My memories of radio began about 1939, when I was six years old. I have vague memories before that, of hearing Tommy Dorsey play "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" on the radio, but 1939 sticks out in my mind because my family was living in a very small wood frame house at that time and I can picture the radio in the corner of the room with my step father listening intently to the war news from Europe, sent directly over the Atlantic cable. I also remember Gene Autry singing "South of the Border" and Singing Sam singing and advertising Coca Cola.
Radio was very important to me in my child hood. I lived with my grand parents for several years in the early forties and they would conveniently go to bed by about 8:30 in the evening and I would do my home work sitting by the old Zenith radio while I listened to radio dramas taken from recent movies on Lux Radio Theater or The Screen Guild Players. On another night it would be comedy night with Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Edgar Burgen and Charley McCarthy. Some night's were owned by Amos and Andy, Fred Allen, Jack Benny, and Burns and Allen.
Then, interwoven with the other programs were the mysteries like, Inner Sanctum, Lights Out, The Shadow, and Dragnet.
Radio also had the day time "soap operas". In fact, that's where they started. Here is an example of a lead in to one of the popular "soaps". The announcer would always read the following introduction:
" Once again we present 'Our Gal Sunday'...the story of an orphan girl named Sunday...from the little mining town of Silver Creek, Colorado. Who in young womanhood married England's richest, most handsome lord...Lord Henry Brinthrope. The story that asks the question...Can this girl from a little mining town in the West find happiness as the wife of a wealthy and titled Englishman?"
Saturday morning was kids' radio and my grandmother would fix me a bowl of Cream of Wheat while I listened to "Let's Pretend" (a reenactment of classical fairy tales), sponsored by, you guessed, Cream of Wheat
Running through all of radio in those "golden days", was music! The music of the "big bands", like Glenn Miller, Harry James, The Dorsey brothers, Guy Lombardo, Kay Kaiser, Artie Shaw, and every Sunday afternoon, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye". With all of these bands were the singers, Individuals and groups. The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Jo Stafford, Dinah Shore, the Andrews Sisters, Ish Kabibble and so many more.
In order to bring back your own experience, those of you who are old enough, let's just play a little game of radio trivia that bubbles up from these memories of mine. I will mention just a few of the features from early radio and you try to fill in the answers. The answers will be at the end, OK?
1.One of the radio advertising jingles was "blank, blank, hits the spot, twelve full ounces that's a lot, twice as much for a nickel too, blank, blank is the drink for you!"
2. Another one was "Drink blank, blank at 10, 2, and 4!"
3. What scary program always began with the sound of a creaking door?
4. What program always began with a mother calling, "Blank, Blank Blank!", and a boy's voice would croke, "Coming Mother!d"
5. What program always began with the theme song with a rhythm of "Dum, de dum dum...Dum,de dum dum, Duuuuum"?
6. What radio performer always ended his program with, "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!"
7. What radio couple lived on "Wistful Vista Avenue"?
8. Who played the original Joe Friday on Dragnet?
9. Red Skelton had a country character named "Clem Blank".
10. What comedian's wife was named Mary Livingston?
11. Who, on the radio, sang, "Thanks for the Memory"?
12. What radio singer's theme song was "My Time Is Your time"?
13. What comedian played the violin?
14. Name one soap opera of the period.
15. What soap does everything?
ANSWERS
1. Pepsi Cola
2. Dr. Pepper
3. Inner Sanctum
4. Henry, Henry Aldrich!
5. Dragnet
6. Jimmy Durante
7. Fibber McGee and Molly
8. Jack Webb
9. Kadidlehopper
10.Jack Benny
11. Bob Hope
12.Rudy Vallee
13. Jack Benny
14."One Man's Family" or "Our Gal, Sunday" or "Stella Dallas"
15.Duz
I enjoyed my childhood days listening to the radio. Many of you did also. These days I enjoy the radio in my car. Lately, I have the added enjoyment of satellite radio. My favorite stations, as you may guess, are the 40's music station and the one that plays all of the old programs from the golden years of radio.