Author: Yours Truly Johnny Blogger

EP0273: Let George Do It: Vultures on the Wing

Bob Bailey

George is hired to guard $20,000 and pick up four paintings, but finds a collection of characters trying to stop him.

Original Air Date: May 9, 1949

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EP0272: Adventures of Father Brown: The Mystified Mind

Karl Swenson

A young man is accused of killing a windowcleaner, but Father Brown believes he’s innocent.

Original Air Date: August 13, 1945

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EP0271: Lux Radio Theater: After the Thin Man

William Powell

Returning from investigating the “Thin Man” case, Nick Charles again hopes to retire, but finds himself drawn into another mystery when his wife’s cousin is approved of murdering her no good husband.

Original Air Date: June 17, 1940

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Old Time Radio Music: A Final Round Up

I’ve taken a look at shows that feature Jazz and Country-Western Music. Now to look at the rest of the music out there beginning with shows that while not music shows feature regular music. :

Music, It’s Part of the Show:

Detective Shows

Pete Kelly’s Blues: Jack Webb, while continuing to produce Dragnet, also made a 1951 mid-summer replacement, Pete Kelly’s Blues which starred Jack Webb as a speakeasy coronet player who was always getting into trouble during the roaring twenties. Each episode would also include around three sets from Kelley’s band. Occassionally, a heavy will wait for the band to play its number before going after Pete.

Richard Diamond was Dick Powell’s greatest detective vehicle and somewhat unusual. Richard Diamond’s adventures were some of radio’s most violent. However, the show was at its most unusual, when after three or four corpses had been cleared away, Richard Diamond began to sing. In some ways, the show represented a union of Powell’s two stage personas. His earlier, light comedic leading man and his middle aged hardboiled characterization. Of course, while Powell sang a lot of typical crooner songs, he also would mix it up with a cowboy lullaby, a Hawaiian Christmas song, and once he even sang in Yiddish. The singing was usually only a minute or so, but it preserved the image of Powell as a versatile entertainer. One fan has created a zipped collection with all the singing interludes in Richard Diamond.

One show, you might expect to have music in it doesn’t. While Frank Sinatra was Rocky Fortune, he never broke out into song

Sitcoms

While Comedy Variety shows had lots of music (more on that later), sitcoms had much less use. Shows like Life of Riley, My Favorite Husband, and Life with Luigi had little use for music other than as themes.

Harold Peary’s sitcoms stand out from this trend. On numerous episodes of the Great Gildersleeve from 1941-50, Peary would sing a beautiful song in his crooning voice. This could occur any time in the program.  Reportedly, it was the lack of singing opportunities that led Peary to quit and create the Harold Peary Show where he sang much more frequently. Unfortunately, the singing was great, but the Harold Peary Show ended after one season and Peary was relegated to character actor status for the rest of his career. He was a good singer, but comedy was his bread and butter.

A 1942 episode of The Great Gildersleeve which features Peary singing

The Audition show for The Harold Peary Show features a song  from Peary.

Westerns

Roy Rogers hit the air as host and star of a Western Variety show. Over time, the show morphed into having an actual plot, but would always including plenty of cowboy music too.

The Comedy Variety Shows

In the pre-War and World War II era, most of the famous comedians on radio led Comedy variety shows that included comedy sketches along with the singing of the show’s regular singer, and usually a piece performed by an orchestra. This formula was used by too many shows to count. Abbott and Costello, with Freddy Rich and his orchestra. Bob Hope had Frances Langford singing, as well as Skinnay Ennis, and Ozzy Nelson, at one point sang for Red Skelton’s show in the early 40s. The swingy and always fun to listen to Connie Haines was a fixture on early Abbott and Costello shows. A sampling of the songs of Haines, which have a very distinctive rhythm was collected at the Internet Archive and is available within the great episodes of the show themselves. Her “Trolley Song” is a classic.

In the late 1940s and early 50s, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis’ comedy show usually featured a song from Martin.

Musicals:

Shows that did plays like Theater Guild on the Air that adapted plays or Lux Radio Theater, which adapted movies would adapt musicals to the radio, however there were two series that actually regularly performed full-blwon musicals for the radio. The Railroad Hour adapted a wide variety of Broadway-style and Hollywood musicals. All-star Western Theater did more Western musicals.

Other Music Shows

The Bell Telephone Hour provided regular concerns to Americans over the radio from 1940-58. The Shell Chateau was an hour long musical variety show from 1935-37 that was at one time hosted by Al Jolson and featured a variety of different music styles and musicians. Music Depreciation features classic music with a humorous introductions.

Your Hit Parade was the original top 15 countdown show, lasting an hour.  Alka Seltzer Time was a regular daily 15 minute radio show featuring up-beat music. Before legendary guitarist Les Paul made his way to television for a long-run, he had his own 15 minute radio show.

The Squibb Show is perhaps the best 15 minute show I’ve heard with its use of a variety of beautiful music and style.

Finally, Moon River was a radio show sponsored by a mattress company featuring the reading of poetry to soft music. A nice way to go to sleep to be sure.

Of course, we’ve barely scratched the surface of the many and varied old time radio shows out there, and there’s quite a bit that’s not available on the Internet Archives, but I hope that lead some music lovers to a little bit of listening pleasure.

After the Thin Man Trailer

EP0270:Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Hartford Alliance Matter

Edmond O'Brien

An arson on an insured building was committed by a mild-manner young man. Why did he do it and who is he covering up for?

Original Air Date: August 10, 1950

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EP0269: Sherlock Holmes: The Headless Monk

Basil Rathbone

Holmes is off with a supernatural investigator to find out what’s going on with the re-appearance of the legendary headless monk.

Original Air Date: April 15, 1946

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EP0268: Let George Do It: Out of Mind

Bob Bailey

George is called in when a brother fears his sister is falling for a mentalist. Things take an odd turn when the mentalist is poisoned and two bottles of poison are missing.

Original Air Date: May 2, 1949

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EP0267: Adventures of Father Brown: The Three Tools of Death

Karl Swenson

Father Brown investigates the death of a best-selling proponent of optomism.

Original Air Date: July 22, 1945

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EP0266: Lux Radio Theater: The Thin Man

William Powell

Nick Charles, a retired private detective is drawn back to detection with the insistence of his wife, Nora, when a former client is suspected of several murders.

Original Air Date: June 8, 1936

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Old Time Country Music

Last week, I took a look at the available jazz old time radio out there. Now, for old time country and Western fans, this post is for you.

1) Hank Williams

Hank Williams, Sr. had two seperate radio shows. The first was his “Health and Happiness Show” from 1949, of which there are four episodes available on the Internet Archive, and his Mother’s Best Flour Show which ran in 1950-51, which the Old Time Radio Researchers has released as a certified set with 67 episodes.

2) Gene Autry

The singing cowboy has a wide variety of his Melody Ranch Recordings available at the Internet Archive.

3) Johnny Cash

The one recording of the Johnny Cash show available provides an interesting glimpse of an American legend in the making. The recording comes from 1954, the year before Cash’s first record hit the market. A 22-year old Cash was hosting his very broadcast and sounded quite a bit nervous. It’s a very different Johnny Cash who would sing songs like “Ring of Fire” and “Boy Named Sue” with such gusto and confidence. Worth a listen for a different look at the man in Black.

4) Grand Ole Opry

If you think of country music, the first place you think of is the Grand Ole Opry.  The archive has 30 recordings with such stars as Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff, and Red Foley. Speaking of Foley, eight episodes of his show are available as well.

5) Pat O’Daniel and His Hillbilly Boys

The OTRR has a good collection this interesting 1930s radio show from Texas. It also includes a fascinating story of how Pat O’Daniel used the radio show to build a political career that include  stints as Governor of Texas and U.S. Senator.

6) Pinto Pete and His Ranch Hands:

Anothers 1930s show featuring 15 minutes of Cowboy music.

7) Armed Forces Radio Programs

Just like with jazz, Soldiers who loved country music were entertained with some of their favorites. First was Melody Roundup which was hosted by many stars that would be fans of country and cowboy and music such as Lum and Abner, Roy Rogers, and Bill Boyd (best known for playing Hopalong Cassidy on the radio). A later show sponsored by the Navy and Airforce was Country Music Time.

8) 10-2-4 Ranch

Sponsored by Dr. Pepper which urged people to Dr. Pepper at 10, 2, and 4 to help with energy sags in the middle of the day, this 15 minute show featured good country music.

In our third part, we’ll look at some of the shows that featured music as a matter of course, along with some classical music, and other miscellaneous music shows.

Thin Man Theatrical Trailer

EP0265: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Mickey McQueen Matter

Edmond O'Brien

An old friend of Johnny’s comes to him for help only to change his mind, and then turn up dead the next day.

Original Air Date: August 17, 1950

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EP0264: Sherlock Holmes: The Disappearing Scientists

Basil Rathbone

Holmes wants to retire, but is in demand to solve one last case before taking up bee farming.

Original Air Date: April 8, 1946

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EP0263: Let George Do It: Lady in Distress

Bob Bailey

With George out of town on a wild goose chase, Brooksie is tricked into impersonating a night club singer, and finds herself charged with murder.

Original Air Date: April 25, 1949

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