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.


Friday, November 27, 2015

Silhouette - 1969


Sunday mornings AFRTS ran chapel shows.  Silhouette was contemporary music and stories.  Jerry saved this one.  He was in Thailand and AFTN ran this one was focused on the Vietnam war.  It's a powerful show.







Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Roger Carroll - 1979

Roger and Beverly Carroll

Roger's back!  It's a Friday in 1979 and time for the best sounds in town, with the happy hour!  Thank you Roger for sharing these.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Dan Daniel - WMCA - 1969

Dan Daniel

In 1969 the Coca Cola Company and AFRTS somehow arranged for a series of albums to be recorded to be distributed to the troops.  I can't find documentation of the project. Some of the top jocks in the country recorded them. These are hard to find.  Dan Daniel was a mid 1950s AFRTS vet in the Navy.  Last week Neil found this one.  Enjoy!



Thursday, November 19, 2015

Chris Noel - 1969


Chris did so much for us, The Date With Chris show, toured all over the world, particularly in the hotspots and has been one of the most outspoken advocates ever. Today Chris has a homeless shelter for veterans.  Take a look Click here Please do what you can.  Here's how it sounded in 1969.



Sunday, November 15, 2015

Roger Carroll - 1980




In 1980, singer Leslie Gore popped to the Happy Hour with Roger Carroll.  She talked about her career, Brother Michael had just done "Fame", Roger gets us some neat stories.  We lost Leslie back in February.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Benny Brown - AFN

Benny Brown went from AFN to great career in European radio, including Radio Luxembourg blasting all over Europe. In February we heard a different part of this broadcast. Benny Skype'd be to talk about AFN and Radio Lux.  He explained that the breaks sound sloppy in this because of he was feeding the rest of the network.




Welcome back Benny, thanks for great radio!


Sunday, November 8, 2015

Roger Carroll - 1972


In all of the stations we had promo photos of the AFRTS-LA talent.  Roger really didn't like his.  It wasn't a bad photo, but a very 1970s haircut.  Here's something we can all agree on from 1972:






One Night Stand - 1959


The great big bands continued touring well into the 1970s.  In the 1940s, 50s and 60s AFRTS aired remote broadcasts of the best on One Night Stand.  On this night in 1955 it was the music of Charlie Barnet from the Hollywood Palladium



Thursday, November 5, 2015

Chris Noel - 1967


Chris did one of the most popular shows ever.  A pretty girl, great music and caring.  She brought "home" everywhere.



Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Most Popular

file AFRTS Roger Carroll 2539F 9-8.mp351
file AFRTS Date With Chris 194TH 8-8.mp349
file USAF Wolfman Jack s32 Apr74 4.mp346
file AFRTS Date With Chris 500 a 18-9.mp338
file AFRTS Jim Pewter 205 680203.mp337

Those are the top five for this week... 10/25/2015

Stay in Touch!

To get all of the updates, join the facebook group "afrtsarchive.blogspot.com" or connect with Thomas Whetston on linkedin.  Get on the email mailing list at afrts@live.com
 
 

 

Monday, October 19, 2015

Chris Noel - 1969

Chris Noel in Pleiku 1968

Chris really stepped to the plate, did a wonderful show and went to the troops.  Today she still supports the troops in need with her homeless shelter for veterans. Vetsville



Saturday, October 17, 2015

Inner Sanctum - 1949



This disk was played may times on our stations in Canada.  A great mystery program never really ages.  We still ran them in the 1970s and 80s.  This program was originally broadcast in 1949 and rebroadcast on AFRTS may times.

"The Unburied Dead". A good story about a woman who first finds out that she's not who she thinks she is, then, that she's been dead for six years, and finally, that she's wanted for murder! 

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Roger Carroll - 1978


Today it is Roger, with the Happy Hour and memories of 1978.
 
"Thom there was a young attractive production lady who worked on a TV show I announced her boy friend was an artist at Disney . They both listened to me on KMPC It was a birthday gift I can not remember what show it was or her name .I now walk a little slower , memory is not what it used be also repeat things Dad get a hearing aid (you want something at Rite Aid ) BUT I sure do remember she was very attractive I think many of the attractive production ladies maybe were hand picked may be some of those ladies are on FB they would be old today the ones I worked with."
 
And it has a place of honor at Roger's
 
 
Thank you once again RC!
 



Monday, October 12, 2015

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

WBG - Fort Bliss

Part of our history that seems to be gone was the stations in the United States.  A lot of posts had radio,  Seemingly supported by AFRS.  In El Paso, presumably Fort Bliss was WBG.  Many of the big country acts performed there.

Peter Birch was a dancer, choreographer and musician who most famously directed Captain Kangaroo for 25 years.  In January 1949 he performed at WBG.







Saturday, October 3, 2015

Friday, October 2, 2015

Roger Carroll - 1977


Roger Carroll with a Monday show, transfer is a little rough but the music's great and so are the memories.  Thanks Roger!!!



AFN Derrick in the Morning

Derrick has checked in.  Welcome!

I was very happy to find your site and the page where you featured my Zfm show. I was the morning show guy from 1994 - 1995 at AFN HQ.

On one occasion I helped SRA Angie Pianga re-launch Spagndahlem's radio station which had been dormant for decades. I was there with a fan dressed as a chicken to do the inaugural show. A few years earlier Angie and I were radio broadcasters at AFKN in Seoul, Korea.






Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Chris Noel - 1967


In 1967, the biggest show was "A Date With Chris".  Chris Noel brought a helping of home every day.  She still does way more than her share with her veterans shelter in Florida.  Please do what you can to help.  Click here.


Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Kate Smith - 1944


In WWII AFRS did a series of shows called "Personal Album", these were 15 minutes of minutes with a popular star, usually with the star talking about their music and lives.  Today a visit with Kate Smith and Ted Collins.



Saturday, September 26, 2015

Enchantment of Music 1964


There was a lot of orchestral music over the years, perfect to the dinner hour.  "The Enchantment of Music".  Bruce Wendell hosted from KCBH in Beverly Hills, showing high fidelity sound.



Friday, September 25, 2015

Fall cleaning?

If you have a bunch of AFRTS disks in storage somewhere, we'd really love the chance to be able to share them with others.  Many times those memories just end up packed away.  I could tell you stories... If you'd like to share them with folks just like us who'd appreciate it, contact me. afrts@live.com or let me know on the "Hit Line"612-356-2377.  Thanks!





Sunday, September 20, 2015

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Roger Carroll - 1970


Roger Carroll has another hour of the Happy Hour, this time from 1970.  Roger shared all of the shows he saved with us and that was a great thing.  Thanks RC!