Times Past

Crime Classics came to CBS September 30, 1953 and was a neat little series of “true crime stories”. This show introduces itself succinctly: “A series of true crime stories from the records and newspapers of every land, from every time. Your host each week, is Mr. Thomas Hyland — connoisseur of crime, student of violence,... read more »

The Six Shooter brought James Stewart to the NBC microphone on September 20, 1953, in a fine series of folksy Western adventures. Stewart was never better on the air than in this drama of Britt Ponset, frontier drifter created by Frank Burt. The epigraph set it up nicely: “The man in the saddle is angular... read more »

Boston Blackie is a fictional character who has been on both sides of the law. As originally created by author Jack Boyle, he was a safecracker — a hardened criminal who had served time in a California prison. Prowling the underworld as a detective in adaptations for films, radio, and television, the detective Boston Blackie... read more »

The Alan Young Show was a 30 minute situation comedy that ran from 1944 thru 1949. In 1944, Canadian actor Alan Young was hired away from the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) radio, by NBC Radio, as a summer replacement for “The Eddie Cantor Show.’ Young switched to ABC in late ’44, (October 03 1944 –... read more »

This is the 1938 radio broadcast of Orson Welles “War of the Worlds”. The War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells first serialized in 1897 in the UK by Pearson’s Magazine and in the United States by Cosmopolitan magazine. Wikipedia

Gunsmoke is one of those long-running classic Old-Time Radio shows that everyone knows and remembers. It’s also one that is still respected for its high values, in all aspects. Gunsmoke first aired on the CBS network on April 26, 1952, billed as the first adult western. It was set in Dodge City, Kansas in the... read more »

Featuring Betty Grable, George Jessel and the Mills Brothers in this episode. Mail Call was an American radio program that entertained American soldiers from 1942 until 1945, during World War II. Lt. Col. Thomas A.H. Lewis (commander of the Armed Forces Radio Service) wrote in 1944, “The initial production of the Armed Forces Radio Service... read more »

Martha Wilkerson (AKA G.I. Jill) hosted a couple shows on the United States government-produced Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). One program she hosted was G.I. Jive and another was Jill’s All-Time Jukebox, which ran concurrent to the other show during part of its run (she mentions it during G.I. Jive). 194x-xx-xx AFRS Jills Juke Box... read more »

1943-xx-xx AFRS GI Jive 0414 Joe Turner.mp3 The Dixieland Jazz Group: Joe Turner Blues Artie Shaw: Indian Love Call Jimmy Dorsey: Murderistic (1942) Charlie Barnet: The Sergeant Was Shy

1943-xx-xx AFRS GI Jive 0271 Tommy Dorsey.mp3 Tommy Dorsey: Mandy, Make Up Your Mind (reviewed in Billboard Jan 23, 1943) Isham Jones: Blue Lament Fletcher Henderson: Variety Stomp (1927) Larry Clinton: Study In Blue (1938)