Audio Antiques

Get ready for Jubilee, a radio program that featured African American musicians and singers. This 1942 episode is hosted by actor, singer and musician Dooley Wilson who is best remembered for his performance in the classic film Casablanca. Wilson's guests are legendary singer and actress Lena Horne, the Golden Gate Quartet, and boxing great Joe Louis who was in in the Armed forces at the time.  ht...

From 1945, an installment from the classic radio show New World A Coming. This episode is called the Negro Reporter, staring Canada Lee. It's an examination of early African-American journalism.  More in at http://krobcollection.com

During radio's classic era race, and ethnicity were rarely talked about or featured on the air, but there were a few exceptions. One was The Eternal Light. An NBC Radio show that began in 1944, and ran for 45 years. It was produced in conjunction with the Jewish Theological Seminary, and featured dramas, and commentary from the perspective of Judaism. The Eternal Light won numerous awards, and som...

Before there was Sidney Poitier and Harry Bellafonte, there was Canada Lee...who along with Paul Robeson was among the very few black actors to scratch out a dignified living in Hollywood movies during the 1930s and 40s. Lee was born in New York City on March 3rd, 1907.  He studied music as a child, but at age 19 Lee became a professional boxer. Even though he was rich and successful, Lee quit box...

The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. The Sweethearts were formed at Piney Woods Country Life School in Mississippi in 1938, to help raise funds for the facility which served poor, orphaned, and African American children. By 1941, the band was so successful they hit the road, playing swing and jazz across the nation including New Yo...

The life and times of John Fitzgerald Kennedy have been the subject of many history books. The public got to see him up close and personal after Senator Kennedy announced his campaign for president in 1960. The Democrat appeared on Meet The Press, which aired on NBC radio and television. We have two of his appearances, the first on January 3rd, 1960, and on October 16th, 1960 just a few weeks befo...

Ghetto is a word that dates back to 1516. It's an Italian word that was used describe part of a city where Jewish people were restricted to live. Since the 20th century ghetto is used in the United States to describe impoverished African-Americans are segregated away from the general population. You're going to hear about the history of the American ghetto from the classic radio show, New World A...

In April 1947, modern day baseball changed forever. That's when Jackie Robinson played his first major league game as a Brooklyn Dodger. After that day, there were a string of African-American firsts in baseball.  Four months later, Dan Bankhead of the Dodgers became the first black pitcher to play in a major league game. In 1948, Roy Campanella became the first black catcher. Larry Doby of th...

The Golden Gate Quartet is an African-American vocal group, that was founded in 1934 by four students at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia. Willie Johnson, William Langford, Henry Owens, and Orlandus Wilson started singing gospel and folks songs in churches and then at radio stations.  In 1937 the foursome signed their first recording  contract. They performed at Carnegie Hall,...

They were the first presidential debates since 1960. President Gerald Ford, and Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter were in a close race for the White House, and squared off in series of three debates just weeks before the 1976 election. It was the first presidential debate in 16 years, and was only the 3rd U.S. Presidential debate held between the final two contenders. You'll hear coverage of the secon...

It's one of only a few classic radio shows by African-Americas. 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 a 1950 episode about the creation of the National Urban League, the nonpartisan hi...

The Golden Age of radio began just after World War One. Recordings of broadcasts from that era are extremely rare, and so were appearances by celebrities. However, President Calvin Coolidge made a speech on NBC in 1928, reminiscing about the end of his administration. In this podcast you will hear other sounds from the dawn of radio's classic era. We'll begin with one of the first soap operas. The...

During radio's classic age, few women had starring roles on dramatic programs outside of soap operas. One such woman was Mercedes McCambridge, who Orson Welles called the world's greatest living radio actress. She starred in the early 1950s crime show Defense Attorney, also known at The Defense Rests. McCambridge was so convincing that she receiving an honorary membership in the Los Angeles Women'...

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...