Birthday is coming

AFRTS will be having it's 70th birthday next year.  I'm finishing up a little documentary to tell the story.  I'd be very interested in getting a birthday greeting from you.  A computer file would be great, but if you can't do that you can leave a voicemail at 612-356-AFRS (612)356-2377 and I'll get it transferred.  If you enjoy this website, you were a part of the story.  Please share it.  612-356-AFRS (612)356-2377, operators are standing by!

Jim Ameche 1965

Jim Ameche (Don's brother) had the worlds most beautiful sounds around.  We always had orchestral music.  After Jim was John Doremus and later Pete Smith.  Jim was probably the first syndicator to make money with DJ shows.  He brought that experience to us all over the world for many years.

Jim Ameche 1965

Christmas Is Coming

The music is starting on the radios...  This is a Christmas eve 1963 visit with Ira Cook.

Ira Cook - 1963 Christmas show

Gary Owens 1969

A couple of weeks ago I found some G.O. airchecks and was pretty excited about that.  Todays total surprise was a Gary Owens transcription disk from 1969.  A little worse for wear, like we all are but here's some dreaded radio.

AFRTS Gary Owens 1969

Charlie Tuna 1985

In 1985 we stayed Tuna'd with Charlie

Charlie Tuna 1985

If you're a programmer, Charlie has a wonderful syndicated show through BlackCard radio.  If you're a listener call your local station and ask for it.

http://blackcardradio.com

19 Years of Hit Music 1967

Things were getting kinda psychedelic.  Motown made some of their best music.  Sergeant Pepper was on his way to AFVN.  Detroit made automotive legends. It was 1967.

19 Years of Hit Music -1967

Spotlight Bands

Mostly, I try to stay away from CONUS network radio shows.  Spotlite Bands is a little different.  During WWII Coca-Cola sponsored the top bands in America playing at military bases in the US and to be recorded for AFRS.  Here's Charlie Barnet, playing at Lovell General Hospital, Ft Devens MA

Spotlight Bands - Charlie Barnet October 1945

Jim Pewter 1980

Time to check in at the Candy Store.  Jim checks if rock is here to stay.  I've said it before but Jim Pewter was another AFKN vet.

Play it loud!

Jim Pewter 1980

AFN Nightside 1974 with Craig Miller

Nightside was a little bit of everything.  Craig Miller was a part of it.  Definately good radio.

AFN - Nightside 1974

Thanksgiving

Last year was the first appearance of the 1944 AFRS Thanksgiving show.

1944 Thanksgiving show

I've got a lot to be thankful for.  I hope that you have a wonderful holiday.

What AFRTS meant to me

Blogwatcher Mary sends along her impressions of AFRTS:

AFRTS meant a lot to me and my husband when we were stationed in Germany, Korea, and England. It was a voice of home when we were far away, helping us to keep in touch with America. It was also very entertaining. I liked Larry Rideout and the Dufflebag Show in Frankfurt, Germany. We went to church with him. Especially in a country where you don't speak the language, AFRTS was a lifeline back to America. What impressed me the most was the variety. AFRTS was aimed at all the G.I.s and their families and the civilians that were also stationed overseas. They managed to have something for everybody. A favorite while we were in England was "the Energy Rap," this G.I. who admonished us to save energy. I also loved seeing G.I.'s in uniform read the news. Thanks!

19 Years Of Hit Music - 1966 Clark AB 2011

Jerry Lewine is vacationing through Asia.  He went looking for Clark Air Base.

Hi Thom,

It took a lot of scouring around what used to be Clark Air Base to find where AFPN was. Unfortunately there is nothing left at all. According to what I was able to find out, all the buildings were destroyed by the eruption on Mt Pinatubo and when the ash was cleared, so were the remains of the AM/FM/TV station. There is even a building on top of where the tower used to be. Attached is a shot I took the other day of what is on the site now. So much for my trip down memory lane…

Jerry

But in 1974, AFPN was celebrating 19 Years of Hit Music.  We're up to 1966

19 Years Of Hit Music - 1966

Happy Birthday AFRTS

Next year the network turns 70 years old.  Can you believe it?  I'm putting together an audio tribute to the network and I'd really appreciate your help.  Could you please cut a drop with what AFRTS meant to you?  It doesn't have to be anything tricky, you don't have to be 'talent'.  Board operators, supply clerks, 71Limas.  Civilians in the host countries.  Several have already sent theirs in.  Thank you.  Just something along the lines of:

Hi I'm Thom Whetston, I was on AFRTS radio twice, in Korea in the 70s and Panama in the 80s.  Happy birthday AFRTS. 

Feel free to add to it.  The more of us that participate, the better it'll be.  Questions?  just click here.

AFKN video production 1977

Thanks Linda!  High tech is us.

Roger Carroll 1977

"The Air Force, a great way of life".  Roger will have another go at it.  This time from 1977.  I was in Korea and it was the Best Sounds in Town.

Roger Carroll 1977

AFKN people 1977 from Linda

Kirk Dorn

Kirk Dorn, Milk and cookies.  Milk and cookies? In Korea?

Paul Hartledge

unknown

Command Performance 1946

Command Performance was the BIG variety show that went into production almost at the birth of the network.

(from radiogoldindex)  March 14, 1946. Program #215. AFRS origination. June's first tune is, "Give Me The Simple Life." Larry Storch imitates Frank Morgan (without receiving credit). He then imitates Ed Gardner, Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre. Desi Arnaz sings, "Cuban Pete" and an extended arrangement of, "Ba-Balu." Red Skelton appears in, "Never Again" as "Junior, The Mean Widdle Kid." Verna Felton blows a line and stops the show. The recording date above is subject to correction. June Haver (m. c.), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Larry Storch, Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra, Red Skelton, Pat McGeehan, Verna Felton.

Command Performance

Jack Brown 15 Nov. 1923 - 19 Oct. 2011

October 2011,  we lost former director of AFRTS programming Jack Brown. 

Jack Brown
 

Awarded US Secretary of Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

Professor Radio, TV, Film CSUN.

General Manager KCSN - Retired

Actor, Television, Radio and Motion Pictures

Former president and charter member, Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters. Former owner of the Don Martin School of Broadcasting.  Jack was a Ham radio operator and former Volunteer at Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. He was also a volunteer reader at his church, St. Mary the Virgin, Chatsworth.

Jack Brown Obituary

In the early 1960s, Jack was the host of "Rocketing Rhythms", the countdown show.

Rocketing Rhythms

AFVN "Double Jeopardy"

AFN vet  Rich Halten is still building entertainment:

"You might recall I mentioned a radio piece I did about the attack on AFVN Hue while it was under construction. It was during the Tet Offensive in 1968, and the radio station wasn't on the air yet but a bare bones TV station was.

AFVN Hue after Tet 1968

http://www.soundrich.com/

It's the first post, titled "Double Jeopardy." While the piece isn't really about AFVN, it profiles two guys (one a D.J., the other an engineer) who took very different paths while fleeing the station when it was under attack. "Double Jeopardy" debuted last Friday on KCRW in L.A.'s "Unfictional" program."

http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/uf/uf111104war_and_the_warriors

So what do you think?

Veterans Day 2011

Thank you for serving.

FEN automation and Tokyo calling 1965

Awhile back Monte Jones had some informaton about the automation system at FEN in the late 60s.  I thought something capable of segueing the ETs and putting the news on the air was very high tech for the times.  Norm Medland was there before Monte and he had some information:

Henry Yaskell was way ahead of his time from the automation system to tropo scatter to distribute the net up the line to Misawa and other places; Kuma Station and Wakkanai in the far north of Japan. In addition to the voice network to our outlying stations, we also had a teletype network and a fulltime employee to type and send printed newscasts to all the stations. Yes, they could have had all news prerecorded on tape and I believe Henry wanted that but it pushed immediacy back by at least an hour and the programmers would not allow it.


Automation basic brain may have been a Harris-made unit, but not sure. Henry had at least four turntables connected along with a bank of ampex tape recorders and several cart machines. It used a room about 20x20 and had one fulltime GI and a Japanese engineer plus probably a GI engineer. Time hacks were automated and the unit could switch between functions and the news booth and production studios. A lot of local production done on tape like “Tokyo Calling.”

It took a lot of tending and no one but Henry thought it saved any manpower. Still, it was ingenious and way ahead of most broadcast stations. I worked at a station in Sacramento after I retired that was automated with a Harris-90 with just a bank of tape playback units and two production studios. Very simple by comparison.

FEN even had on loan from Sony an early portable tape unit that rode around on a cart much like a current day audio visual cart with a few shelves. Not very portable and weighed a couple of hundred pounds. This never worked properly and wasn’t used in the field that I know about. Our audio equipment was the best you could buy, and programming concentration was totally audio. I think we had a least six Nagra tape recorders. We were just a radio station, (no TV at all), and the network feed, but we were very good. Great talent in house. Unfortunately many of them are now deceased. I am certain we would have made money in any market in the United States.

I was just a buck sergeant and staff sergeant as I left, but had worked radio in Denver, San Diego, and small Iowa stations before arriving there. I wasn’t bad, but others there made me look like an amateur.

From January 1965, here's Burr Hoyle:

FEN Tokyo Calling 01-10-65

FEN FM automation c 1983 (Photo: Jon Yim)

Date With Chris

Chris Noel was the heartthrob of the 1960s military radio.  Hear why...

Date With Chris Summer 1968

Wolfman Jack 1983

Ready to howl?  These came in with a bunch of wonderful disks from when I was at SCN.  Ah, the memories.

Let's howl with Wolfman Jack

Wolfman Jack 1983

19 Years Of Hit Music - 1965

Our Countdown of the greatest hits of all time continues.  To close out 1973, AFPN at Clark AB did a countdown show 1955-1973.  It was good and picked up by the network.

AFPN - 19 Years Of Hit Music 1965

Frank Bresee and the Golden Age of Radio

Frank Bresee recorded the last network show under the old system.  GDOR was a celebration of all things radio in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.  Earlier this year, Mr Bresee had a stroke and has been valiently going through rehab.  You're in our prayers.

Golden Days Of Radio - 1980

Blue Danube Network

Something new in the collecction, a QSL card from BDN.  US Forces left Austria in 1955

Welcome newbies

This page has been around for few years.  I really hope that you enjoy it.  I value your stories and we're all interested.  Did you save any airchecks/pictures/disks/memories?  Please share.  Do you have any requests?  Let me know and I'll see what I can do.  There is a mailing list.  Every week or two I send an email with what's been added to the site.  Right now there are several hundred on that list.  If there's someone you're looking for I may be able to let them know.  I never give out addresses but I would forward an email.

If you enjoy it here, please tell a friend.

Click here to contact Thom

Thank you Roger Carroll

Roger sent in the most amazing thing, an 1955 excerpt of his show.  Roger gives hit music reports from jocks all over the country.  Scott Muni (later a huge NY star) sent a report on what's happening in New Orleans.  He said "that  was part of a show I did when I was on active duty. I spotlighted DJ's around the country and the top songs in their market. At the time I was an ABC staff announcer and didn't  play records".

Roger Carroll 1955

19 Years Of Hit Music 1964

19 Years Of Hit Music - 1964

AFVN Pat Sajak 1968

Patrick Leonard Sajdak

Pat Sajak was one of the bigger stars that went through the network.  Pat won a contest to be a disk jockey on the WLS Dick Biondi show, after that news at WEDC.  Then the army beckoned.  After a few months as a finance clerk, he was the morning star at AFVN.  By the early 1970s he was jocking at flamethrower WSM Nashville and bigger and brighter things.

AFVN Pat Sajak 1968