Wednesday, December 30, 2015

End of the year

We need your help at the end of the year.  Your memories, the things you saved make this into the special place it is and I thank you.
 
You can help right now by putting a few bucks in the kitty.  Over the year it helps with getting recordings, hardware and the internet things to make it happen to make it available here.  The easiest way is the PayPal link on the left.  That link isn't there if you're using a mobile device, click "donate" to help.






Your help makes this a nicer place. Thank you.
 
If you don't like PayPal, just drop me a note and I'll send the street address.  It's not a secret just best to not post it on the internet. email Thom, click here
 
Thank you for visiting.  Be sure to tell a friend!


Happy New Year!

Thom

Friday, December 25, 2015

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Boston Pops - 1957


Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops and AFRTS had a long relationship.  From WWII well into the 1970s they shared the same stage.  Here's a 1957 visit, with works of Ferde Groffe.





Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Command Performance - Christmas 1942


So AFRS did run on US radio.  As a special treat, the Christmas 1942 show ran on all of the US networks.  Merry Christmas to you and yours.



Saturday, December 19, 2015

Friday, December 18, 2015

Chris Noel - Christmas 1969




She worked hard.  Chris would have had a lot of frequent flier miles.  She brought home to troops all over the world.  It made the world a better place.  Now Chris is a prolific writer.  She just completed a new book about the making of "Beach Ball", you should read this.  Click here


Here's a Christmas 1969 visit.



Jimmy Wakely - Christmas 1968


Jimmy Wakely wishes you a very Merry Christmas 1968.





Monday, December 14, 2015

Spectrum USA - 1971


Dick Stark is back with the music of Millard Fillmore.  Not really, but in 1971 he did a great series of shows for Marine Reserve Recruiting.  Soft music and great stories, Spectrum USA.



Saturday, December 12, 2015

Stay in touch!

One of the best ways to stay in touch is to "like" the blog facebook page.


There's also a periodic email list, rarely more than once a week.  Drop me a note to be added.

 
 
 

Roger Carroll - 1972

There must be a story on this...

Roger has the first half of a Happy Hour from 1972.  He has found even more shows and it's going to be great listening.  I know what I want for Christmas!



Thursday, December 10, 2015

Jack Spector - WMCA - 1969


Back to the Coke shows!  No one seems to know what the story is on these.  In 1969 AFRTS had some sort of arrangement with some of the great jocks in the states and shows were pressed.  These disks did not have AFRTS labels, most had commercials.  Coke paid the have the albums distributed.  WMCA NY seems to have been represented the best.  Here's a visit with Jack Spector.  Jack mentions the Coke funding.


Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Martin Block - Christmas 1954



Christmas time is coming, Martin Block did his show for AFRTS-NY (Hi Jim!). Christmas was a special time in the Make Believe Ballroom...


Sunday, December 6, 2015

Hold High The Torch - 2nd Marine Division - 1947


In the late 1940s AFRS did many shows to explain the mission.  A lot of why and how.  Glenn Ford had spent WWII as a Marine.  He stars in this production highlighting the Marines in Tarawa. Take a listen.
 
 

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

AFVN Billy Williams - 1972


“Here's part one, Thom. I started in Vietnam as a Signal Corps bench technician at AVEL Central (Avionics/Aviation Electronics) in 1971. While on the bench repairing helicopter radios at AVEL, most of us also had a radio tuned to AFVN 540 KHz in Saigon. 10 hour shifts--sometimes days and sometimes nights if the backlog justified double shifts. I heard a "cattle call" on AFVN 540 one day. A few weeks later, I arrived at AFVN Saigon and trained on the "backboard" in AFVN television master control for a week or two. Then up country to Qui Nhon AFVN on Vung Chua Mountain to run the TV station mounted in a van. Qui Nhon detachment closed after Tet 1972 when Vung Chua Mtn signal site (where AFVN was co-located) came close to being overrun. Then on to Da Nang AFVN on Monkey Mountain to work TV master control. Also did TV news/sports there and the C&W afternoon show--they must have been very short-handed. When Capt. Webb went to Saigon, I filled in on DDB. Then he came back as Army Spec. Brett Webb and DEROSed not long after. They were daring me to send out "One Monkey" to a General at the bottom of the hill--but no thanks. A few weeks later...on to Saigon. Did Nightbeat and then Orient Express overnight show until returning to U.S. in late Sept. 1972. More on the historical web site that I maintain for the local Amateur "ham" Radio group.