Johnny Hartman had one of best baritone voices in music but never got the recognition he deserved.
Johnny Hartman was born on July 13, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois and died in New York on September 15, 1983. He broke into the music business at a time when black singers were discriminated against in some venues.
Hartman experienced the same racial prejudice Billy Eckstine faced since he was also a romantic singer singing ballads:
Billy Eckstine was a black vocalist who had successfully crossed over to the mainstream, but there was a backlash as white listeners started rejecting his music. The idea of a black man singing love ballads and swooning white females didn’t sit well in 1950s America, particularly in the Deep South.
-NPR.org
I have the album pictured above and it has 38 songs which represent the music he recorded from 1947-1972.
Allmusic.com has clips of the songs from the album named Johnny Hartman Collection: 1947-1972. If you only listen to one song listen to No.31 on the track list Unforgettable and hear his version of the Nat King Cole classic.
It is surprising Hartman wasn’t better known till after his death. Clint Eastwood picked some of his music for the movie Bridges of Madison County and gave moviegoers a chance to hear the voice of Hartman who never achieved the greatness he deserved.
Johnny Hartman singing I Just Dropped By To Say Hello.
Hartman may have died 26 years ago but he has left us a musical legacy we can enjoy for many years.
We saw Elvis Presley in March of 1977 at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, Louisiana. It was amazing that he would appear two nights in a city of 50,000 after he had been quoted in the middle 50′s saying he would never return to Alexandria after appearing at Jimmie Thompson’s arena probably upset with a small crowd.
Our seats were terrible being so far away from the stage we could barely see Elvis. We couldn’t tell how out of shape he was at this point in time.
At one point in the show Elvis asked a backup singer to sing so he could sit down and get some rest.
Someone there one of the two nights has a reprint of an autographed photo from Elvis at the show on Ebay. There are also references to his father Vernon Presley being introduced at a show and his girlfriend at the time of his death Ginger Alden was also introduced to the crowd.
Elizabeth Roberts of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk wrote this review of the March 29, 1977 show:
Jerry Hopkin’s book Elvis the Final Years tells what happened after Elvis left Alexandria.
“On March 31, 1977 after a so-so show in Alexandria, Louisiana, Elvis’ private plane took him to Baton Rouge for a concert at Louisiana State University. As was customary, the show started before Elvis left the hotel for the coliseum.
Elvis usually arrived during the intermission that followed the comedian Jackie Kahane’s monologue. Tonight he didn’t.
There was chaos backstage. Elvis’ hotel room was called.
A half-hour passed. There were more calls. Finally, it was decided to cancel the rest of the show, to say that Elvis was too sick to go on, that he was under a doctor’s care and was being flown back to Memphis to be hospitalized.
It was sad to see Elvis in concert as his life began to ebb away from him. We had seen him three years earlier in Monroe, Louisiana at the Monroe Civic Center in 1974.
We heard about the show on television and we had great seats on the floor about 20 rows back from the stage.
Elvis was still at the top of his game back then and put on a great show. Little did we know that the next time we would see him he would be less than five months from his death.
There is no doubt in my mind that Elvis and Frank Sinatra were the two best singers of the 20th century although they sang music of different genres.
These are the 14 drugs found in Elvis Presley during his autopsy:
Dr Nick:prescribed all of Elvis’s regular tour drugs. Elvis had 14 different drugs in him when he died. The list of what they found at autopsy was: Codeine – Morphine – Quaaludes – Valium – Diazepam – Placidyl – Amytal – Nembutal – Carbrital – Demerol – Sinutab – Elavil – Avental – Valmid
Entertainment Weekly has an article about which actor will portray Frank Sinatra in the upcoming biopic.
It will be interesting to see who is chosen to portray Frank Sinatra in the upcoming movie about his life.
I am not sure any of the names mentioned in the Entertainment Weekly article could pull off playing Sinatra and capture his personna.
There has to be somone better suited to portray Sinatra than the names mentioned.
When this movie is produced it will be interesting to see how far it goes into his life away from the spotlight.
One thing for sure is that whoever plays him needs to be great at lip synching since no actor today has a voice that could come close to that of Sinatra.
There may be a singer around who could do a creditable job of being Sinatra on screen but they are not likely to have the acting skills necessary to play him.
Tony Bennett is still going strong today at the age of 83.
I found Tony Bennett’s 1963 album Tony’s Greatest Hits Volume 3 at a Knoxville bookstore for only 25 cents.
When I looked at the list of tracks in the album I expected to see some of his lesser hits but surprisingly it had most of my favorite songs I remembering him singing.
It includes his signature song I Left My Heart In San Francisco and I Wanna Be Around, Who Can I Turn To, The Good Life, A Taste of Honey, The Best Is Yet To Come and Once Upon A Time.
Tony's Greatest Hits Volume 3 recorded by Tony Bennett in 1965 was his second gold record and was released by Columbia Records.
The back of the album has a compliment from the Chairman of the Board Frank Sinatra.
Sinatra had this to say about Tony: “For my money Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business, the best exponent of a song. He excites me when I watch him-he moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more”.
The Allmusic Guide to Jazz published in 1999 says this is the best of Tony’s best of albums plus adds it is a classic. It went on to become his second gold record.
The album was produced in 1965 making it 44 years old today. He is still singing today at the age of 83.
In a sidenote one of his former managers Dee Anthony died on Sunday at the age of 83 the same age Bennett is now. He also managed Devo which is as far removed from Tony Bennett’s music as you can get.
Nightbeat was heard on old time radio from February 6, 1950 to September 25 of 1952 on the NBC radio network.
Frank Lovejoy starred as Chicago Star reporter Randy Stone on Nightbeat a show that played up the human interest side of the stories.
Each episode was exciting but the main focus was on the everyday people in Chicago who faced the problems of the time for the people.
The show was as much about helping people as it was in catching crooks and at the conclusion of each story Stone would holler “copy boy” to have his story delivered to the editors so they could check it and then have it sent to the composing room before being printed in the next morning’s paper.
Lovejoy was perfect for this role and was later seen on some TV crime dramas after Nightbeat left the airwaves.
This website lets you listen to an episode of the show for free:
Faron Young met a sad end to his life when he shot himself in December of 1966 after encountering health problems, career downturn and breakup of his 40 year marriage.
Faron Young singing his No.1 hit Hello Walls.
Faron Young was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on February 25, 1932. He died 64 years later on December 10, 1996 of a self-inflicted gunshot to his head.
He took his girlfriend at the time Billie Jean Jones to the Grand Ole Opry in 1952 on his first visit to the country music shrine.
By the time the night was over she was his ex-girlfriend when she met Hank Williams and Young said Williams pulled a gun on him to let him know she was no longer Young’s girlfriend.
Young co-founded the Music City News the newspaper that covered the Nashville country music scene.
Young was mostly forgotten after his last No.1 song Four In The Morning in 1971 and felt like the country music industry had neglected to give him credit for what he had done in his career.
It was sad to see his life end so tragically but his music will be around for years to come.
An early television from the late 1930's signaled an era when other forms of entertainment would be ended altogether or their popularity greatly reduced by the emerging television industry.
Vaudeville an entertainment form which consisted of singers, magicians, jugglers, dancers, comedians and too many other various acts to name them all died in the early 30′s when radio began broadcasting the same stars who had starred in vaudeville like Jack Benny, Fred Allen and Bob Hope over the airwaves.
Vaudeville, burlesque and movies were the main forms of entertainment in those days along with the Victrola phonographs which brought music into homes.
Television Killed The Radio Star
By the early 50′s television had emerged as a viable form of entertainment in the United States and the old time radio shows the listeners loved so much gradually began to disappear till the last shows left the air on September 30, 1962. Television had killed the radio star we had known from the late 20′s till 1962.
Television did use some of the same shows heard on old time radio with stars like Jack Benny broadcasting his show on radio and telecasting it on television.
Old Time Radio Favorites Showed Up On TV Screens
Shows like Gunsmoke, Dragnet, Our Miss Brooks, Amos and Andy, Life of Riley and Father Knows Best would become hit shows on television in the 1950′s.
Radio today consists mostly of radio and talk with varied formats like all rock, all country, all talk and all sports. Radio will probably never bring back the days of old time radio when you could listen to a show and use your imagination to picture the characters and the action taking place.
Less Time For Playing Records
Television may not have ended the playing of phonograph records in homes but it greatly reduced the time spent playing records since television was the new kid on the block and everyone wanted to take it for a test spin and kick the tires.
Questia.com has this to say about the falling movie attendance as television began to make its bid for movie viewers:
Television has probably had a greater impact on the motion
picture industry than on any other medium except radio. This effect
has been explored in many surveys, but it has been most impressively
recorded at the box office. Average weekly motion picture attendance
dropped from 82,000,000 in 1946 to 46,000,000 in 1955.
Burlesque shows were another victim of the new emerging television industry. These shows have spawned some of the stars in movies and television like Red Buttons who worked in both vaudeville and burlesque.
Television hasn’t completely killed off the drive-in movie but some states like Louisiana have no drive-in movies in operation today.
This video shows a drive-in movie that started operating in 1950 in Door County, Wisconsin and is still in operation today.
Drive-in movies and regular movie theaters today have been hurt by the sale of copies of movies on DVD that enable someone to sit in their own recliner and watch a movie at home and watch it again when they want on their own time schedule.
Television has almost ended burlesque shows completely but the walk-in and drive-in movies still are operating in smaller numbers. Movie theaters may always be with us because it is still the best place to take a date on a weekend night.
Toni Tenille was not only fun to listen to but was more fun to watch as she sang. Her enthusiasm for the songs transfered to whoever was watching her.
The Captain who was Daryl Dragon seemed to never smile while on stage. Toni addresses that in her blog saying she wish Daryl would smile more even today and she wrote a song Smile For Me One More Time about wishing he would smile more often.
It is hard to believe it was 39 years ago in 1970 when Captain and Tenille recorded their first No.1 song Love Will Keep Us Together written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield.
Ten years later they had their fifth and last gold record with Do That To Me One More Time.
Her husband Daryl has been experiencing health problems with tremors which make him stay out of the public eye and is also recovering from knee surgery.
Toni has made a series of big band albums singing the old standards that those of us living in the 40′s and 50′s remember so well.
Captain and Tenille may be out of sight but not out of mind of those who remember the way they captivated the music world in the 1970′s.
Toni Tenille and John Travolta singing Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.
Toni Tenille singing the Captain and Tenille signature songLove Will Keep Us Together.
Captain and Tenille being interviewed in 2007.
They have one of the best websites I have seen of an entertaineer with a wealth of information and songs that can be heard.
Spike Jones and the City Slickers made their living making fun of serious music in the big band era.
While most of the bands in the big band era took their music seriously Spike Jones and the City Slickers went the comedic route with their music.
Jones would fire gunshots in the middle of a song sometimes along with other antics such as famous little person Billy Barty running around in a pair of pants with no head showing and Barty singing vocals with the band.
With the advent of rock and roll Jones had problems mocking the music since he said it was already messed up to start off with.
Jones had a short life dying of emphysema in 1965 at the age of 53 after many years of smoking.
This female vocalist is trying to sing a song with complete chaos going on around her with Spike Jones and his City Slickers ruining what would have been a great song.
Spike Jones and the City Slickers and their comedic performance of Sheik of Araby.
Allmusic.com has more details of Spike Jones in this biography:
Big Brother 9 winner Adam Jasinski has been arrested for selling 2000 oxycodone pills to a government witness. Jasinski had used part of his $500,000 prize money to buy thousands of oxycodone pills which he was selling.
Most winners of the Big Brother television show spend their prize money for college education, buying a house or to travel around the world.
However Adam Jasinski took another route and apparently decided to buy oxycodone pills by the thousands and reselling them presumably at a profit.
Now the money will do him no good if he is proven guilty and given the maximum sentence of a million dollar fine and 20 years in prison.
There was a riot between the first and second game of the White Sox and Tigers on July 12, 1979 when local Chicago disc jockey and Mike Veeck teamed up to promote Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park.
Disco music was hot during the early 1970′s with Donna Summer known as the queen of disco music.
Other artists that thrived during this ere were K.C. and the Sunshine Band, The Bee Gees and The Jacksons.
By the late 70′s music fans were tiring of disco music as evidenced by the Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979 promoted by the White Sox.
A local Chicago disc jockey Steve Dahl who had been fired when his station had switched from an album format to broadcasting only disco music. Dahl had another DJ job by this time and ridiculed disco music every chance he got while at his new job.
Dahl along with Mike Veeck of the White Sox set up a promotion where a fan bring disco records to be blown up would be admitted for only 98 cents and would be able to see a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers.
At the game that night Veeck would note a smell of marijuana in the air and there were many fans who were only there to see the records blown up.
When the first game ended the records were detonated and the explosion left a hole in the outfield and a fire started.
Then the fans rushed onto the field setting fires of their own. A riot ensued with the batting cages being vandalized.
Veeck and White Sox announcer Harry Caray implored the fans to leave the field. The Chicago police who donned riot gear finally removed the fans from the field
However too much damage had been done to the field and the umpires refused to let the second game be played.
The next day Lee McPhail the American League president forfeited the second game of the doubleheader to the Detroit Tigers.
Chaos ensued at this White Sox-Tigers game after disco records were destroyed by an explosion causing fans to take over the field and ultimated caused the cancellation of the second game of the doubleheader.
Nancy Wilson is heard singing Guess Who I Saw Today while a video depicts the story being told in the song.
The song was written in 1952 by lyricist Murray Grand while the music was written by Elisse Boyd for the Broadway musical New Faces of 1952.
Nancy Wilson never received the adulation she deserved since she never achieved the greatness of many of her contemporaries but she is still one of the best singers of the last half of the twentieth century in my book.
W.C. Fields was born William C. Dukenfeld in Philadelphia, Pennsyvania before changing his last name to Fields so it would fit on marquee easier.
William C. Dukenfeld was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 29, 1880 and died in Pasadena, California on December 25, 1946.
He also used the names of Charles Bogle, Otis Criblecoblis, Mahatma Kane Jeeves and Uncle Claude but is best known as W.C. Fields.
Fields was a top notch juggler during his vaudeville days before becoming a movie star.
W.C. Fields not only was a great actor but was also a very proficient juggler who demonstrates his juggling skills in this 75 year old video from 1934.
Family Theater aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System from February 13,1947 till September 11, 1957.
In the opening minutes of each show the announcer would say “More has been wrought by prayer than this world dreams of “.
It is the best of the radio theater shows in my estimation since it was such a family oriented program.
The shows started telecasting in 1951 while the radio version was still being broadcast.
The very first regular episode starred Don Ameche and Loretta Young in Flight From Home with Jimmy Stewart as the host.
The following writeup at radiogoldindex.com describes that program:
65761. Family Theatre. February 13, 1947. Mutual net. “Flight From Home”. Sustaining. The first show of the series. A powerful drama about a marriage in deep trouble. The script was subsequently reused on “Family Theatre” on January 8, 1952 (see cat. #66521). Jimmy Stewart (host), Don Ameche, Loretta Young, Meredith Willson and His Orchestra, True Boardman (writer), Richard Sanville (director). 29:49. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete.
My favorite show in the series was A Daddy For Christmas which I listen to every Christmas season since it reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas. This program will take the listener on an emotional roller coaster but the ending makes it worth listening to till the very end.
70323. Family Theatre. December 15, 1948. Mutual net. “Daddy For Christmas”. Sustaining. Young Stevie asks Santa Claus for a daddy for Christmas! His mom winds up married to Santa, who tries to be a good father…but fails. A tearful story that’s good radio. Shirley Temple (hostess), Pat O’Brien, Bobby Driscoll, Linda Johnson, Jack Lyman (writer). 25:02. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
The Flight Home episode can be heard at otr.net No.2 on the list of programs:
Swanson TV dinners celebrate their 56th anniversary next month and makes us wonder how we were able to watch television before the advent of TV dinners.
C.A. Swanson and Sons developed the first TV dinner in 1953 and cost only 98 cents but the one pictured above was 99 cents but it could have been sold later.
A Swanson TV dinner commercial telecast in 1975.
Another Swanson TV dinner commercial telecast in 1983.
The secret of eating TV dinners is not to look at the nutritional information since the dinner may be enjoyed as much knowing the high sodium content which is added to make the food taste better since the preservatives included in the dinner remove the good taste.
Justin Wilson was well known for his cooking show on PBS and for his record albums of Cajun humor.
If there was a better known Cajun humorist than Justin Wilson I am unaware of it.
He was born in Roseland, Louisiana on April 24, 1914 and died at the age of 87 in 2001 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
He didn’t start telling his humorous stories till he was a safety engineer giving talks on safety. The talks were putting his audiences to sleep so he started mixing in Cajun stories with his safety talks.
His daughter Sara Sue Easterly said they never knew who would show up for breakfast at their house. Governors Jimmie Davis and John McKeithen were among the visitors and Senator Russell B. Long paid a visit to the Wilson household.
He would become a nationwide celebrity when his cooking show Cajun Cooking With Justin Wilson was broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Network for many years.
Even someone not interested in cooking would watch the show more for his humor than his knowledge of cooking which was extensive.
His Cajun humor was recorded into many record albums and he also wrote many cookbooks.
Louisianians consider Justin Wilson as part of their heritage and will never forget him saying ” I garantee” many times on his cooking show.
Justin Wilson showing how to cook chicken gumbo on his show Cajun Cooking.
Justin Wilson telling a story about the Hush Puppy Olympics.
Loretta Lynn singing You’re Looking At Country on the Muppets show. She and Ernest Tubb are the only celebrities I have actually talked to when they autographed albums I had bought at the Rapides Parish Coliseum too many years ago to mention.
This photo shows the Hindenburg airship bursting into flames on May 6, 1937 at Lakehurst, New Jersey. 97 were aboard the Hindenberg with a total of 36 being killed including 13 passengers, 22 of the crew and one member of the ground crew.
The airship Hindenburg was running late the day of the disaster or many more may have been killed. Specators were barred from the mooring mast location so the ship could be prepared immediately upon landing for its return trip to Europe.
Radio reporter Herbert Morrison was describing the landing of the Hindenburg when it burst into flames. Morrison was understandably overcome with emotion as he described the fiery scene.
Radio reporter Herbert Morrison giving an eyewitness account of the Hindenburg disaster.
Helen O’Connell died at the age of 73 in 1993. She may be gone but her memory lives on among big band fans who remember her as a vocalist with the Jimmy Dorsey band.
She also was the host of the Today show in later years and appeared as a host on the Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants.
Bob Eberly and Helen O’Connell sing their classic Tangerine with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.
Helen O’Connell singing All of Me and then singing Tangerine again many years after singing the first clip while with the Jimmy Dorsey Band.
This is the most jazzed up version of You Are My Sunshine I have ever heard but Ray Charles the Raelettes do a great job in their rendition of the Jimmie Davis classic.
Vinyl records are selling well again as more vinyl records are being produced and audiophiles seek to hear again the sound emanating from a phonograph player.
Progression of LP/EP sales in millions
•$2005 $14.2
•$2006 $15.7
•$2007 $22.9
•$2008 $46.2
•$2009 $56.7
With the increase in sales of vinyl records I along with other record collectors are looking for vinyl records that used to be in my collection before they were sold at garage sales for almost nothing.
Just realized recently when visiting the local mega bookstore here in Knoxville, Tennessee that they were now selling vinyl records.
The first records I looked at were 95 cents and up and found a Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits album for 95 cents.
Then I noticed there was a section of budget albums which were selling for 25 cents. During my first trip there I bought albums of Rogers, Johnny Mathis (a 2 record set for 25 cents) and Frank Sinatra Christmas album for 25 cents which I found for sale on ebay for $9.99 and found a Perry Como Christmas album which was selling for $14.99 on ebay. It only cost me 25 cents at the bookstore.
These records were in excellent condition with the Kenny Rogers album looking like it had never been played.
Other albums bought on the first trip to the vinyl section included an album by the Carpenters, a 2 record set of the Harry James Orchestra, a Lennon Sisters album and a record about old time radio days all for 25 cents each.
The next trip I bought another Johnny Mathis album of his greatest hits, Vol. 3 of Tony Bennett’s greatest hits but it should have been Vol. 1 since it included his best known songs like I Left My Heart in San Francisco, The Good Life, I Wanna Be Around, Who Can I Turn To and The Best Is Yet To Come.
In addition I bought Mantovani Magic an album which I had owned too many years ago to recall and one of my favorite orchestra albums. I also bought albums by Lenny Dee, Ken Griffin, Andre Kostalanetz, Johnny Mathis Christmas album with Sleigh Ride and The Christmas Song, Earl Grant, 2 record set of the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Linda Ronstadt album of American standards with Nelson Riddle Orchestra.
I bought about 20 albums in all for a total of less than $6. When I returned from Texas after spending a month with daughter’s family my wife gave me a record player so that is why I started collecting again.
My only problem with the store is that I couldn’t find any country and western albums so that was disappointing and probably means someone is buying them almost as soon as they are placed on the shelves.
The store also had huge albums with many records for 25 cents. This music was mostly classical music and symphony music. For a fan of classical music it would be a great buy.
This collector of vinyl records has close to a million vinyl record albums has been forced to try to sell his collection. It is sad that someone that has spent so much of their life building up what is considered by some the largest collection of vinyl records in the world only to have to lose it all in these tough economic times.
It would take days to go through his collection. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has to sell these albums on ebay a few at a time to pay his bills. He is sitting on a gold mine but it means nothing if nobody has the money to buy his collection.
Charlie Chaplin wrote the song Smile which Michael Jackson recorded many years later. Chaplin is seen in this scene from the 1936 movie Modern Times with Paulette Goddard which launched her movie career.
This is one of my favorite up tempo southern gospel songs with the fourth verse my favorite when the Blackwood Brothers Quartet gets down in the chorus.
I had this song on a Best of the Blackwood Brothers album that I played so much it wore out the record and I had to send for a new copy.
The Masters Five sings Have A Little Talk With Jesus. The group was comprised of such southern gospel patriarchs like the tenor Rosie Rozell, bass J.D. Sumner, Jake Hess probably on baritone and James Blackwood apparently singing the lead. Hovie Lister completes the group by playing the piano.
The Statesmen Quartet singing the old southern gospel classic You Sho Do Need Him Now.
This is southern gospel the way I remember it when we used to watch the Gospel Jubilee program on Sunday morning before going to church about 50 years ago.
My favorite southern gospel quartet the Dove Brothers singing I Can Pray which is one of the best southern gospel songs of recent years and went to the top of the southern gospel charts.
This song reminds us that no matter what our circumstances in life are we can pray.
Six songs have used the same tune as I Am Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes which was recorded by the Carter Family in February of 1929.
The Carter Family singing I Am Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes.
The great Roy Acuff singing The Great Speckled Bird in 1968.
Hank Thompson singing The Wild Side of Life.
Kitty Wells the queen of country music singing her answer to Hank Thompson’s in It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.
Elton Britt singing There’s A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere in 1942 with a slightly different tune but still close to the original tune by the Carter Family.
Dave Plummer’s version of There’s A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere which sounds more like the original version.
The following web page tells of the sixth song with the same tune and it is called The Ballad of Francis Powers. It tells the story of the U.S. pilot shot down over Russia during the Cold War.
Radiogoldindex.com is best place to find info on old time radio shows and artists.
If you ever wonder when an old time radio first started and who appeared in the shows then Radiogoldindex.com is the place to find that information.
The start here link on the front page takes you to the page with options on the letting the reader look at lists of shows or artists. The lists have a separate listing for each letter of the alphabet.
For instance if you ever wondered how many old time radio shows Frank Sinatra was on just go to S and scroll down till you see his name. Then when you see his name it shows he was in 387 old time radio shows.
Rocky Fortune Episode Listed
Then when you click on his name you see his first show was America Dances that was broadcast on July 19, 1939. When scrolling down to October 6, 1953 the name of his own show Rocky Fortune appears on the list.
His last show before the death of old time radio on September 30, 1962 was on June 1, 1962 which was a broadcast of his concert from Royal Festival Hall in London. The other shows after that date are either rebroadcasts of shows broadcast during old time radio days or were broadcast in later years.
Use Same Process To Find Particular Show
You can repeat the process when looking for a particular show. For instance go to programs to find Calling All Cars and you will see there are 305 episodes of the show listed but the first show is missing from the list. Episode 2 was broadcast on December 6, 1933 and the last episode was heard on September 11, 1939.
The lists are not all inclusive but probably the best source of information about the details of a particular program online as of today.
This is a sample listing for a Fibber McGee and Molly show broadcast two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor:
11688. Fibber McGee and Molly. December 9, 1941. NBC net, WMAQ Chicago aircheck. Sponsored by: Johnson’s Wax. The show starts with war news and a war message from the Johnson Company. At the end of the show, the cast and audience sing a patriotic song. Fibber “can get it for you wholesale,” 40% off everything! Martha Tilton, Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Billy Mills and His Orchestra, Don Quinn (writer), The King’s Men, Isabel Randolph, Gale Gordon, Bill Thompson, Billy Mills. 1/2 hour. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
I have not seen this many details about any old time radio show at any other site. The best thing is that if you have the complete collection for a particular show you can know ahead of time what a particular show is about.
I have no financial connection with Radio Gold Index and this article is strictly for informational purposes.
Groucho Marx hosted the You Bet Your Life quiz show on radio and television starting with the ABC radio version in 1947. The show would be shown later on NBC while still being heard on radio. The show would be shown till 1960 when it was renamed The Groucho Show.
The quiz portion of the program was almost an afterthought since the main focus on the show was on Groucho as he bantered with the contestants before giving away prize money that is very small compared to the prizes given away today.
This clip shows a man who claims to have lived in trees for 20 years and his spelling in the quiz portion verifies that he really did live in a tree.
Phyllis Diller made her network television debut as a contestant on You Bet Your Life.
Groucho does his best to be a matchmaker for this girl from UCLA and a football player for USC.
This show has one of the funniest characters to ever appear on the show and he seems to be intimidating Groucho.
This clip features Chuck Dressen baseball manager who had signed a contract for the next season for the Washington Senators.
Watch the older lady on this clip that shows up at the 7 minute mark. She asks Groucho to put out his cigar which he eventually does but not on this clip.
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