Audio Antiques

This podcast explores the life of African-American actor & comedian Butterfly McQueen. She was born in Tampa, Florida in 1911, and showed an aptitude for entertaining at an early age. McQueen had planned to be a nurse, but a teacher was so impressed by her unique voice, and photographic memory, that she suggested McQueen try acting. McQueen will forever be remembered as the maid Prissy, in the...

This podcast features the 1963 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was held on July 9th at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Ohio USA. The contest was won by the National League, which defeated the American League 5-to-3. The Most Valuable Player of the game was Willie Mays, who hit a homer and scored two runs. This was the first baseball all-star game to be played at night, and featured 21 futur...

Born in Joplin, Missouri in 1901, James Mercer Langston Hughes was an African-American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright. Hughes took New York's literary scene by storm in the mid 20th century winning numerous awards, and honorary doctorates. He is best known as leader of the Harlem Renaissance, and was celebrated as the Shakespeare of Harlem. Langston Hughes also created short stori...

The Big Show was a variety program created by NBC Radio in hopes of keeping the medium competitive with television. In 1950, listeners were deserting radio and becoming TV viewers. NBC's answer was to produce a lavish, expensive, star studded program that would stop the exodus. The Big Show was 90 minutes long, featuring the greatest comedians, stage, screen and music talent of the day, hosted by...

Radio's classic era wasn't just about singing, joke telling, and dramatic acting. There were serious, intellectual, thought provoking programs on the air as well. One such program was the University of Chicago Roundtable on NBC Radio. We have two shows from 1949. In the first one, there's a discussion regarding the need for government civil rights programs. On the second program, there's an examin...

Radio was very popular during the 1930s and 1940s, and the movie industry tried to take advantage of the medium to promote their films. During the era MGM, RKO, 20th Century Fox, Samuel Goldwyn, and Paramount all had preview shows on the air, urging the public to check out their coming attractions. One show was a little different. Warner Brothers Academy Theater presented their stable of rising st...

We're going to hear two major forces that shaped the world of jazz. Fletcher Hamilton Henderson was a pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. Henderson was one of the most prolific black musical arrangers and, along with Duke Ellington, is considered one of the most influential bandleaders in jazz history. He helped bridge the gap...

In this podcast, we're going to the playhouse. Philip Morris Playhouse was a 30-minute dramatic anthology series, that usually involved crime, and was broadcast on CBS radio between 1939 and 1949. It was sponsored by the Philip Morris cigarette company, which reportedly spent $1 million dollars a year on this highly produced program. It had different stars performing each week without a regular ca...

Our focus is on the medical community and its relationship with African-Americans before and after World War 2. We have two episodes from the classic radio program New World A Coming. From the year 1945: "Negros and Health", examining facts and misconceptions, followed by "The Story of Negro Nurses".   More at http://krobcollection.com

This show is about Dick Gregory, the comedian, civil rights activist, and author whose pioneering stand-up routines made him a prominent voice in both the fields of entertainment and social justice. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1932, Gregory rose to national fame after his breakthrough performance at Chicago’s Playboy Club, and in 1961 became the first African-American comedian allowed to sit fo...

Destination Freedom was a weekly radio program produced by NBC radio station WMAQ in Chicago from 1948 to 1950. It presented biographical histories of prominent African-Americans as written by the program's producer Richard Durham. You are going to hear episodes about three tireless advocates for civil rights, diversity and inclusion. The 1948 story of James Weldon Johnson, an attorney, diplomat,...

Ever wonder what it takes to be a science fiction writer? You will find out as we present, the 1956 NBC radio program Biography in Sound. You will hear interviews with  prominent science fiction authors, including Isaac Asimov one of the greatest sci-fi writers of all time. But first, let's listen to some science fiction. Parts one and two of the Space Merchants from the CBS Radio Workshop in 1957...

Mystery dramas were always a listener favorite during radio's classic era. You will hear four such theater productions in this podcast. Mollé Mystery Theater was a 30-minute anthology radio program that ran from 1943 to 1948. It was sponsored initially by Sterling Drugs, manufacturers of Mollé Brushless Shaving Cream. ABC Mystery Theater was a similar series on the air from 1951 to 1954 and made a...

This podcast is about Huddie William Ledbetter. Better known by his stage name Lead Belly, was one of the most celebrated folk and blues singers of his time. His most popular songs "Goodnight, Irene", "Midnight Special", "Cotton Fields", became American classics. Lead Belly was celebrated for his songwriting skills, strong vocals, and virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar. He's a Rock-N-Roll Hall...

In this podcast, we pay tribute to the Mutual Broadcasting System. It was the fourth nationwide radio network to be established in the United States, after CBS, NBC, and the NBC Blue Network which later became ABC. Mutual was established in 1934 as a cooperative between WOR New York, WGN Chicago, WLW Cincinnati, and WXYZ in Detroit. The network was retired in 1999 after numerous ownership changes....

Jazz and radio broadcasting were born right around the same time, and stuck together well into the Rock-N-Roll age. The early days of radio will filled with lots of jazz. One of the most celebrated shows was This Is Jazz, hosted by music critic Rudi Blesh. He founded Circle Records in 1946 to record new music by aging early jazz stars. You're going to hear two 1947 episodes of This is Jazz, with g...

Horror and fantasy shows appeared on radio nearly from the very start. The first horror drama during radio's golden age was The Witch's Tale, which was aired from 1931 to 1938. It featured Old Nancy, the Witch of Salem, who introduced a different terror tale each week. You'll hear an episode from 1937. Another early horror program was Lights Out, which started in 1934 and eventually made it to tel...

Marian Anderson was one of the most popular and talented operatic singers in the 20th century. The African-American contralto overcame childhood poverty to sing with major orchestras throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965. In 1923 Anderson was the first black artist to record for RCA Victor. She became the first African-American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. I...

It is often called the Forgotten Conflict. The Korean War was started by North Korea in 1950, assisted by Russia and China. They attacked South Korea backed by the United States and other allies. The fighting stopped 1953. Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, the majority were civilians. The United States suffered 54,248 deaths. We have a report on the war by the CBS Radio news p...

Jack Webb was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sgt. Joe Friday in the TV police series Dragnet. But Webb was also a crusader in the fight for civil rights. After serving in World War Two, Webb worked in radio, and in 1946 had his own comedy show on ABC. That same year he was host of a one-man program called, One Out of Seven on...

Golden age radio was filled with situation comedies, detective shows, and variety programs, but there were also a few legal dramas on the air. Fictional attorney Perry Mason based on the novels of Erle Stanley Gardner, and first appeared on CBS Radio in 1943 as a soap opera before becoming a popular TV show in 1957. We have a Perry Mason series from 1949. Mr District Attorney was a radio drama whi...

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925. He was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist and a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. As spokesman for the Nation of Islam until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for black empowerment. Malcolm was not an advocate of non-violence, especially when blacks were being physically abused, beaten, and killed by racists. He als...

Comic strips first began appearing in newspapers during the late 1800s. In most of the 20th century there were at least 200 different comic strips and cartoon panels appearing in American newspapers every day. Many cartoon characters were adapted for radio, and a few remain popular. Blondie was created in 1930 by cartoonist Chic Young. In 1939 the Blondie Show appeared on radio and lasted until 19...

Before there was National Public Radio, All Things Considered, and Morning Edition, there was NBC Monitor, a weekend-long radio program, broadcast live and nationwide. It was an attempt compete with television which was stealing radio's audience. Monitor featured a mix of news, sports, comedy, variety, music, celebrity interviews and features. Monitor first went on the air June 12th, 1955. You wil...

Just like jazz, country music was on radio from the very start. One of the earliest country music programs to be broadcast was the Grand Ole Opry, which also produced the first African-American country music star. DeFord Bailey was known as a harmonica wizard, and began appearing on radio in 1925. In 1927, Bailey had the first of a series of hit records, beginning with his trademark song, "Pan Ame...