 at 10:00am

All Star Western Theater (8/11/46 - 8/14/48) were 30 minutes musical western shows combined with with good old western stories. The shows aired on Sunday featuring Foy Willing and The Riders Of The Purple Sage plus plenty of top cowboy guest stars like Johnny Mack Brown, Cisco Kid and Pancho, Ken Curtis and many others. Sponsored by Weber's Bread.

All Shows

All Star Western Theater.zip (618mb)

Singles

The Enduring Popularity Of Sherlock Holmes (NPR)

Posted by Robert on January 8, 2012 at 7:30pm

Here is a recording from NPR's "All Things Considered" back in December, 2011 thought quite interesting.

It's been more than a century since Sherlock Holmes first appeared in print and captivated a generation of readers. Arthur Conan Doyle's methodical sleuth has been stirring imaginations ever since — even now, the Holmes canon continues to grow.

The House of Silk — published this fall — is the first new Sherlock Holmes mystery to be authorized by Conan Doyle's estate. Author Anthony Horowitz has been transfixed by the series since receiving the complete Sherlock Holmes for his 16th-birthday present. And it wasn't merely the man and his distinctive methods that so captivated Horowitz — it was the rich atmosphere of 19th century London. (Read More)

Walk Softly, Peter Troy (SA)-----An Outstanding Detective Series

Posted by Robert on January 5, 2012 at 5:30am

Walk Softly, Peter Troy Detective Drama Aired on Springbok Radio from 10 December 1963 to 21 February 1964. This series was produced in the Durban Studios of Herrick Merril Productions. It starred Tom Meehan, John Simpson, and Merle Wayne. It was sponsored by Irving & Johnson, who also sponsored the "Gunsmoke" series which "Walk Softly, Peter Troy" replaced. A sequel to this series was heard on the English Radio Service from 19 May 1964 to 28 November 1964. The sponsors, Irving & Johnson, reportedly disliked the series, which is why it was discontinued on Springbok Radio and moved to the English Service.

This was the first series on the English Service that came from an independent production house, not produced by the SABC. There was an Australian version of this radio series produced prior to the South African productions. Let me repeat that last sentence for those who did not read it the first time…There was an Australian version of this radio series produced prior to the South African productions. Several recordings of the Australian productions have survived, and they are routinely sold and traded within the OTR community, mislabeled as South African productions.

The Blonde With The Delicate Air

All Shows

(563mb)

Walk Softly, Peter Troy (SA).zip

Radio Hall of Fame

Posted by Robert on December 31, 2011 at 2:14pm

The Radio Hall of Fame was a variety show that ran from 1943 to 1946, sponsored by Philco, featuring the very best in comedy, drama and music while starring some of the greatest performers of the 1940's, such as Fred Allen, Bing Crosby, Groucho Marx, Jimmy Durante, Andrews Sisters, Burns and Allen just to name a few.

Radio Hall of Fame.zip (All Shows)

Singles

RHOF_43-12-12_002_Carmen_Jones.mp3
RHOF_43-12-26_004_New_Years_Message.mp3
RHOF_44-01-02_005_First_Song_Valencia.mp3
RHOF_44-01-09_006_Moonlight.mp3
RHOF_44-01-23_008_First_Song_Oh_What_A_Beautifu..>
RHOF_44-02-06_010_First_Song_Beso_Mucho.mp3
RHOF_44-02-13_011_Jane_Eyre.mp3
RHOF_44-03-05_014_First_Song_Take_It_Easy.mp3
RHOF_44-04-30_022_No_Uncommon_Clay.mp3
RHOF_44-05-07_023_Moral_Victory.mp3
RHOF_44-05-14_024_In_The_Fog.mp3
RHOF_44-05-21_025_Times_Square.mp3
RHOF_44-06-04_027_Take_It_Easy.mp3
RHOF_44-06-11_028_First_Song_Salt_Water_Cowboy.mp3
RHOF_44-06-18_029_First_Song_Louise.mp3
RHOF_44-06-25_030_Dont_Sweetheart_Me.mp3
RHOF_44-07-02_031_Stars_And_Stripes_Forever.mp3
RHOF_44-07-09_032_Lady_Of_Spain.mp3
RHOF_44-07-16_033_Make_Way_For_Tomorrow.mp3
RHOF_44-07-23_034_First_Song_I_Want_To_Be_Happy..>
RHOF_44-07-30_035_Suzy.mp3
RHOF_44-08-06_036_Is_You_Is.mp3
RHOF_44-08-13_037_Sweet_And_Lovely.mp3
RHOF_44-08-20_038_Take_It_Easy.mp3
RHOF_44-08-27_039_Come_Out_Come_Out_Wherever_Yo..>
RHOF_44-09-03_040_Blue_Room.mp3
RHOF_44-09-10_041_Lady_Be_Good.mp3
RHOF_44-09-17_042_Dance_With_The_Dolly.mp3
RHOF_44-09-24_043_All_Star_All_Request_Program.mp3
RHOF_44-10-01_044_Wilson.mp3
RHOF_44-11-05_049_The_Evil_War.mp3
RHOF_44-11-12_050_Condemned_In_Paris.mp3
RHOF_44-11-19_051_Brooklyn_Dodgers.mp3
RHOF_44-11-26_052_The_Two_Mrs_Carrolls.mp3
RHOF_44-12-03_053_A_Bell_For_Adano.mp3
RHOF_44-12-10_054_First_Anniversary_Show.mp3
RHOF_44-12-17_055_Judy_Garland.mp3
RHOF_44-12-24_056_The_Happy_Prince.mp3
RHOF_44-12-31_057_Showboat.mp3
RHOF_45-01-07_058_Now_And_Then.mp3
RHOF_45-01-14_059_Thank_Dixie_For_Me.mp3
RHOF_45-01-21_060_Breakfast_In_Hollywood.mp3
RHOF_45-01-28_061_Evelani.mp3
RHOF_45-02-04_062_Experiment_Perilous.mp3
RHOF_45-02-11_063_Victor_Herbert_Tribute.mp3
RHOF_45-02-18_064_First_Song_How_Deep_Is_The_Oc..>
RHOF_45-02-25_065_Earl_Carroll_Tribute.mp3
RHOF_45-03-04_066_The_Tell-Tale_Heart.mp3
RHOF_45-03-11_067_Believe_It_Or_Not.mp3
RHOF_45-03-18_068_Vic_And_Sade.mp3
RHOF_45-03-25_069_The_Strange_Case_Of_Robert_Ra..>
RHOF_45-04-08_071_The_Case_Of_The_Perfect_Frame..>
RHOF_45-04-15_072_Music_Loved_By_All_The_World.mp3
RHOF_45-04-22_073_Alter_Ego.mp3
RHOF_45-05-06_075_Paul_Whiteman_Salute.mp3
RHOF_45-05-13_076_Mothers_Day_Special.mp3
RHOF_45-05-20_077_Major_General_Maurice_Rose_Tr..>
RHOF_45-05-27_078_George_Gershwin_Salute.mp3
RHOF_45-07-22_086_Everytime.mp3
RHOF_45-07-29_087_Guest_Gloria_Agostini.mp3
RHOF_45-08-05_088_Landing_Craft_Musical.mp3
RHOF_45-08-12_089_The_Navajo_Trail.mp3
RHOF_45-08-19_090_Special_Day_Of_Prayer_And_Tha..>
RHOF_45-08-26_091_Georgia_Gibbs_Birthday_Party.mp3
RHOF_45-09-02_092_I_Want_To_Be_Happy.mp3
RHOF_45-09-16_094_School_Days.mp3
RHOF_45-09-23_095_One_Road_Mary.mp3
RHOF_45-11-04_101_Unveiling_The_New_Philco_Prod..>
RHOF_45-11-11_102_Honoring_Oscar_Levant.mp3
RHOF_45-11-18_103_Honoring_Gene_Kelly.mp3
RHOF_45-11-25_104_Honoring_The_Metropolitan_Ope..>
RHOF_45-12-02_105_Guest_Kate_Smith.mp3
RHOF_45-12-09_106_Guest_Eddie_Cantor.mp3
RHOF_45-12-16_107_Guest_Judy_Canova.mp3
RHOF_45-12-23_108_Christmas_Program.mp3
RHOF_45-12-30_109_Guest_Sophie_Tucker.mp3
RHOF_46-01-06_110_Guest_Ralph_Bellamy.mp3
RHOF_46-01-13_111_Guest_Don_McNeill.mp3
RHOF_46-01-20_112_Annual_Film_Critics_Award.mp3
RHOF_46-01-27_113_Guest_Red_Skelton.mp3
RHOF_46-02-03_114_Guest_Abbott_And_Costello.mp3
RHOF_46-02-10_115_Guest_Jerry_Colonna.mp3
RHOF_46-02-17_116_Guest_Jack_Haley.mp3
RHOF_46-02-24_117_Guest_Jimmy_Durante.mp3
RHOF_46-03-03_118_Guest_Bob_Crosby.mp3
RHOF_46-03-10_119_Guest_Hedda_Hopper.mp3
RHOF_46-03-17_120_Guest_Lionel_Barrymore.mp3
RHOF_46-03-24_121_Guest_Agnes_Moorehead.mp3
RHOF_46-03-31_122_Guest_Walter_Pidgeon.mp3
RHOF_46-04-07_123_Guest_Larry_Storch.mp3
RHOF_46-04-14_124_Guest_Roland_Young.mp3

Destination Freedom

Posted by Robert on December 26, 2011 at 6:30pm

Richard Durham created Destination Freedom, a groundbreaking radio series that dramatized the struggle for civil rights in America. Destination Freedom aired on WMAQ, a Chicago radio station, on Sunday mornings from 1948 to 1950.

The premier of Destination Freedom on June 27, 1948 signaled a landmark in African American broadcasting history. Drawing on the talents of young intellectuals and entertainers including Oscar Brown Jr., Studs Terkel, Janice Kingslow, Wezlyn Tilden, Fred Pinkard and Vernon Jarrett, Durham developed scripts that captured the lives and struggles of everyday men and women as well as prominent African Americans. Unlike the typical radio fare of its time, Destination Freedom featured social dramas that eloquently appealed for racial justice. As Durham explained, “the real-life story of a single Negro in Alabama walking into a voting booth across a Ku Klux Klan line has more drama and world implications than all the stereotypes Hollywood or radio can turn out in a thousand years.” In striking contrast to the hackneyed images of blacks and as a remedy to the gross underrepresentation of blacks in radio production, Durham cast black actors in leading roles and told the stories of activists and leaders including Frederick Douglass, Toussaint L’Ouverture and Mary Church Terrell; writers and artists including Richard Wright, Katherine Dunham and Gwendolyn Brooks and cultural legends such as Stackalee and John Henry.

Hours of careful research at the George Cleveland Hall Branch of the Chicago Public Library with Vivian Harsh’s assistance, close readings of autobiographies, monographs and speeches and skilled scriptwriting brought these historical and contemporary figures to life in poignant detail on Destination Freedom. Certain of the redemptive power of black history and education, Durham went beyond recounting the biographies of these figures and focused on the ways that they overcame racial injustice through resistance. Durham challenged network protocols to ensure that the series featured black women as equally important, history-making figures. The series lacked a sponsor for most of the time it aired on WMAQ, but by relying on his earlier connections, Durham persuaded the Chicago Defender to fund the first weeks of the broadcast and the Urban League sponsored several broadcasts in 1950. Despite Durham’s efforts to exercise authorial control over the series, WMAQ edited, controlled final script approval and rejected the more controversial stories of the lives of Nat Turner and Paul Robeson. Despite these conflicts, the station recognized the import and the success of the show when in 1949, it won a prestigious first-place award from the Institute for Education by Radio. On the anniversary of its first episode, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson commended the program for its efforts in increasing racial tolerance and in educating the public on the contributions of African Americans. Despite these accolades, WMAQ canceled Destination Freedom in 1950, just as the rising tide of anti-Communist conservatism began to adversely affect radio and the arts.

Changed to Cold War ideas after 10-15-50 (known as the "Patriotic Format")

Destination Freedom.zip (all shows)

Singles:

Folk Ways - Piedmont Blues

Posted by Robert on December 23, 2011 at 9:30am

David Holt talks to three talented artists and experiences the whole spectrum of Piedmont Blues. Etta Baker, a well-known artist in the North Carolina mountains, plays old favorites like "Knoxville Rag" and "Careless Love." She also plays a traditional blues song, showing the difference between the type of beat most people associate with "blues" and the ragtime style of Piedmont Blues. She also plays some slide guitar with "John Henry." David also plays his guitar beside George Higgs, another artist who plays the blues in the style of Blind Boy Fuller, a blues artist of the 1930s. George also slides the blues on his harmonica, as David accompanies him. Finally, David introduces us to John Dee Holeman of Durham, North Carolina, who plays the modern style of blues that emanated from the war. Playing his electric guitar in the styles of both Blind Boy Fuller and Lightning Hopkins, John concludes Piedmont Blues with a beat that will get your toes tapping.

Download

The Carter Sisters Show

Posted by Robert on December 23, 2011 at 7:30am

The Carter Sisters, (better known as their later moniker, The Carter Family) were an American singing quartet consisting of Maybelle Carter and her daughters June Carter Cash, Helen Carter, and Anita Carter. Formed during World War II, the group recorded and performed into the 1980s.

In the 1920s through the early 1940s, Maybelle Carter was part of the historic country music trio The Carter Family with her cousin Sara Carter and Sara's husband A. P. Carter. Maybelle's contribution to the group was singing harmony to Sara's lead vocal as well as playing guitar. Maybelle was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra Carter and had three children: June, Helen, and Anita.

In March 1943, when the original Carter Family trio stopped recording together after their WBT-AM contract ended, Maybelle Carter formed "Maybelle Carter & the Carter Sisters" with her three daughters June, Helen and Anita. Maybelle's daughters had frequently appeared with The Carter Family on their radio broadcasts of the early 1940's. The girls were young when the new act began: June at age 14; Helen, 16; and Anita, the youngest, at age 10.

The group was said to have been a mix of traditional songs of the original Carter Family with pop, gospel, and vaudeville comedy. Each daughter made her own contribution to the band.

Helen: vocals, guitar, and accordion
Anita: vocals, guitar, and bass fiddle
June: vocals, autoharp and comedy (June struggled with pitch problems and soon began to focus more on her
comedic addition to the group than her singing.

The group (originally from Poor Valley, Virginia) made their first move to Richmond, Virginia in 1943. (They were reported as having kept their travel low key, with their father Ezra driving the group in a van to and from their destinations.) The new group first aired on radio station WRNL in Richmond on June 1, 1943. This broadcast would serve as their first commercially sponsored program and their first radio debut as "Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters." The girls' next big break was offered to them by "Sunshine Sue" of WRVA-AM. In September 1946 the group was asked to be a part of The Old Dominion Barn Dance on WRVA. The show had just begun and started small, however by the end of its first year was selling out its 1,400 seat theater twice a night, every Saturday. The group soon became a headliner for the show. Having spent five years in Richmond, the girls were yet again offered a job opportunity, this time in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In 1948, towards the end of their time in Richmond, the girls were offered the chance to work for WNOX-AM in Knoxville. They accepted and were then played on both the evening show, Tennessee Barn Dance; and the daily show, Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round.

Carter Sisters.zip (All Shows)

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Heartbeat Theater (1956 - 1985) --- The last live, regularly scheduled radio drama produced in Hollywood.

Posted by Robert on December 22, 2011 at 5:30am

Heartbeat+Theater+60-01-24+%28204%29+Count+of+Nine.jpg

Heartbeat Theater (1956 - 1985) was the last live, regularly scheduled radio drama produced in Hollywood. The first one was produced in December of 1955 and released in March, 1956. I think Preston Foster was in the first one. Raymond Burr did some, Greer Garson--everyone's done a 'Heartbeat' at one time or another. All sorts of famous people appeared on the show.

The Salvation Army saved "Heartbeat" in 1977 with its plan to update sound effects and dramatize social issues. After the 1977 transformation, Hills' new "Heartbeat Theater" wallowed in prostitution, incest and homosexuality with the regularity of a 1980s TV sitcom. At one point, Hills had to discourage an overenthusiastic would-be TV writer from submitting "Heartbeat" plays with a Kojak-like Salvation Army captain climaxing final acts by chasing down villains in a squad car.

The final show, featuring Daws Butler and hosted by "Days of Our Lives" soap-opera doctor MacDonald Carey, was taped Oct. 10, 1985 at Studio House in Hollywood, just after producers George Galbraith and Don Hills got word that the Salvation Army had written them out of their 1985 budget.

Hills, who cranked out 52 morality tales a year for the show, said the Salvation Army spent half its annual media budget on keeping the half-hour drama alive for the 500 U.S. radio stations on the "Heartbeat" distribution list.

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