Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #60
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 2/17/2002 9:03 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

------------------------------


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2002 : Issue 60
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: info on mp3 players               [ Lou Genco <lgenco@[removed]; ]
  Re: Earhart Coverage                  [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  Themes Like Old Times                 [ nikurashi@[removed] ]
  Scopes Monkey Trial                   [ "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@earthli ]
  Themes Like Old Times                 [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
  Recorded Radio Themes                 [ "Thomas Mason" <batz34@[removed] ]
  Re: Scopes Monkey Trial               [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
  Re: Mormon Tabernacle Chior's broadc  [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
  OTR Voice Talents - After The DEATH   [ ilamfan@[removed] ]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 11:43:26 -0500
From: Lou Genco <lgenco@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: info on mp3 players

On Sat, 16 Feb 2002 11:03:02 -0500, leon217@[removed] wrote:

Does anyone have any information on what types of mp3 players will work with
otr mp3 cds

A fairly decent list of CD-based MP3 players, and how they work with
OTR CDs is at

[removed]

While you are there, check the OTR FAQ at

[removed]

It has lots of answers to frequently asked questions about OTR.  Your
question happens to be included in question number 40.

--
Lou
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
THE WWW site for "Old Time Radio":         [removed]
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
** No HTML-Formatted email, please! **

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 12:27:44 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Earhart Coverage

Poindexter wrote:

Amelia Earhart is a name known to me only from history books, but listening
to this program it got me to thinking what it must have been like to follow
her progress in the newspapers and on radio as it was happening, and the
shock of her disappearance.

The story unfolded gradually, with radio in the forefront of coverage. An
interesting summary of how radio handled the story can be found in
"Broadcasting" magazine for 7/15/37:

"KGMB AND NETWORKS QUICK TO RESPOND IN SEARCH FOR MISSING EARHART PLANE

"When first news that Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan were
lost in the South Pacific was divulged to the world by radio on July 2,
stations and networks were quick to offer their services. KGMB, Honolulu,
CBS and Mutual outlet, was on the air continuously from 6 am July 3 until
2:15 am July 5 sending out messages to the lost plane.

"The Navy and Coast Guard at Honolulu enlisted the station in the hunt
because of its ability to send out a strong, clear signal for thousands
of miles across the Pacific. The management of the station turned over
its facilities to the government agencies aiding in the search and at
frequent intervals during the day and night sent messages in voice in the
hopes that Miss Earhart would pick up KGMB on her standard longwave
receiver with which the plane was equipped in addition to shortwave.

"On July 6, CBS broadcast a coast to coast network program of the
activities in Honolulu featuring Comdr. William F. Toll in charge of the
Coast Guard search, and Lieut. W. W. Harvey of the Pearl Harbor Naval
Base who told of his attempt to fly over the area in search of the
missing plane. On July 7, MBS presented a similar program outlining the
details of the day's search and describing the procedure of KGMB in its
attempts to communicate with Miss Earhart.

"The plane apparently could send out a carrier wave but could not
modulate it. A plan was worked out whereby the carrier wave was to go on
for a full minute then it was to be broken four times to indicate that
KGMB was being heard. It was hoped that the plane could give its latitude
and longitude by breaking the wave once to indicate one, twice to
indicate two, and so on. The wave was to be broken twice if the plane was
on land, three times if down in the water."

Perhaps the most poignant example of how radio covered the search can be
found in, of all places, the 7/5/37 episode of "Amos 'n' Andy," in which
Amos and Andy, like millions of others following the flight, sat waiting
for the latest news and reflecting sadly on the sacrifices sometimes made
for the sake of progress. Space was allowed in the script for an ad-lib
discussion of the latest developments, using the latest bulletins from
the NBC-Hollywood news room as source material.

"Andy---Tell me dis---whut is de latest thing on Amelia Earhart?

"Amos---Well, de latest thing I hear is dat (ad lib)

"Andy---A fellow was tellin' me on de way oveh heah dat ain't nobody got
no bizness flyin' oveh de ocean, an' all dat stuff.

"Amos---Somebody gotta blaze de trail. If dey didn't try new things we'd
still be goin' cross de country wid a ox-cart."

-- Episode 2621, 7/5/37

Perhaps the best comparison for public reaction would be the death of
Will Rogers and Wiley Post in a plane crash two years earlier -- a story
which received extensive radio play. The memories of that tragedy were
still very fresh in the minds of radio listeners, and no doubt there was
a deja-vu sort of feeling to the whole experience. To use a latter-day
analogy, if the Rogers-Post crash was a "Death-of-JFK" event for the
generation of the mid-1930s, the Earhart crash seems to have had a
"Death-of-RFK" level of impact.

Unfortunately, little if any of radio's Earhart coverage seems to have
been preserved. The NBC collection at the LOC contains none of that
network's coverage, nor has the CBS program mentioned in the
"Broadcasting" article surfaced anywhere that I know of. The Mutual
program may well exist in the WOR collection at the LOC, but much of that
material has yet to be catalogued. I don't know if KGMB had recording
equipment in place in 1937 -- or if they did, if any recordings have
survived -- but Hawaii would seem to be the best place to start searching.

Elizabeth

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 12:28:10 -0500
From: nikurashi@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Themes Like Old Times

Thanks for the lead. Knowing the title made it easy to find sellers of this
collection of old time radio themes. Using my search engine , within seconds
I found several sites that sell this collection of 180 themes.

 Unfortunately, all of the sites I saw were selling only LPs, except one
that had 4 track tape. Nevertheless, I'm sure that a few minutes more effort
will yield the same thing on CDs. By the way, the prices I saw started at
$[removed], so if I can't find the CDs, I'll be happy to buy an LP at this price.

Now I'll press my luck by asking if anyone knows of a good collection of old
time radio commercials. I have one somewhere in my collection, but it is
rather limited. I'm looking for a more comprehensive testment of the
subject.

Warren Jones

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 12:43:56 -0500
From: "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Scopes Monkey Trial

Hi All
Sorry, not really OTR, however, for those who want a good account of the
trial, how it came about and a lot of good excerpts of the trial transcripts
you might try the book that L. Sprague De Camp wrote all about the trial.
Your local library would most likely have a [removed] read it a number or
years ago and found it [removed] all this time I thought De Camp
only wrote science fiction!  I'm sorry that I don't recall the exact title
of the book.

Happy Listening!

Scott

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 13:22:00 -0500
From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Themes Like Old Times

Richard Pratz wonders,:
Has anyone ever compiled a tape of OTR themes and/or signature
songs presented by the original artists, whole or [removed]

From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
The best example of such a thing is probably "Themes Like Old Times,"
a series of two LPs produced for the "Viva" label in the late 1960s
by Dave Goldin of Radio Yesteryear. Volume 1, first released in 1967,
is Viva V-36018 and Volume 2 (1969) is V-36020.   Elizabeth

I first heard this compilation around 1964 when Goldin was interviewed
on WBAI and played the first 15 minutes or so that he had completed by
that time.  Vol 1 first appeared on LP around 1965 thru Arlington
House's much beloved Nostalgia Book Club, I think the number was
NR-1001.  It has the advantage of a beautiful cover with color photos of
different radio dials, and that it was not messed up with phony stereo
as the later Viva issues were.  And yes, they also appeared together as
a 2-LP set on Viva with a cover painting of a typical 40s family
spending the evening listening to radio.  While the original Nostalgia
Book Club issue will be difficult to find--we old NBC members tend to
hold on to the treasures we got chaeply there--the Viva issues are still
all over the place.  They had remained in cut-out bins well into the
1980s, long after Snuff Garrett's Viva went out of business!

From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
The first one came out in the 70's, long before even the OTR
tapes that were available for awhile in truck stops and drug
stores and long before there seemed to be much interest in OTR
at all; a gutsy move on somebody's part.

Well, as mentioned, they came out before the 70s, but although 1965
might have been before OTR tapes appeard in truck stops, it was not
before the beginning of interest in OTR.  Indeed, Dave Goldin's Radio
Yesteryear has been in business for a few years, and there are several
other dealers from that era on this very list.  It was at this time that
Longines Symphonette issued the box set "Jack Benny's Golden Memories of
Radio" and this is widely remembered by many as their intro to the OTR
world.  But remember, OTR was not long gone by then.  It was still a
very recent memory.  And if you take 1929 as the beginning of the era of
most OTR recordings, that was only 36 years before 1965.  And it is now
36 years from 1965!!!!!!!  Indeed, the real heart of OTR is 1935 to
1960, a mere 25 years.  More time has passed since that era than passed
during that era.  Sigh.

Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 13:22:07 -0500
From: "Thomas Mason" <batz34@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Recorded Radio Themes

Recordings of a lot of the old time radio shows were recorded on both tape
and CD and released as "THEMES LIKE OLD TIMES" by Radio Yesteryear.
It contained all sorts of themes from The House of Mystery to the Lone
[removed] 90 tracks in all.
Now whether this recording is still being marketed is another
[removed]

Tom Mason

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 13:38:13 -0500
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Scopes Monkey Trial

"Arte" <arte@[removed]; wrote:
The town of Dayton staged a reenactment of the trial last
year, and once again WGN was there.

Dayton, about an hour's drive southwest of Knoxville, reenacts an
abridged version of the Scopes trial every summer, with dialogue
based on the actual court transcripts, in the original courthouse
where the trial took place. They also perform the play based on that
trial, _Inherit the Wind_, in that same courthouse.

As many of you probably know, the entire trial was conceived by
Dayton town fathers as a way to get Dayton on the map. They succeeded
all too well, and Tennessee has never quite lived down the bumpkin
image that resulted, largely thanks to the scorn of H. L. Mencken.
The fact is, Scopes was a new teacher in Dayton, and had not yet
actually even taught evolution; he was perfectly willing to do so in
order to test the law, but school was not in session at the time.
Darrow never called him to testify so that Bryan would not have the
opportunity to ask him if he admitted teaching evolution, as he would
have to have said, "No."

Ironically, Darwin Day, a recognition and celebration of Darwin's
contribution to our understanding of the development of species, now
celebrated internationally, was begun in nearby Knoxville.

Anyone interested in an historical outing might consider a trip to
Dayton this summer for the performances, though I don't think WGN
usually makes an appearance. The city is little changed from the way
it looked in those old newsreels, the drive is through pleasant hilly
countryside, and there are many other attractions nearby including
the Smokies and The Lost Sea, listed by Guinness a few years ago as
the world's largest underground lake (seems I heard it had been
demoted to second largest lately). I used to visit there once a week
hauling furniture back in the mid-70's; to reach Dayton it was
necessary, by my route, to cross the Tennessee by way of a ferry,
which has, alas, at last been replaced by a bridge.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 16:23:17 -0500
From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Mormon Tabernacle Chior's broadcast

From: leemunsick@[removed]
Subject: "Music and the Spoken Word"
I am a longtime fan of the Mormon Choir programs, properly titled
"Music and the Spoken Word".

From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
Subject: Morman Choir
A few comments about Lee Munsick's posting regarding the Morman Choir.
That was the title of the program, THE MORMAN CHOIR.

Sorry Bill, but Lee is quite correct.  The only proper title for the
program is "MUSIC AND THE SPOKEN WORD".  It is never referred to by any
other name.  For example, they say at
[removed]
<<< Today, after more than 70 years and 3,600 broadcasts, "Music and the
Spoken Word" is the oldest continuous nationwide network broadcast in
America.  The program is now released worldwide through some 2,000
radio, television, and cable stations weekly. >>>  Quite probably this
was the name of the program from the very beginning, July 15, 1929 when
<<< the choir's first network radio program (with the organ, choir, and
announcer sharing a single microphone) was transmitted. >>>  When you
stated:
However Richard Evans signed off with "The spoken word by Richard
Evans" instead of "your announcer is"
that was the reason why the sentence was phrased this way--the music was
provided by the Choir and organ, and the spoken word was by Richard
Evans.  And this phrasing referred to the official title of the program.

Other examples:

The official web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
at [removed],6021,198-1-168-9,[removed]
states: << The Tabernacle Choir is best known for its Sunday radio
broadcast in the United States, Music and the Spoken Word, which
originates from Temple Square in Salt Lake City. >>

The web site of the originating station, KSL-TV, show it just as "Music
and the Spoken Word" in their schedule grid at Sunday 9:30-10:00 am, and
there is a splendid graphic of the title at:
[removed] where they post recent scripts.  The name
of the choir is never mentioned at either of these places, only this
program title!

Yet another example is a news release on the church's official web site
at  [removed],5422,116-8112,[removed]  states:
<< Demand to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during the Olympics is
expected to be so great, admittance to "Music and the Spoken Word" will
be by ticket only. Ticket only performances are on 10, 17, 24 February
and 10 March. The tickets will be valid for both "Music and the Spoken
Word" and the following encore concert. >>

Additionally, I have never seen the choir itself ever referred to as
simply "The Morman Choir" or even "The Mormon Choir".  It is always "The
Mormon Tabernacle Choir", "The Mormon Tabernacle Choir of Salt Lake
City", or "The Tabernacle Choir".  You might want to take a look at the
official Style Guide at
[removed],6021,198-1-168-15,[removed]

From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
Subject: Mormon Tabernacle Choir
I would like to be able to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir,
but last time I checked their website, it appeared that they
were only broadcasting to a few stations in the west.

Ted, you must have mistakenly looked at
[removed]  which is just the list of
only the Temple Hill organization's stations.  The REAL national and
international station listing of the program's weekly distribution by
Bonneville Communications is at
[removed]  For example, I found
14 radio stations listed in my state of Kentucky alone.  It is also on
the new Hallmark cable channel Sundays at 8:30 AM Eastern and Pacific.

Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 16:25:12 -0500
From: ilamfan@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR Voice Talents - After The DEATH OF OTR

     I was just thinking recently about how tough it is
for me NOT to picture FRED FLINTSTONE any time I hear
Alan Reed speak (like on "Life With Luigi", for
example).  Having grown up with "The Flintstones", his
voice is utterly unmistakeable, and permanently
associated (in my head) with the aforementioned Mssr
Flintstone.
     This is probably somewhat typical with television-
era OTR fans, having grown up with pictures married to
their audio entertainment.
     Of course, when I think about it, it makes sense
that the talented people who made their living through
their vocal skills, would travel to the world of cartoon
voice-overs, after the radio drama universe was brought
to a halt in 1960 or so.
     Bud Collyer (Superman) was still playing Superman
for a new generation of fans on television.  Paul Frees
(The Player) is still vivid in my mind as the narrator
of lots of Disney shorts ("Ah, ah, Donald.  Better keep
you finger OUT of that electrical [removed]"), also The
Thing on the 1960's Fantastic Four(!).  Janet Waldo
(Meet Corliss Archer)as Judy Jetson and the girl
superhero in G-Force/Battle OF The Planets.  Of course,
Mel Blanc (Fix-It Shop) actually WAS Bugs Bunny, so he
might not count.  Gerald Mohr (Philip Marlowe) still
sounds like Reed Richards, the leader of the Fantastic
Four.  I "see" Snidely Whiplash twisting his mustache
when I hear Hans Conreid speak.  And sometimes I expect
William Conrad (Gunsmoke) to sneak out some reference
to "Wattsamatta U." from Bullwinkle in the middle of a
western monologue.
     Just something I noticed.  Sorta funny that it's
not the ACTORS FACES that I "see", but their cartoon
counterparts.  I still like it best when NO preconcieved
character shows up - just my imagination.
     Anyone else have any cartoon characters to add?

Stephen Jansen

[removed] I still "see" Endora when I hear Agnes Moorehead,
but she's no cartoon.

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #60
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