Old-time radio was great.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 (WEDNESDAY) – The days of old-time radio have come and gone. Never again will we be able to hear those old radio broadcasts for the first time. It was great.
I was not born soon enough to experience the earliest models, but they were designed to pick up radio signals, and the appearance of the sets was of little concern. The radios had several heavy batteries for the various voltages required, and several dials on the front for tuning. It was not easy to tune. These early sets gave way to beautiful consoles that adorned the living rooms across the nation in the 1930’s and most of the 1940’s, before television became popular.
The cabinetry of the old console models was something to behold. Made of fine quality wood, finished perfectly, the cabinets housed many heavy components. Most had huge, high quality (even by today’s standards) speakers. Like many children, I parked myself right in front of the big set. All of us in the family gathered around the radio, and many times we were actually looking at it, even though there was nothing to see.
The daytime programs appealed mainly to mothers as they went about their household chores. I remember my mother liked “Kate Smith” in the morning, and my grandmother had a love affair with soap operas in the early afternoon: “Stella Dallas,” “The Guiding Light,” and other programs with daily episodes captured attention. Before they came on, shortly before and just after noon came the music programs, “The Light Crust Doughboys” and “The Chuckwagon Gang,” as well as others.
After supper, we listened to the evening programs. Comedians like Bob Hope, Fred Allen, and Jack Benny were popular. Humorous situation comedies like “Fibber McGee and Molly” were immensely popular. Cecil B. DeMille hosted “Lux Presents Hollywood” for one hour on Wednesday evening, when movies were turned into one-hour plays with well-known actors. Eddie Cantor’s variety show was one that no one wanted to miss. “Mister District Attorney” solved crimes one night per week. An assortment of various types of programs were presented each evening.
On Saturday nights, WSM Nashville powered up and “The Grand Ole Opry” could be heard all over the nation, sometimes loud and clear and sometimes faded out completely. The regular networks presented “National Barn Dance,” and other such programs.
After-school programs were for kids, and they were serials like “Lone Ranger,” “Green Hornet,” “Captain Midnight,” and “Jack Armstrong, the all-American boy.” All of those programs had breakfast cereals as sponsors. Saturday morning programs were also for kids.
A popular gospel song was based on all this. Its title is, “Turn Your Radio On.” The hymn urges us to tune in to God and listen to what He says. So, even though the old-time radio programs are gone, we can still turn on our spiritual radio and listen to the Lord, twenty-four hours per day.
Oh, the song doesn’t mention it, but it’s a two-way radio: you can talk with Him, too.
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Read the words and listen to, “Turn Your Radio On” n/a
Statler Brothers sing “Turn..” (must download player) n/a