When Radio Ruled

The Jack Benny show made Phil a huge star. Even though Phil would go on to do more films and have his own radio shows, and tour the country with his band, and appear on television and build a real estate empire he would always be known first and foremost for his Jack Benny years.

What you are about to hear are a series of musical selections Phil and his orchestra played live on Jack Benny’s Jello program in 1938.

Some are instrumentals and some feature Phil’s distinctive vocals, but all of them bring a joy and a bounce that will carry you through your day. So much fun to listen to. Enjoy Phil Harris and his orchestra playing live from 1938.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR PHIL HARRIS AND HIS ORCHESTRA 1938

Born Edward Israel Iskowitz in 1892 to a poor family of recent immigrants, through sheer tenacity and talent street urchin Eddie Cantor became a show biz giant for half a century. Starting out in vaudeville in 1907, starring on Broadway, a movie star in both silents and talkies, and a radio and television pioneer.

For three Generations Every household in America knew the name Eddie Cantor as well as they knew their own names.

Eddie was many things, actor, songwriter, comedian, humanitarian, patriot, Union president, father, and all around thoughtful, decent, kind, and generous human being.

Songs Include:

Bob White Gonna Swing Tonight

What are you doing the rest of your life?

President’s Birthday Ball

Rosalie

Medley of Greatest Hits

Way Down Yonder in New Orleans

Ein Mir Bist Du Shoen

Let them Keep it Over There

Momma that Moon’s Here Again

Click Here to Listen to Eddie Cantor Sings 1938

Old Time Radio’s Jack Benny show was a sitcom disguised as a variety show.

The cast used their real names, or rather their real stage names, but they all played characters unlike themselves. Characters of diverse comic points of view, each character contrasted with the others. Each funny in their own way and all together a delightful mix of contrasting attitudes and motivations.

rJack Benny was the center of this comic universe. He portrayed a cheapskate, self centered scardy cat who imagined himself a rugged ladies man.

Jack’s real life wife, Mary Livingston, played Jack’s sassy gal pal, boy crazy but not easily impressed by the rich and famous.

Band leader Phil Harris was cast as a drunken, womanizing, musical man about town. More talent than brains and care free.

Tenor vocalist Dennis Day presented as a simple minded momma’s boy. Innocent and child like.

Announcer Don Wilson was the adult in the room, often the object of fat jokes, but treating all with affection and respect. Almost a big brother figure.

The formula for the show was to move back and fourth between the world of putting on a half hour musical/variety radio show and the interpersonal world between the characters.

As you might expect, these characters endeared themselves to their listeners. It was fun listening to the real Jack Benny playing the radio character Jack Benny who was portraying some character in a radio play. It was fun to hear radio Phil Harris pretend to not know anything about music. It was funny when radio Dennis Day believed everything he was told, or Radio Mary recounted the story of a disastrous date.

These moments were broken up with songs from Phil and Dennis, sometimes Mary, and comical Jello commercials from Don. Sometimes sketches with guest stars who in most cases also played themselves in encounters with radio Jack Benny, like the time Barbara Stanwyck rehearsed a radio play with Jack or the time Orson Welles came by to give Jack acting lessons.

In truth, the characters the cast portrayed became so well known and loved that they could stand alone, outside the variety show world.

In early 1940 Jack and his writers did just that. For an entire month, the Jack Benny radio characters were sent on a fictional ski vacation to Yosemite.

The Jack Benny Radio shows February 4, 11, 18, and 25 1940 presented the trip to and the adventures at Yosemite starring the Jack Benny Gang.

Although presented episodically because of Jack’s half hour time slot, these four shows are a single radio play running approximately 80 minutes. It is a radical break from the Jack Benny formula, and adds layers of nuance to the characters as these actors get to really act in the longer more sustained narrative involving these characters.

And that’s what you are about to hear, the entire radio play cut together with commercials etc. edited out in order to focus on the story and maintain pacing.

Believe me, this is good stuff. Jack Benny and the Gang go to Yosemite parts 1, 2, 3, & 4.

Best known today as the third angle in the Bob Hope Bing Crosby road pictures romantic triangles, or perhaps as the sarong wearing eye candy in several other films, Dorothy Lamour started out as a big band singer.

Appearing weekly on the Charlie McCarthy show afforded Dorothy opportunities to remind audiences of her musical roots, and her lovely expressive voice.

And that’s what this episode is all about. For your enjoyment, Here is a delightful collection of tunes sung live by Dorothy Lamour on the radio in 1938.

I see your Face Before Me

Broadway’s gone Hawaiian

Romance in the Dark

You took the Words Right out of my heart

Love Light in the Starlight

Two Sleepy People

I want a new Romance

Click Here to Enjoy Dorothy Lamour Sings 1938

This is the second year in a row that Charlie McCarthy has proven himself the greatest lover in Hollywood, or anywhere else for that matter.

Among those that Charlie McCarthy charmed are the some of the most accomplished and beautiful women of his time. Some of them tried to resist, some didn’t bother, in the end they were all putty in Charlie’s hands. The previous year, 1937,  Charlie McCarthy  had earned quite a reputation as an irresistable bounder and cad. His list of conquests included Olympic Skater turned film star Sonya Henie as well as famous movie stars Carol Lombard, Glenda Farrell, and Bette Davis. Charlie’s torrid affair with Sex Siren Mae West and her guest appearance on his show caused a great scandal, resulting in Mae West being banned from network radio for many years. Charlie emerged a more infamous lover than ever. Such is society’s unfair double standard.

Featuring:

Rosaling Russell

Ella Logan

Barbara Sanwyck

Marlene Dietrich

Click Hear to Hear Charlie McCarthy Sexiest Man Alive 1938

The Fred Allen material you are about to hear is from his radio show, Town Hall Tonight, in 1938.

Fred Allen was unique in the radio world of corny set up/punchline type snappy patter his former vaudeville and current radio peers like Eddie Cantor, Ed Wynn, Georgie Jessel, the Marx Brothers, and others favored.

Oftentimes Fred’s comic voice is compared to that of Mark Twain. All American and homespun wisdom disguised as jokes.

Fred ‘s wit focused on social commentary, gently poking fun at the foibles and eccentricities of human nature. Fred was gruff but mostly cheerful with a small town attitude, advocating common sense but tolerant of the mistakes of others.

Two of Fred’s greatest strengths were his ability to relate to regular people, and his improvisational skill. Very comfortable going off script and usually much funnier off the cuff than what was on the script.

These two factors influenced the head writer of Fred Allen’s show, a fellow by the name of Fred Allen, to put himself in situations on the radio where he could interact with people from all walks of life. And that’s what you are about to hear, Fred interviewing regular, not in show business folks, in a segment of his show entitled “I know You Didn’t Expect to Meet…..”.

The unexpected folks interviewed live in 1938 for this Podcast are:

Fanny Brice was one of the greatest singer/comics on Broadway.

She had to reinvent herself as Baby Snooks in order to find radio stardom.

This is that Journey.

Songs Include:

My Man

Second Hand Rose

I was a Flora Dora Baby

Click Here to Give it a Listen

Judy Garland was born Frances Gumm in 1922, and soon revealed a talent for song and dance. Her first public performance was when she was just 2 and a half years old, singing jingle bells at a Christmas pageant.

Her father was a successful vaudevillian with Judy and her sisters following in his footsteps, touring a singing act “The Gumm Sisters” in the waning days of Vaudeville.

When sound came to movies, so did song and dance acts like the Gumm sisters. The act moved to the big screen in early Vitaphone musical revues with seven year old Judy sometimes billed as Baby Gumm.

Fast forward to 1938, now 16 years old and being groomed for film stardom recently starring with Mickey Rooney in the very popular “Love Finds Andy Hardy “.

Judy, as a rule, did not appear on radio. She was too busy and important for that.

Except for The Good News program, which was created by Judy’s film studio MGM to feature MGM stars, movies, songs, and to convince their listeners to see MGM films in the theater.

As one of MGM’s newest stars, Judy dutifully appeared on a handful of the Good News programs in 1938 as their musical guests.

This collection of songs is from those appearances, 16 year old Judy Garland and her magnificent voice performing live 1n 1938. You are in for a treat.

“College Swing”

“Crying for the Caroline”

“Could you Pass on Love” with the cast

“You’re in God’s Country”

“How Deep is the Ocean”

“Why! Because!” with Fanny Brice as Snooks

“Heal thy Heart to me”

“Zing went the Strings of my Heart”

“The Bumpy Road to Love” with the cast

Click Here to Listen to Judy Garland Sings 1938