Here it is, Wednesday already and I haven’t told you what treasures we found at the flea market last weekend. I didn’t find a thing I couldn’t live without, but as usual, my wife did. She has the uncanny knack of always being able to find something that she can use or enjoy. Along with some minor stuff, her “big” find were tapes of old radio programs. She bought two containers each had 20 cassettes with 60 programs and 30 hours of shows. That is a total of 60 hours of old radio shows.
I am old enough to remember a lot of them, but I bet most of the population never heard a radio program other than talk, news, sports, or music. They don’t know what they missed. These shows were every bit as good as today’s TV or movies and most were far better. They had big name “stars” that got their start on radio. To name a few, there was Jack Webb, William Conrad, Richard Widmark, Eve Arden, Steve Allen, Joel McCrea, Ozzie Nelson, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, Don Ameche, Vincent Price, William Bendix, Frank Sinatra, and Allan Ladd. Do any of them sound familiar to you?
My wife has been listening to old time radio shows on satellite radio for awhile, now she can listen to what she wants when she wants to. Luckily we have a player that does CDs and cassette tapes. Probably the price was low because few people had anything that would play cassette tapes.
Back then, radio had almost any kind of show that you would want. They had musicals, comedy, thrillers, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, science fiction, intrigue, mysteries, and almost anything you could think of. A lot of the radio shows moved into television, in fact, way too many to list here.
Hope I brought some memories back to some of you who are near my age. You all have a great day now, you hear?
Don't know how old some of those are, but dig through them and see if you can find the HG Wells broadcast of The War of the Worlds!! That alone would be worth something to a collector
ReplyDeleteDon't remember much about those, but do remember my Dad having to listen to the Grand Ole Opry. We kids played outside, just didn't sit around like kids today.
ReplyDeleteBen, don't think that is part of it, but will check.
ReplyDeleteTrouble, my two favorite radio shows when I was a kid were Straight Arrow and Inner Sanctum.
That was the "Golden Age" of radio! I can remember listening to Boston Blackie and The Shadow!
ReplyDeleteWilliam Conrad was the radio voice of the Lone Ranger for many years! I forget where I read that!
Lots of memories from back then! Good score!
I remember being disappointed when the Lone Ranger appeared on TV - nothing like I had imagined him from listening to the radio. Same with the Cisco Kid. I also loved Sky King of the Yukon, and westerns that I can't remember the names of. Weren't Jack Benny and Gracie Allen on radio as well?
ReplyDeleteGypsy, yes, Jack Benny and George Burns and Gracie Allen, and a whole lot more that I didn't have room or time to mention. I think there were more movie stars on radio programs than there are on TV shows. Jimmy Stewart for one.
ReplyDeleteHermit, Boston Blackie was a good one for sure. Robert Conrad did a lot of radio shows, didn't know he did the Lone Ranger. I am sure different people played the same parts over the years.
ReplyDeleteSky King of the Yukon?
ReplyDeleteI remember Sky King.
Then there was Sgt. Preston of the Yukon sponsored by Quaker Puffed Rice 'shot from guns'.
The Green Hornet sponsored by Hudson Hornet.
Tell me that radio advertising doesn't work, that was 60 years ago!
Ed, you have a great memory. I believe she ment King of the Mounties. That was a radio show, sky king was a TV show. I believe, but my memory sometimes fails me.
ReplyDeleteSky King was on radio also. However, I don't remember the sponsor. HA, selective memory.
ReplyDeleteDon't remember King of the Mounties on radio however in looking that up I found the Sgt Preston's dog was named Yukon King.
Loved old radio; almost all the old shows were gone by the time we got a TV in 1958. Perhaps that is why I'm not a TV watcher now, don't own one.