4 of 13

Write now Article Tools

Having grown up in the 1940s and 1950s, I didn't have the privilege of choosing whether to watch television or listening to the radio. The radio was our link to the world, and we listened to it daily. Mother never missed Paul Harvey and the news he brought from all over the world, right into our living room. On Friday nights, if we could get the station to come in, we listened to The Louisiana Hayride; on Saturday nights, it was the same with The Grand Ol' Op'ry! Those were the two shows that Daddy even sat down and listened to, when we could get them.

Many of the people on those shows were like old friends to us, although we had never met them and had no idea what they even looked like. But we could identify their voices! There was Mother Maybell and the Carter Family, singing in harmony; Grandpa Jones picking his guitar, fiddle, or ukulele, and Minnie Pearl calling out, "How-deeee! I'm just so proud to be hereee!" There were lots of others, of course, but those are the ones that still stand out in my mind. And there was lots of good picking and singing done on those shows, too!

Later, before we finally got the television when I was in high school, Ted Mack even had his Amateur Hour on the radio. We listened to that, too, at times. But my mother's favorites were the soap operas. I don't remember the names and voices in them, but I remember that we had to keep a watch out and let Mother know when Daddy drove down the road. She had to turn the radio off as soon as possible, because he didn't want her listening to them; he thought they were trashy, and "not fit to listen to".

Hearing any of those voices, on old recordings or sound clips, takes me back to those younger, more innocent, days. I listen with a nostalgic smile, and my husband and I reminisce for a while, because they help us remember the days when we were kids growing up. Not that I want to go back to that time, but I miss the innocence that children had back then. And I miss the "cleanness" of the content of those shows; even small children could listen to every word, unlike most of today's shows!

Learn more about this author, Barbara A. Black.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Voices on the radio?
We want to hear your view. Write now!