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There used to be only two ways to listen to old-time radio in the early days of old-time radio. You could listen to a table model or you could listen to a floor model.

I will never forget visiting my grandparent’s house in Missouri, in the 50′s and listening to their floor model radio, as we listened to radio stations broadcasting out of Kansas City and Des Moines, Iowa. The sound was special as the voices really jumped out at you on such a large radio. It was fun listening to the Kansas City Athletics baseball games being broadcast over the airwaves. The Athletics lost most of the games but the chance to listen to listen to such a powerful radio was something I will never forget.

Old Time Radio Died 50 Years Ago

Nowadays we can listen to old-time radio shows in many different ways. Old time radio is said to have died 60 years ago, on September 30, 1962, but it can be listened to in a myriad of ways today.

Even before the day old-time radio “died”, there had been bakelite radios built to listen to the shows, Then transistor radios and cassette players started playing the old-time radio shows we loved so much.

MP3 CD Breakthrough

Then the shows could be heard on regular audio compact disc players in a sound system or a portable CD player. A major development occurred when the MP3 CD was invented, which enabled a MP3 CD to hold about 50 half hour old-time radio shows. Before the advent of the MP3 CD, owing a lot of old-time radio shows was cost prohibitive since cassettes and CD’s could only play a couple of shows on a tape or a CD.

The sales of MP3 CD’s filled with old-time radio shows accelerated when ebay.com had dealers, who had recorded the shows from a master copy and burned copies of the shows onto a MP3 CD and began selling them to old-time radio fans, much cheaper than a regular CD or cassette.

Cassette Dealers Stuck With Inventory

One bad thing about the popularity of the MP3 CD’s was that old-time radio dealers online, who had a backlog of cassettes to sell found it hard to sell their inventory, since old-time radio fans were flocking to the new technology.

The prices were too low for the old-time radio fans to ignore. For example I bought over 800 Jack Benny Shows for $12 total after shipping and 360 Amos and Andy shows for $7.

This very minute ebay.com lists 3,393 items if you type on old-time radio shows in the search box. This search includes 1,197 CD’s, 13 cassettes and 8 records.

Ways To Listen To Old Time Radio Today

MP3 player with speaker – There are some fine speakers out there that can produce a big sound. I have the Altec Lansing speaker to listen to old time radio. The sound is great for such a little speaker, but the cord is very flimsy and is about to break, so my speaker may not be long for this world.

MP3 Portable CD players – These look like a regular portable CD player, but play MP3 CD’s which a regular portable CD player won’t play.

Portable DVD players – You can play MP3 CD’s on these players, even though they are known more for their ability to play movie DVD’s.

DVD players – MP3 players can be hooked to a DVD player via a USB cord and anything on your MP3 player can be played on your television. A complete list of everything on your MP3 player will show up on the screen and you choose which old-time radio show to listen to. This is by far the best sound I have heard listening to an old-time radio show. It is great for listening to shows with a lot of action like detective shows and westerns. Can’t wait to hear Gangbusters with all that racket. A flash MP3 player can connect directly to the DVD player.

MP3 Radios – Some radios now have MP3 capability via a line in or in the case of an I-Pod a dock to listen to the shows.

Sound systems – Some sound systems can now play MP3 shows via MP3 discs or using a FM transmitter which if tuned to the correct frequency will play anything in your MP3 player.

Car MP3 players – There are some cars today that have MP3 line in on the dashboard, so you can listen to old-time radio shows, while others can play the shows with a FM transmitter in the car tuned to the correct frequency on the car radio.

Note: Dialing in the right frequency with a FM transmitter is an exact science. I have had difficulty with shows cutting in and out, when using a FM transmitter. They can be very frustrating, unless they are making them better today.

MP3 players – A built-in speaker on some MP3 player enables the listeners to hear the shows from the MP3 player itself, but the ones I have heard don’t have that great of a sound.

Computers – You can listen to thousands of free old-time radio shows at such sites as archive.org, otr.net. radiolovers.com and too many more to mention them all.

So there are a multitude of ways to listen to old-time radio shows today. The old-time radio cassettes can even still be played on the few cassette players still being produced. This is a great time to be an old-time radio fan, with so many ways to listen to the shows.

Happy old-time radio listening!!!

Old time radio not only broadcast comedies, detective shows, thrillers and music programs, but also broadcast informational programming like Biography In Sound, which consisted of one hour-long broadcasts about famous politicians and personalities in history.The show was broadcast from 1954-1958.

For instance you can listen to shows featuring the life of Babe Ruth, then listen to Franklin Delano Roosevelt life story. Right now I have a Connie Mack program lined up in my MP3 player to play.

Last week I listened to story of Ernie Pyle the war correspondent, who lived with American troops mostly in the European theater. The broadcast features people who remember him as a kid and as an adult.

The list of shows represents a large spectrum of authors, presidents, entertainers and even the elderly painter Grandma Moses.

Readers can view the list of show at: http://www.archive.org/details/BiographiesInSound

Cavalcade of America was the longest running historical old-time radio show. It ran from 1935-1953. There are as many as 741 episodes available today.

If you would rather just listen to a few free shows online you can enjoy listening to episodes like Here Is Your War, with James Gleason portraying war correspondent Ernie Pyle and telling the story of the American soldier in combat.

The list of shows at archive.org gives an idea of how many different topics are covered in the show that ran 18 years.

http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Cavalcade_of_America_Singles

Mister President is a drama in which Edward Arnold portrayed a different president each week. The show ran from 1947-1953. Listeners asked to guess which president was being represented in each episode. Almost all the presidents in the series were in office in the 18th and 19th centuries.

I listened to the President James Polk episode last week and thoroughly enjoyed Arnold’s portrayal of President Polk.

Archive.org has this list of free shows to listen to. The shows can be downloaded, then uploaded into an MP3 player:

http://www.archive.org/details/Mister_President

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

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" 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

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

Part 1

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)

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Here is a couple of dramatizations of  short stories by L'Amour from the podcast of nostalgic-radio.com. Just passing them along in case you missed them. Nostalgic-Radio has a lot of interesting content.

Folks far and wide know that the Cactus Kid can handle a pistol with the best of them. But for all his skill and coolness under fire, there's jut one small weakness he can't seem to overcome - and it may prove the death of him.


Louis L'Amour - Love and the Cactus Kid
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It had been many years since Lona Markham's father sent her from the rigors of ranch life to a convent school. Now she's returned to a wary, careworn man who hardly seems like the father she remembers. The ranch she's set to inherit someday is shadowed by brutish Frank Mailer, the man Lona's promised to marry--and haunted by the mysterious Black Rider, who watches the Blue Hill Ranch from a distance. Some say the Rider is a ghost, but all Lona knows is his presence makes both Poke Markham and Frank Mailer uneasy.

Then one day the enigmatic stranger reveals himself to Lona. Lance Kilkenny has ridden to this rugged country to repay an old debt to Lona's father. When he exposes a cold and daring scheme to cheat her of the Blue Hill Ranch, Lona Markham is plunged into terrible danger. But Kilkenny has a cool head and a fast gun hand.

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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 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.

It was also on a back lot at Universal Studios, we were shooting a scene from "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid". Also on the next lot at Universal Studios there were shutting "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" was filming. Tourists were shocked to see Glenn Strange's Frankenstein Monster having lunch with Annie in her fishtail costume. Both Strange and Lon Chaney in his Wolfman make-up were invited to the Mr. Peabody wrap party, where they hammed it up in make-up.

In the fall 1946 a film crew had been sent down to see an underwater theatre north of Tampa on U.S. Highway 19. Perry had started out in north Florida, working with the strong-lunged young swimmers of Florida State University's Tarpon Club. He developed air hoses that let them stay submerged for extraordinary lengths of time and techniques for performing dry-land activities -- making coffee, dancing, playing the trombone -- on the spring pool floor. Florida girls who'd grown up in the water learned to do "ballet" (as Perry liked to call it) while wearing a constricting lame tail that zipped up the side. By 1948, Weeki Wachee was one of Florida's premier roadside attractions, drawing tourists from all over the US.

"Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" (Universal-International, 1948) this was another opportunity to work with one of my favourite screen stars of all time and a true movie legend Ann Blyth. William Powell. Unfortunately, Mr. Powell was very ill during the production, but "you would never have known it." He was a consummate actor and professional at all times. Filming was to start the summer of 1947, but ended up being delayed until February of '48. The cast and crew endured rainy weather, unusually cold temperatures and even pneumonia from some of its principal cast while they managed to "pretend" to be happily secluded on a South Sea island.

The plot revolves around Mr. Peabody (Powell), a "mature" gentleman on the eve of his fiftieth birthday. When he and his beautiful wife (Irene Hervey) escape to a Caribbean seaside retreat for the occasion, the magical "fish story" begins. Powell encounters a mermaid named Lenore (Ann Blyth), and everyone including his wife believes her to be nothing more than a figment of his imagination -- A fantasy manifested out of anxiety over his lost youth.

Andrea King’s scenes had to be filmed inside a giant heated water tank, still located on the Universal back lot. Andrea and Ann Blyth were both accomplished swimmers, so they rose to the challenge of doing their own underwater stunts, including a complicated sequence where Andrea catfights with the jealous mermaid. She recalls that particular day with a laugh. They attempted to film without heat in the middle of winter. "The tank's water heater was malfunctioning, they told us. So we tried anyway for about half hour, but Annie and Andrea King just went numb! I think Annie got terribly sick after that."

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 (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

• All Star Western Theatre 46-08-11 (001) Miss East Goes West with Jean Rogers.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-08-18 (002) Rose Of San Antoine with Jimmy Wakely.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-09-01 (004) First Song - Back to Old Wyoming.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-09-08 (005) Dude Ranch Serenade with Dale Evans.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-09-15 (006) Clem Norman's Story with Ken Curtis.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-09-22 (007) First Song - Drifting with Tim Holt.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-09-29 (008) The Cowboy Dentist with Smiley Burnett.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-10-06 (009) Billy The Kid with Tex Ritter.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-10-13 (010) I Came From Texas with Tex Ritter.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-10-20 (011) The Man From Alabama with Johnny Mack Brown.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-10-27 (012) At Sundown with Alan Lane.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-11-03 (013) The Bandit with Jackie Cooper.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-11-10 (014) Good Acting Done Cheap with Smiley Burnette.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-11-17 (015) Down Mexico Way with Jimmy Wakely.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-11-24 (016) From East To West with William Marshall.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-12-01 (017) The Vought Cowboy with Ken Curtis.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-12-15 (019) Star Bar-Bar W Feud with Eddie Dean.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 46-12-22 (020) The Phantom Rider with Dennis Moore.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-01-05 (022) Streets of Laredo with Tex Ritter.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-01-12 (023) Benson City Story.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-01-19 (024) Trail City Murder.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-01-26 (025) Wild Cow Milking Rodeo with Monty Montana.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-02-02 (026) The Marshall Of Redrock with Johnny Mack Brown.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-02-09 (027) Way Down Yonder In Indian Nation With Ken Card.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-02-16 (28) Why Did I Leave Wyoming .mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-02-23 (029) The Trail To Mexico.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-03-02 (030) New Mexico Badman with Red Barry.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-03-09 (031) Alias Mary Smithers with Virginia Mayo.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-03-16 (032) Cripple Creek Feud.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-03-23 (033) Matt Simpsons Murder.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-03-30 (034) Coopers Unconditional Surrender with Jackie Cooper.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-04-06 (035) The Bar-K Dude Ranch with Ken Card.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-04-08 (036) Texas Adventure with Monte Hale.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-04-15 (037) Cattle Drive to Abilene.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-04-22 (038) The Lone Bandit with Jimmy Wakely.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-05-03 (039) The Deacon with Dale Evans.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-05-10 (040) Bid For Election with Red Barry.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-05-24 (042) Little Hoof.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-05-31 (043) Joey with Monty Montana.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-06-07 (044) Sleepy Weed And Smiley with Smiley Burnette.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-06-14 (045) Hannah Morgan's Son.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-06-21 (046) The Youngest Dude.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-06-28 (047) Time to Ride.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-07-05 (048) Lee Hope Celebration.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-07-12 (049) Loco Louie and East Dude.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-07-19 (050) Fires Of Sherman Point.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-07-26 (051) Sharp Shooting Gal.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-08-02 (052) The Varmit and The Baby.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-08-09 (053) Scotty Leaves The City.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-08-16 (054) Heaven Is A Star with Dale Evans.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-08-23 (055) Musical Only.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-09-06 (057) The Raisin' Bee.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-09-13 (058) Cupid's Agents.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-10-04 (061) The Banker's Prosoner.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-10-11 (062) Young Love and Manana Joe.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-10-18 (063) The Rabbit.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-10-25 (064) To Settle An Account.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-11-01 (065) Life and Death and Scotty.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-11-08 (066) A Combination Thta's Hard To Beat.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-11-15 (067) One Man's Poison.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-11-22 (068) Hail to the Spirit That Always Was.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-11-29 (069) Ghost In Little Deer Canyon With Eddy Arnold.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-12-06 (070) The Successful Operation.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-12-13 (071) Just One Shot.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-12-20 (072) The Words with Signs Following.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 47-12-27 (073) Guest - Edgar Bergen.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-01-03 (074) The Big Holdup.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-01-10 (075) Jerry and His Donkey.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-01-17 (076) Cry Caught The Killer.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-01-24 (077) The Sherriff.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-01-31 (078) The Fugitive.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-02-07 (079) The Gold Spurs.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-02-14 (080) Hot Buttered Popcorn with Monty Montana.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-02-21 (081) Bus Ride from Santa Teresa.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-03-06 (083) Apple Pie and Arsenic.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-03-13 (084) Buried Treasure with Eddy Arnold.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-03-20 (085) Painted on the Wall of A Cave.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-03-27 (086) Five Quarters.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-04-03 (087) Year of the Terrible Blizzard with Nick Lucas.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-04-10 (088) Buffalo Springs.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-04-17 (089) Gunsmoke.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-04-24 (090) Windmill on the River.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-05-01 (091) Ride of the Rancheros.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-05-08 (092) Ranch For Sale.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-05-15 (093) Circus Pitch.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-05-29 (095) The Jockey and The Cowpoke.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-06-05 (096) Chief Many Horses.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-06-12 (097) Living Western Style.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-06-19 (098) Nice Weather Today.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-06-26 (099) Cactus is Wonderful.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-07-10 (101) Sunshine Johnson.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-07-17 (102) The Widow of Rainbow Valley.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-08-07 (105) The Stony Smith Story.mp3
• All Star Western Theatre 48-08-14 (106) Jack The Joker.mp3

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

The Enduring Popularity Of Sherlock Holmes

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 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)

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

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:

Destination_Freedom_48-06-27_001_The_Knock-Knee..>
Destination_Freedom_48-07-04_002_Railway_to_Fre..>
Destination_Freedom_48-07-11_003_Dark_Explorers..>
Destination_Freedom_48-07-18_004_The_Denmark_Ve..>
Destination_Freedom_48-07-25_005_The_Making_of_..>
Destination_Freedom_48-08-01_006_The_Key_to_Fre..>
Destination_Freedom_48-08-08_007_The_Heart_of_G..>
Destination_Freedom_48-08-22_009_Arctic_Biograp..>
Destination_Freedom_48-08-29_010_The_Story_of_1..>
Destination_Freedom_48-09-05_011_The_Poet_of_Pi..>
Destination_Freedom_48-09-12_012_The_Father_of_..>
Destination_Freedom_48-09-19_013_Boy_With_A_Dre..>
Destination_Freedom_48-09-26_014_Shakespeare_of..>
Destination_Freedom_48-10-03_015_Citizen_Toussa..>
Destination_Freedom_48-10-10_016_Little_David.mp3
Destination_Freedom_48-10-17_017_The_Boy_Who_Wa..>
Destination_Freedom_48-11-07_019_Echoes_of_Harl..>
Destination_Freedom_48-11-14_020_One_out_of_Sev..>
Destination_Freedom_48-11-21_021_The_Rhyme_Of_T..>
Destination_Freedom_48-11-28_022_Investigator_F..>
Destination_Freedom_48-12-05_023_Autobiography_..>
Destination_Freedom_49-01-02_027_Maiden_Speech.mp3
Destination_Freedom_49-01-09_028_The_Boy_Who_Be..>
Destination_Freedom_49-02-20_034_Peace_Mediator..>
Destination_Freedom_49-03-20_038_Black_Boy.mp3
Destination_Freedom_49-04-17_042_Before_I_Sleep..>
Destination_Freedom_49-05-01_044_Help_the_Blind..>
Destination_Freedom_49-05-15_045_The_Ballad_of_..>
Destination_Freedom_49-05-29_047_The_Saga_of_Me..>
Destination_Freedom_49-06-05_048_Anatomy_of_an_..>
Destination_Freedom_49-06-12_049_Negro_Cinderel..>
Destination_Freedom_49-06-19_050_Ghost_Editor.mp3
Destination_Freedom_49-07-03_052_Norfolk_Miracl..>
Destination_Freedom_49-07-17_053_The_Legend_of_..>
Destination_Freedom_49-07-24_054_The_Legend_of_..>
Destination_Freedom_49-07-31_055_The_Trumpet_Ta..>
Destination_Freedom_49-08-07_056_The_Long_Road.mp3
Destination_Freedom_49-08-14_057_Black_Hamlet_P..>
Destination_Freedom_49-08-21_058_Black_Hamlet_P..>
Destination_Freedom_49-08-28_059_Segregation_In..>
Destination_Freedom_49-09-04_060_The_Saga_of_Se..>
Destination_Freedom_49-09-11_061_The_Tiger_Hunt..>
Destination_Freedom_49-09-25_063_A_Garage_in_Ga..>
Destination_Freedom_49-10-09_065_Father_to_Son.mp3
Destination_Freedom_49-10-16_066_Of_Blood_and_t..>
Destination_Freedom_49-11-06_069_The_Man_Who_Ow..>
Destination_Freedom_50-01-15_075_The_Birth_of_a..>
Destination_Freedom_50-03-12_083_Premonition_of..>
Destination_Freedom_50-03-26_085_The_Liberators..>
Destination_Freedom_50-04-09_087_The_Buddy_Youn..>
Destination_Freedom_50-04-16_088_The_Fifth__Dis..>
Destination_Freedom_50-04-23_089_The_Dance_Anth..>
Destination_Freedom_50-06-11_094_The_Shy_Boy.mp3
Destination_Freedom_50-07-02_097_Kansas_City_Ph..>
Destination_Freedom_50-08-13_103_Last_Letter_Ho..>
Destination_Freedom_50-10-15_104_Patriotic_Form..>
Destination_Freedom_51-01-21_118_Annas_Story.mp3
Destination_Freedom_51-03-04_124_Benjamin_Drake..>
Destination_Freedom_51-04-08_129_The_Jones_Fami..>
Destination_Freedom_51-04-15_130_Fred_Custer_St..>
Destination_Freedom_51-04-22_131_Reverend_Brown..>

Below is some tracts from a podcast I ran across, but to see the full post and more information about the complete 30 hour broadcast click here.

The Beatles: The Days In Their Life vol 1

The Beatles: The Days In Their Life vol 2

The Beatles: The Days In Their Life vol 3

The Beatles: The Days In Their Life vol 4

The Beatles: The Days In Their Life vol 5

The Beatles: The Days In Their Life vol 6

The Beatles: The Days In Their Life vol 7

The Beatles: The Days In Their Life vol 8

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, (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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