When Radio Ruled

By Mike Gillett - the BeforeTV Project

A look at Old Time Radio and the world around it. A chronological look at the original mass media.... more

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FAQs about When Radio Ruled:

How many episodes does When Radio Ruled have?

The podcast currently has 157 episodes available.

When Radio Ruled episodes:

May 16, 2025 When Radio Ruled #127 – Wynn Murray Sings 1939
17 year old Wynn Murray already had two Broadway hits on her resume when she joined The Fred Allen show as the resident Female Vocalist in 1939.
Fred Allen’s decision to bring a famous female vocalist onto his show in 1939 was a recognition that female singers were now in vogue.
Singers like Connie Boswell on the Good News Program, and Charlie McCarthy’s Dorothy LaMour were part of their show’s ratings success.
Those Shows broadcast from Hollywood so those singers came from the film industry.
Fred Allen broadcast from New York City so he had access to Broadway Talent, and Wynn Murray was one of New York Theater’s most promising young shining stars.
SONGS:
Sing For Your Supper
Great Day
Johnny One Note
Comes Love
I didn’t know what time it was
Blow Gabriel Blow
The Man with the Mandolin
What’s New
Stop it’s Wonderful
Stormy Weather
Click Here to Hear for Yourself: Wynn Murray 1939
...more
33min
May 09, 2025 When Radio Ruled #126 – SoundScape 1939 part 9, May 4-21 1939
SoundScape part 9, Radio highlights originally broadcast live May 4 through May 21, 1939
Curated clips of live broadcasts from popular radio shows of the day.
History through the eyes of people as they lived it, reported by radio.
In today’s SoundScape:
Mother’s Day 1939 with Jack Benny!
Where are the real high class professional crooks in America today?
As a Lover, rumor has it, Jack Benny is a regular Caveman!
Featuring:
Robert Young
Connie Boswell
Frank Morgan
Fannie Brice
Orson Welles
Jack Benny
Phil Harris
Mary Livingstone
Leslie Howard
Don Wilson
Cecil B DeMille
The Family Doctor
Fibber McGee and Molly
Ida Lupino
and
Kenny Baker
Click Here to Hear with Your Ear SoundScape 1939 part 9
...more
1h 3min
May 01, 2025 When Radio Ruled episode 125 – Charlie McCarthy and Guests 1939 part 1
Charlie McCarthy is really Edgar Bergen. Or the other way around. It was a ventriloquist act.
On the radio.
Go figure.
But you can’t argue with success and the Charlie McCarthy show was more than a success, it was a cultural phenomenon.
The Kids loved Charlie McCarthy, so did the parents and Grandparents.
The biggest Movie stars didn’t have time to do radio.
Except for the Charlie McCarthy show.
They all wanted to do the Charlie McCarthy show.
Starring:
Charlie McCarthy
Edgar Bergen
Maureen O’Sullivan
Jackie Cooper
Kay Francis
Andrea Leeds
Tony Galento
Ida Lupino
And
Vera Vague
Also Appearing are:
Alan Mowbray
Don Ameche
Dorothy Lamour
and
Donald Dixon
Click Here to Drop In on Charlie and His Guests!
...more
54min
April 25, 2025 When Radio Ruled #124 – SoundScape 1939 part 8, April 6-30 1939
Radio highlights originally broadcast live April 6 through April 30, 1939
Curated clips of live broadcasts from popular radio shows of the day.
History through the eyes of people as they lived it, reported by radio.
In today’s soundscape:
A Tribute to Man’s Best Friend, my Dog
Pearl Buck Talks China with Anna Mae Wong and Orson Welles
Jack Benny’s 7th Anniversary on Radio!
And more!!!
FEATURING:
Robert Young
Kitty Carlisle
Meredith Wilson
Lionel Barrymore
Don Wilson
Jack Benny
Phil Harris
Mary Livingstone
Cecil B DeMille
General Hugh Samuel Johnson
Errol Flynn
Fibber McGee and Molly
Orson Welles
Anna Mae Wong
Kenny Baker
Eddie Rochester Anderson
Gertrude Lawrence
and
Eddie Cantor
Click Here For A Heaping Earful of 1939!
...more
0min
April 16, 2025 When Radio Ruled #123 – The Merry Macs Sing 1939
Close harmony groups were popular in the 1920’s, 30’s,40’s and 50’s. The Merry Macs were among the most successful and were certainly the longest lived of all the Old Time Radio harmony groups.
Close Harmony singing evolved from the Barbershop Quartets of the 1880s and 1890s, but with a jazz age sensibility. Closer harmonic chords and experimentation with tempo and rhythm are some differences between the two styles of harmony.
The Songs you’re going to hear are all recorded from live broadcasts in 1939:
Mister Zip Zip Zip
Stumbling All Around
She’s my Sweetheart
Do You Ever Think of Me
Moonlight Bay
Wizard of Oz Medley
Jingle Bells
Little Drink Do Harm?
Mister Daily Star
Oh Johnny
Click Here for the One and Only Merry Macs!
...more
23min
April 09, 2025 When Radio Ruled #122 – SoundScape 1939 part 7, March 22 – April 5, 1939
Radio highlights originally broadcast live March 22 through April 5, 1939
Curated clips of live broadcasts from popular radio shows of the day.
History through the eyes of people as they lived it, reported by radio.
In today’s soundscape:
Nothing about the war in this one, things were quiet there and we were more than happy to pretend the bombs and blood wasn’t real. We will soon find out different.
The violent wedding of Andy Brown!
Georgie Jessell kills it with the comedy on the Fed Allen show!
And more!!!
This episode features:
Cecil B DeMille
Loretta Young
Spencer Tracy
Father Flanagan
Fibber McGee
Robert Young
Leo Carillo
Orson Welles
Jack Benny
Don Wilson
Eddie “Rochester” Anderson
Phil Harris Orchestra
Mary Livingstone
Mr. Distrct Attorney
Amos ‘n Andy
Fred Allen
Portland Hoffa
Peter Van Steeden
Harry Von Zell
And
Georgie Jessell
Click Here to Time Travel with Your Ears to 1939 !!
...more
1h 17min
April 02, 2025 When Radio Ruled #121 – Cecil B DeMille Interviews part 2 The Movers and Shakers
Cecil B. DeMille was a legend, a trailblazer, and a person of ambition and talent.
In this episode, DeMille talks with others like him, movers and shakers who have risen to the top of their chosen fields.
Greatness, talking with greatness on the Lux Radio Theater.
DeMille’s guests include:
Father Flanagan
H.V. Kaltenborn
Grand Duchess Marie
The Daughter of William Jennings Bryant
General Hugh Samuel Johnson
Captain of the Largest American Steam Ship
Barbara Stanwyck and George Arliss
The Playwright Zoe Akins
The Author James Hilton
Floyd Gibbons International Reporter
And More!!
Click Here to Hear DeMille and Voices from 1939
...more
53min
March 26, 2025 When Radio Ruled #120 – SoundScape 1939 part 6, March 17-26 1939
History through the eyes of people as they lived it, reported by radio.
Curated clips of live broadcasts from popular radio shows of the day.
In today’s soundscape:
Mary’s Springtime Poem!
Ed Sullivan wants to know! Is Jack Benny the real Jack Benny?!
And more!!!
This episode features:
Orson Welles
Laurence Olivier
Noah Beery
Cecil B DeMille
Clark Gable
Claudette Colbert
Eddie “Rochester” Anderson
Jack Benny
Mary Livingstone
Phil Harris
Kenny Baker
Columbia Workshop
Fibber McGee
Zasu Pitts
Fred Allen
The Merry Macs
Don Wilson
Ed Sullivan
And More!!
Listen to SoundScape 1939 part 6
...more
59min
March 19, 2025 When Radio Ruled #119 – Dottie Lamour Girl Next Door 1939
In 1939 Dorothy Lamour was the leading lady on a show that was neck and neck with Jack Benny for number 1 in the ratings.
Not bad for a lower class girl who dropped out of school at 14 to support her family.
Now, at only 25 years old, her ambition and talent had paid off handsomely.
Also Featuring Don Ameche and Rudy Vallee. Charlie and Edgar also make an appearance.
Popular songs and Novelty Tunes from America’s girl next door, 1939. Dottie Lamour singing:
Go Fly A Kite
One Cigarette for Two
All In Favor Say Aye
ChatterBox
Dream Beside Me in the Midnight Glow
An Awful Lot of Dreaming to Do
Begin the Beguinne
When you Came into my Heart
I Spell Love with You
A Boy Named Lem and a Girl Named Sue
Sing a Song of Sunbeams
What’s New?
Two Blind Loves
I’ll Remember
What’s New?
Two Blind Loves
I’ll Remember
Oh Johnny
Are You Having Any Fun?
Give a Listen to the Talented Dottie Lamour, Girl Next Door
...more
46min
March 12, 2025 When Radio Ruled #118 – SoundScape 1939 part 5: February 27 – March 16, 1939
History through the eyes of people as they lived it, reported by radio.
In today’s soundscape:
Baby Snooks and Daddy visit the 1939 New York’s World Fair!
An Irish Ghost Story entitled “Faith is Not always a Lady”!!
A Gentle Reminder to Always Remember to Lux your Stockings!!
This episode features:
The Family Doctor
Cecil B DeMille
Jimmy Cagney
Fibber McGee
The Merry Macs
Jimmy Stewart
Robert Young
The Phil Harris Orchestra
Columbia Workshop
Zasu Pitts
Lionel Barrymore
Orson Welles
Warden Laws of Sing-Sing
Jack Benny
Don Wilson
Kenny Baker
Barbara Stanwyck
Sara Roosevelt – the mother of the President
Frank Morgan
Fanny Brice
Hanley Stafford
Robert Montgomery
And
Connee Boswell
Click Here to Give 1939 part 5 a Listen!
...more
1h 27min

FAQs about When Radio Ruled:

How many episodes does When Radio Ruled have?

The podcast currently has 157 episodes available.