Audio Antiques

From it's early days in the 1920's news was an important part of radio. The first newscasts were little more than announcers reading press releases and police reports. In the 1930s and 40s, network newscasts evolved into audio versions of newspaper columns. During the World War Two and into the 1950s there was the arrival of the radio news anchor, who presented reporters on the scene, with commentary confined to the people actually making the news. You're hear this transition develop over decades of radio news coverage.

Elmer Davis on CBS Radio in 1939

HV Kaltenborn on NBC Radio in 1940

Walter Winchell in 1941, American Radio's most popular newsman at the time, and was heard on the Blue Network, which later became ABC.

Fulton Lewis Jr on the Mutual Radio Network in 1942.

Raymond Gram Swing on ABC Radio in 1945

Mutual Newsreel Digest in 1950

Taylor Grant suffers the news anchor's nightmare on ABC in 1953.

The legendary Edward R. Murrow on CBS Radio in 1957.

Frank Bourgholtzer on NBC Radio in 1961.

Charles Osgood before he became famous in 1966 on ABC Radio

Bill Maher Jr, father of the famous comedian on Mutual Radio in 1969.

Mike Stanley on CBS in 1969.

James Limbach on Associated Press Radio in 1977.

Al Williams on the Mutual Black Radio Network in 1978.

David Leslie on ABC in 1978.

Ed Gullo on RKO Radio in 1979.

Pat Prescott on the National Black Network in 1981.

Becky Bailey on Mutual in 1988.

Jim Lounsbury on the United Press International radio network in 1989.

Sheri Preston on ABC radio in 2004.

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From 1955 it's the NBC Radio show Best of All. This episode featuring a salute to the National Association of Negro Musicians. Honoring African-Americans involved in classical music. The program is hosted by Marian Anderson, the famous contralto, who performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals, with renowned orchestras throughout the United States and Europe, between 1925 and 1965. 

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The Great Gildersleeve was a radio situation comedy broadcast from 1941 to 1957. The series was built around the character of Throckmorton Gildersleeve, a small town water commissioner and his family. One of the co-stars was Lillian Randolph, an African-American actress and singer. However, later in the series her actress sister Amanda Randolph took the role. Both Randolphs were active during radio's golden age and were often mistaken for each other. First we'll hear Lillian, and then Amanda as Birdie the maid on the Great Gildersleeve. 

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Destination Freedom - A Chicago based series from radio's classic era. This episode is entitled, Ghost Editor. It's the story of Oklahoma newspaper publisher Roscoe Dunjee. He founded the Black Dispatch in 1915, the first African-American newspaper in Oklahoma City. Dunjee used it as a platform to support civil rights and to reveal injustices. 

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From the 1940's, it's the bar-room situation comedy series Duffy's Tavern, starring Ed Gardner as Archie the manager of the tavern. Co-starring on the show was Eddie Green, an actor, film director, and composer, who was one of the most influential African-American artists on radio during the golden age. Green got into the entertainment business as a boy magician in Baltimore, and later transitioned to Broadway, and the silver screen. Green's film career got him noticed by famous broadcasting personality Rudy Vallee who convinced Green to move to radio. This lead to appearances on the Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, The Royal Gelatin Hour, and Sealtest Dairy Show. Green was also a prolific songwriter, his biggest hit being "A Good Man Is Hard to Find.

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From the 1940s, this is the popular and influential Wings Over Jordan program. It was a Sunday morning show, named for the prominent African American choir that performed on it during the 1930s and 1940s. The choir was founded in 1935 by Rev. Glen Settle pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. The show originated on local station WGAR, but was picked up nationwide by the CBS Network. Wings Over Jordan used sermons and spirituals to promote civil rights across Jim Crow America.

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This is one of the few classic radio programs hosted by a female. From the 1940s, The Judy Canova Show centered on the life of an entertainer from the country, who becomes a hit in the big city. 

The show co-stars Ruby Dandridge as Judy's sidekick Geranium. The African-American actress had a career that included the stage, radio, films, and television. She's also the mother of celebrated actress, singer, and dancer Dorothy Dandridge. 

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Its time for Jubilee, a radio program that featured African American musicians and singers. This 1942 episode features composer, pianist, and orchestra leader Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters a singer and actress who in 1939 was the first African-American to appear in her own TV show, and Eddie Anderson, an actor and comedian, who was a popular co-star on the Jack Benny Show. 

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From 1948, this is an NBC Radio interview show called Author Meets the Critics. The special Guest is Walter White, who led the NAACP from 1929 to 1955. He joined the organization in 1918 investigating race riots and lynchings. White developed legal challenges to fight segregation and voting restrictions aimed at minorities.  Walter White tells his story, and talks about his autobiography. 

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Jubilee, a radio program that featured African American musicians and singers, hosted by Ernie "Bubbles" Whitman. Most of the shows were staged in Los Angeles and broadcast to U.S. Troops around the world. This 1944 episode features jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader Lionel Hampton and singer Dinah Washington. 

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