9 July 2011

FREE OLD TIME RADIO SHOWS

Old Time Radios

Old Time Radio (OTR) and the Golden Age of Radio are phrases used to refer to American radio programs mainly broadcast during the 1920s through the late 1950s.

Vintage radio is fondly remembered for fanfares and show openings, running gags, trademark sounds and newsworthy events, such as the headlines after The War of the Worlds was dramatized on Orson Welles' Mercury Theater on the Air. Others recall the creaking-door sound effect on Inner Sanctum Mysteries, the Dragnet theme music, the "Hi-Yo, Silver!" call of the Lone Ranger or the cackle of The Shadow: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows." In the early 1950s, music radio began to replace the many familiar comedy/drama favorites. The end of the era is often marked by the final CBS broadcasts of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar on September 30, 1962.

RADIO'S FORGOTTEN YEARS

Tuning Thru The Great Depression  

  
Mention Old Time Radio, and the sounds that leap to most memories are those of the 1940s and early 1950s -- the "Golden Age."  The OTR hobby in recent years has focused almost exclusively on that era -- to the point where many collectors seem hardly aware of what happened before this "Golden Age." Some may have heard the more popular programs of the late 1930s, but  for many the years before 1935 are a blur.

Too bad, because the Depression era provides a fascinating period for OTR research -- and some fine listening besides -- if you're willing to do some digging. 
 

 DAWN OF A DECADE

As the new decade began, the medium was moving into its adolescence. The experimental years were over,  the networks were off and rolling, and the movement toward making radio a form of Wholesale Entertainment For The Masses was well underway.

The most popular program format of the late twenties was the sponsored musical feature.  It could be a large symphonic group, a dance orchestra, or a song-and-patter team -- and it would usually carry the sponsor's name. The A&P Gypsies, for example -- a large, genre-crossing orchestra conducted by Harry Horlick. The Ipana Troubadours -- a hot dance band directed by Sam Lanin. The Goodrich Zippers -- a banjo-driven orchestra conducted by Harry Reser, when he wasn't leading the same group under the name of The Cliquot Club Eskimos. Everyone remembers The Happiness Boys, Billy Jones and Ernie Hare -- but what about Scrappy Lambert and Billy Hillpot, who performed exactly the same sort of material  as  Trade and Mark, The Smith Brothers. The list is endless:  The Silvertown Cord Orchestra, featuring the Silver Masked Tenor.  The Sylvania Foresters. The Flit Soldiers -- yet another Harry Reser group. The Champion Sparkers. The Fox Fur Trappers.  The Ingram Shavers, who were the Ipana Troubadours on alternate Wednesdays. The Yeast Foamers. The Planters Pickers. And, the magnificently named Freed-Eisemann Orchestradians.  All playing pretty much the same sorts of music, all announced by Phillips Carlin  or John S. Young or Alwyn Bach or Milton Cross in pretty much the same sort of stiffly formal style.

And then came The Vagabond Lover. 
  
  

HEIGH HO, EVERYBODY!

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1950s Vintage Commercial for Sylvania Radio Receivers

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1950's - The Radio in Britain

What we listened to on the Wireless, many had no TV

downthelane.net

"The thing to bare in mind here is that, during the early 50's, very few people actually had Television and it was seen as very much second fiddle to radio.
The early 50's was still experiencing the wartime years left overs, so Radio was often quite jolly and steered toward leaving your troubles behind you.

Some programmes, such as Workers Playtime which began during WW2, were still running from 'A factory somewhere in England'.
A few artistes of that time would turn up at a Factory Canteen and entertain live to the workers.
Singers were accompanied by Piano only and this was inbetween comedians such as Arthur Askey, Tommy Trinder, Charlie Chester and Ted Ray etc. All masters of their craft.

Morning Radio was heavily slanted toward Wives and Mother's (because career women were almost unheard of) with programmes such as 'Housewives Choice', 'Music while you work' and 'Mrs. Dales Diary' (an early Soap)."

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We are happy to be able to offer hundreds of old time radio shows for free download. Once you download these free OTR shows you can then listen to them on your computer or copy them to a cd so you can listen anywhere! We started this website out of a love for classic radio shows from the 30's, 40's and 50's. By offering free OTR downloads we can keep the innocent spirit of the golden age of radio alive in the new millennium! Some of our favorite old time radio shows include The Shadow, Amos & Andy, Fibber McGee & Molly, Sherlock Holmes and so many more! All the old radio shows on this site are in MP3 format so you should have no trouble downloading and listening to them. Once you download them you can even create your own old time radio CD's or even old time radio DVD's. We love to hear from other OTR fans so please send us email and let us know you think of the site, what your favorite old time radio show is, or just to say hi! Thanks for stopping by and Happy Listening! 

Most Requested 

Amateur Radio in the 1950s: Romance and Reality

by Ronald R. Thomas
6415 Chastain Dr. NE
Atlanta, GA 30342 

In the 1950s, amateur radio or "ham radio" seemed almost magical. There was no Internet, long distance telephone calls were expensive, and international air travel was limited. People knew that Hams talked to each other all over the world, which was perceived as glamorous and exciting. They also knew that Hams often provided emergency communications during disasters and had played an important role in military communications during World War II.   Most people were pleased to have a ham radio operator in their neighborhood. They were often even quite willing to allow a ham to run a long wire antenna across their backyard.   During that era, many home radios covered shortwave bands, which enabled people to listen to hams talking to each other. Some listeners decided to become hams themselves so that they could participate in this exciting hobby. Their first step would be to begin studying for a license. Licensing    In the 1950s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled supreme over the airwaves. The agency totally controlled radio broadcasting, commercial radio communications and, of course, amateur radio. Obtaining a ham radio license required passing Morse code receiving and sending tests and a stringent written exam.   Every aspiring radio amateur quickly acquired a copy of the American Relay League (ARRL) publications related to licensing. These included How to Become a Radio Amateur, The Radio Amateur's License Manual, and Learning the Radiotelegraph Code. The prospective applicant worked with these self-study aids and practiced Morse code until he or she felt ready to take the exam at an FCC office.

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Welcome to RadioLovers.com - Where Old Radio Shows Live Again!

Whether you want to discover the best radio shows from the past or remember what the best adventure, crime, pulp, sci-fi, noir and more! There was a time before the iPods, Video on Demand, 3D, the Internet and online video games; back in the day sitting around the living room radio was a family tradition. Every night, families and their neighbors would come together and listen to radio broadcasts of Sherlock Holmes, Groucho Marx, The Avenger, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Superman and more. Radio broadcasts were so much a part of everyday life they could influence mass movements, such as the night Orson Welles told millions about an impending alien invasion... a "War of the Worlds." Re-live those times with the largest online archive of vintage radio shows, available to you for FREE!

To listen/download:

Browse around our categories list and find the vintage radio show/episode you want to listen to. On the link, right-click and select "Save As" on the menu and your mp3 download will begin shortly. From there, listen to it from your iTunes, Windows Media Player or any other media program. You can also upload the shows to your iPod, iPhone, Nexus One, Zune, BlackBerry, or any other mp3 player device.

Click Here For a complete List of Shows We Offer.

Turn a 1950s wireless into a portable ipod speaker

by sladek

i

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Listen in its entirity, Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House Radio Program HERE ON APRON TV-->

Our Free and Friendly Download Section

To Listen; simply click on any of the the following links and enjoy!

To download; simply right click on any link below and then select "save target".

Andy Griffith "The Cow"

Abbott and Costello "Who's On First?"

Mel Blanc's Fixit Shop "Chinese Philosopher"

George Burns and Gracie Allen

The Aldrich Family "Waste Paper Drive"

The Alan Young Show "The Dog"

The Amos 'n Andy Show "TV Set Raffel"

Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Doris Day

The Archie Andrews Show "Haloween Party"

Blondie and Dagwood "Three Week Vacation"

The Adventures of Masie Starring Ann Southern

A Date With Judy

Baby Snooks "Magic"

Bergen and McCarthy with Marilyn Monroe

Bob and Ray Show "One Fella's Family"

The Beulah Show "Cutting Onions"

Beyond Our Ken "The Miracle Worker"

Bringing Up Father

Danny Kaye Show "Singing in the Bath"

Bob Hope Show with Dorothy Lamour and Peggy Lee

1Breakfast in Hollywood with Tom Brenneman

Calvin and the Colonel "Thaksgiving"

Gasoline Alley "Defective Detective"

Sad Sack Returns from the Army

Moon Mullins "Costume Party"

THANKS TO Radio-comdey.com

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The Shadow: Knight of Darkness (Classic Radio Suspense) By Original Radio Broadcasts

Radio Spirits is very pleased to present radio's greatest crime fighter, The Shadow, in this new collection of eighteen digitally restored and remastered episodes selected from the classic series. Featuring Orson Welles, William Johnstone and Bret Morrison each in the title role, this set also includes the first release of two newly discovered and previously lost episodes starring Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston and The Shadow --The Old People and The Voice of the Trumpet.

Also starring in this collection are Agnes Moorehead, Marjorie Andersen and Grace Matthews as The Shadow's lovely companion Margot Lane, and a supporting cast including Kenny Delmar, Alan Reed, Everett Sloane and more!

This item is around $25 and can be PURCHASED HERE-->