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, writer, and co-creator of the Negro National Anthem. The 1949 story of the legendary educator Booker T. Washington, president of the Tuskegee Institute. And the 1949 story of Mary Church Terrell, one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. Terrell was a talented journalist and charter member of the NAACP.
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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. Then you will hear how writers put these kinds of stories together.
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The Ink Spots were an American vocal jazz group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. The Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame inductees paved the way for rhythm and blues and dew-wop. The Ink Spots began performing in the Indianapolis area around 1931, appearing on radio station WLW in Cincinnati. By 1934 they made it to the Apollo Theater in New York, and started touring in England. In 1936, the Ink Spots were the first African Americans to appear on television, when the medium was in the experimental stage of development. By 1938 they had their own nationwide radio show. In 1939 they recorded a ballad called, "If I Didn't Care", was a smash hit, selling over 19 million copies. Hoppy Jones, Deek Watson, Charlie Fuqua, and Bill Kenny went on to appear in movies, and made many guest appearances on variety shows during the golden age of TV, between 1948 and 1952. You will hear The Ink Spots 1938 radio show, plus an appearance on the Jack Benny radio program in 1948.
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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 brief transition to ABC-TV. We have Mystery Playhouse from 1945, and the CBC Radio Mystery Theater which was written, adapted, produced and broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1966 to 1968.
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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 of Fame inductee. Lead Belly was born in 1888, and faced many hardships as a young African-American growing up in the Jim Crow South, serving several prison sentences for murder, attempted homicide, and assault. But Lead Belly spent his time behind bars, performing concerts for his fellow inmates and perfecting his craft. Once he got out for good, Lead Belly was given a radio show, and signed a contract with RCA Victor, one of the biggest record companies at the time. You will hear 3 episodes of the Leadbelly Show on New York Radio Station WNYC in 1940, one with special guest, legendary folk singer Woodie Guthrie. You'll also hear Lead Belly perform on the show, This Is Jazz in 1947, just 2 years before his death.
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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. During radio's golden age Mutual was was best known as the home of The Lone Ranger, Superman, and The Shadow, as well as Major League Baseball, the NFL, and college football. Because it didn't have a big budget like it's rivals, Mutual usually avoided airing expensive variety shows, and concentrated on crime, drama, game, music, news and talk programs. For example, you're going to hear, Nick Carter Master Detective from 1945. From 1946 the popular situation comedy Vic & Sade, plus Sherlock Homes starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. From 1947, the game show What Am I Offered, and the Barbara Welles Show with guest James Stewart. Finally, The Saint starring Vincent Price from 1949.
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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 the Cleveland Indians became the first Black player to hit a home run in a World Series. In 1949, there were three African-Americans playing in the World Series when just 3 years earlier Blacks were still excluded from Major League Baseball. All three were playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and pitcher Don Newcombe. Robinson and Campanella would become Hall of Famers, and Newcombe would win both the Cy Young and National League Most Valuable Player awards during the same season. You'll hear all three playing in Game 4 of the 1949 World Series against the Yankees. Newcombe took the mound with only 2 days rest, from striking out 11 Yankees in Game One, but the Yankees won 1-to-nothing and would go on to take the series.
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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 York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Europe. In addition to black women, members of the band included Latina, Asian, Caucasian, Indian and Puerto Rican females, making touring the Jim Crow South very difficult. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the era. They made radio and movie appearances, but despite their success, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm disbanded in 1949, as members left to start their families, as big bands started to decline in popularity. You will hear two radio appearances by the Sweethearts on the show Jubilee in 1944, and 1945.
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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 boxing 1933 after losing sight in his right eye. Lee then formed a dance band, took up acting, and began performing in live theater productions. Canada Lee made his film debut in Keep Punching, a 1939 movie about boxing. In 1944 he appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Lifeboat. In 1947, he appeared as Ben Chaplin in the boxing film noir, Body and Soul starring John Garfield.
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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 before the general election, when he beat Republican rival Richard Nixon to win the White House. After taking office, President Kennedy appointed his brother Robert as U.S. Attorney General, who appeared on Meet the Press September 9th, 1961 to provide the administration's progress report. Both men would die from the bullets of assassins before the end of the decade.
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, and nite clubs in New York City causing their popularity to grow. In 1940 they had a nationally syndicated radio show. In 1941, the Golden Gate Quartet became the first black musical group to sing at Constitution Hall, and performed several times at the White House. The Quartet was inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. You're going to here 5 episodes from their national radio show which aired in 1940 and 1941.
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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 second Ford-Carter debate by the Mutual radio network. It was held on October 6, 1976 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The candidates will touch on some subjects that are relevant even today, and others that have been lost to history.
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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 Comin'. There are two episodes from 1944 hosted by African-American stage and screen actor Canada Lee.
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There were a lot of singers and comedians on the air during radio's classic era. Not only that, but you had singers who told jokes, and comedians who tried to sing. For example, there's Frank Sinatra, you'll hear the singing and acting superstar on his CBS radio show in 1945, getting sighs and laughs. Comedian Jimmy Durante started on radio in the early 1920s, and had a movie career, but he would sing and play piano on his NBC radio show, you'll hear an episode from 1948. Phil Harris was a popular musician, songwriter and comedian, who teamed up with his songstress wife Alice Faye to do a radio sitcom, the Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show. We have a 1949 episode where Phil tries to break into television.
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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 guest star Blue Lu Barker, one of the biggest blues vocalists in the 1930s and 40s. Making an appearance on the show is jazz fan and pioneering actor Canada Lee. The second episode features the great Sidney Bechet, one of the first important soloists in jazz. Bechet started performing in 1911, but was not fully appreciated until the 1940s.
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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 television. We have an episode from 1939, as well as popular series Inner Sanctum and the Sealed Book both from 1945. Our horror fest ends with the show Quiet Please from 1947, a program that was unique because most episodes featured no more than two or three actors.
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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. In addition, Anderson worked as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. She participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and was awarded the first Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963. Anderson also received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1977, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the National Medal of Arts in 1986, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. You will hear Marion Anderson perform on the Magic Key of RCA radio show on NBC in 1936. Her legendary 1939 performance before an integrated audience of 75,000 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. that racists tried to block. Then finally a 1959 interview with Jeanne Hamm on WWVA Radio.
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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 program Hear It Now, from the week of December 29th, 1950. This was one of the first news programs to use tape-recorded audio to capture the sound of newsmakers and major events. Then from 1953, we have one of the few Korean War radio dramas from a show called Proudly We Hail about the mission to capture a Russian fighter jet.
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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 ABC's KGO Radio in San Francisco. Jack Webb would dramatized a news story from the previous week, performing in as many as seven voices. As you will hear, Webb used his voices to attack racial prejudice.
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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 which aired from 1939 to 1952. The series focused on a crusading county prosecutor. You'll hear an episode from 1942. And finally, there was a unique NBC show in 1954 called Case Dismissed. It focused on how fragile liberty and justice can be, and the battle to preserve our legal rights. In it, we'll learn a lesson about the responsibility of eye witnesses.