Thursday, December 31, 2020
AFKN New Year 1970
Happy New Year 1946!
Happy 1946! In 1945 the network assembled the top bands in the country to celebrate the win:
New Year's Dancing Party. December 31, 1945. AFRS origination. Happy New Year's from bands around the country. An assembled program. Harry James and His Orchestra, Count Basie and His Orchestra, Freddy Martin and His Orchestra, Woody Herman and His Orchestra, Henry King and His Orchestra, Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra, Les Brown and His Orchestra, Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, Carmen Cavallaro and His Orchestra, Louis Prima and His Orchestra, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Guy Lombardo and His Orchestra, Don Wilson
Monday, December 21, 2020
Wolfman Jack Christmas
Here's a 1975 visit with the Wolfman. It really is the most wonderful time of the year! Mark sent this in last year. Great stuff!
Roger Holste
Had this since 2010, the Korean Won dates from the mid 60s. He apparently did time at AFKN and AFVN. Anyone know Roger Holste?
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
SCN John Lennon tribute 1980
Okay it's a repeat, but 40 years ago we lost John Lennon. Here's how the next day sounded on the Southern Command Network in Panama.
Monday, November 9, 2020
Charlie Tuna 1982
Charlie Tuna
Charlie Tuna spent a quarter century entertaining the troops on AFRTS and showing us how it was done. Time for another visit. It's 1982 "Stay Tuna'd".Visit Charlie's website at charlietuna.com interesting stories, histories and your chance to get on the boards and say what the Charlie Tuna Show meant to you.
Jazzbo Collins 1967
Al "Jazzbo" Collins was quite a talent, broadcasting from the "purple grotto", inspired by horrible paint in the WNEW studios..
"I started my broadcast in Studio One which was painted all kinds of tints and shades of purple on huge polycylindricals which were vertically placed around the walls of the room to deflect the sound. It just happened to be that way. And with the turntables and desk and console and the lights turned down low, it had a very cavelike appearance to my imagination. So I got on the air, and the first thing I said was, "Hi, it's Jazzbo in the Purple Grotto." You never know where your thoughts are coming from, but the way it came out was that I was in a grotto, in this atmosphere with stalagtites and a lake and no telephones. I was using Nat Cole underneath me with "Easy Listening Blues" playing piano in the background."
There was a very jazzy imagery.
In 1967, Al "Jazzbo" Collins brought a retrained Purple Grotto to AFRTS.
Monday, October 12, 2020
AFVN Duke Miller 1968
Found this old photo and decided to share with the group. It's of me doing the afternoon show on AFVN-AM shortly after the onset of the Tet Offensive in 1968.
I was AFVN-FM's only announcer. We were live 6:30p.m.-Midnight each night and simulcast otherwise. But, after Tet, all staffers were 24 on, 24 off (in case half of us got wiped out). That's why I was doing the afternoon gig in the photo, subbing for Don Burns. Note the tape on the studio window to the left, put there to prevent shattering from ordnance percussions. Weeks later, after a nearby rocket attack, the window stayed in tact, but most of the ceiling tiles fell, spewing insulation throughout.
Like many, I endured the Army's penchant for snafu's. I enlisted for a broadcasting MOS; they spent six weeks teaching me to type in admin school at Ft. Dix (even though I already could type 65 words per minute); after a brief stint at an intelligence unit at Ft. Meade, MD, I was assigned to the personnel department at a military intelligence unit seven miles north of Saigon. After several months, I went into Saigon, auditioned, and was "hired" shortly thereafter. Strangely, my transfer happened the afternoon of the Tet Offensive. My former unit was blown away the next day. By the grace of God and some trusted informants, the unit was abandoned prior to the attack and all survived.
AFVN, Saigon, was actually about as good as it could get in 'Nam. We lived in a hotel, The Ky Son. Except for AFVN staffers, it's nine stories housed Aussies and New Zealanders, which made staying sober a real challenge! I complete my enlistment at Ft. Meade, MD, producing the U. S. Army Recruiting public service radio shows.
My broadcasting career was short-lived. It got me through high school, college, and the Army. I went on to a successful career in the advertising agency business and spend half my retirement in Florida and half in the mountains of western North Carolina.
Duke Miller
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Monday, August 10, 2020
Dick Sinclair 1959
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Dick Sinclair was in the very first group of AFRS talent. Before we even had a network, this group was training at Fox studios. Dick was at the station on Guadalcanal.
After the war, Dick Sinclair helped to make polka a national joy. Polka Party was heard on hundreds of stations and made the jump to TV.
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Joe Allison 1965
Joe Allison had a neat part of history. He's been called the DJ that bridged the gap between hillbilly radio and what he call country radio today. Take a listen:
Thursday, July 9, 2020
Benny Brown AFN 1995
Benny parlayed his AFN time into a BIG gig over at Radio Luxembourg, hear why in this Veterans Day show.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Roger Carroll 1977
Been almost a year ago that we lost Roger. I had worked with him, making his streaming station happen. That was a great two years. I miss the calls...
Roger brings us back to the best of 1977
Saturday, July 4, 2020
Charlie Tuna 1986
This broadcast includes something that didn't happen often, the disk sticks... Most of it has been edited out, but memories...
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Jim Pewter 1968
Jim Pewter was a giant in "Oldies Radio". After he did his time in Korea with AFKN, he did a lot for the music that we love. Almost immediately after ETS Jim on the full network.
Jubilee 1945
Jubilee. April 16, 1945. Program #129. The second tune is, "If You Can't Smile and Say Yes, Please Don't Cry and Say No." Benny Carter and His Orchestra, Barney Bigard, The Nat King Cole Trio, Judy Carroll (vocal), Eddie Anderson (Rochester), Ernest Whitman (m.c.), Verne Smith (announcer).
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Chris Noel 1969
While Chris was doing the show, she did a lot of tours to see the troops. They look back wistfully...
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
AFN Kaiserslautern - Jay Derkash 1978
In 1978 AFN celebrated the Country Music Awards with shows from the affiliate stations being broadcast across the entire network. Today from Kaiserslautern Specialist Jay Derkash has the update.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Charlie Tuna 1982
Charlie Tuna and Del Shannon
On almost everyone's lists of favorite AFRTS jocks, Charlie Tuna's name is there. Here's another example of radio consistency and perfection... Be sure to check out charlietuna.com
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Roger Carroll 1969
A brand new bunch of 1968-69 memories have come in. Roger brings you the Happy Hour and once again in fine fettle. Time for the Best Sounds in Town!
Monday, May 25, 2020
Memorial Day 1948
In the late 1940s, the network produced a lot of "troop information" programs. For a variety of reasons it was a lot harder to produce things like Command Performance.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Sugar Report 1945
More from your Sugar Report. A few more have been found. Most of the time WWII shows in AFRS are fairly common. A few hundred were pressed, several were saved.
The Sugar Report was different. The show was apparently recorded to acetate for broadcast from the government's shortwave station in California. So each disk that is found is unique.
The show isn't documented. The last time I found some of these, Jinx Falkenburg was the host. I had assumed it was her show. Today Joan Edwards from Your Hit Parade plays excerpts from radio back in the states
This was a project at it's best. I was contacted and asked "If I pay for those, can you transfer them?" I asked around and found someone to do the transfer. In the same time frame, we received a donation that covered the postage (click the PayPal box). It took a lot of people.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
LaRita Shelby 1994
Love that picture. Here's LaRita. Matt recorded these in England from about 600 miles away. It's a bit noisy but a bunch of fun.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Roland Bynum 1981
Roland and his daughter are Lakers fans...
But on the radio 1981 never sounded better
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Chis Noel 1967
"Chris Noel was and is a hero ... supporting the troops with dedication and integrity even while we were treated like lepers at 'home.' She continues to support veterans, especially those of us who are homeless or suffer with PTSD. She came under fire in Nam more than once and suffered her own nightmarish events in her life. This is a beautiful person, both inside and out." Mike Blackford
Chris Noel was the voice of home to thousands of Vietnam era troops. This is the Friday show from her first week on the air over AFRTS. The program evolved over the years, better and better.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
AFN Munich 1973
In 1973 the "Free Radio Campaign" visited AFN and spoke with engineer Air Force Tech Sgt Bob Strite and morning jock Mark Abbott. The picture is Jim Sampson at AFN Munich.
AFN Munich 1973
Friday, March 20, 2020
Charlie Tuna 1991
Sad day when we lost Charlie. Broadcasting at it's best. Waking up the world for a quarter century. Who did anything close to that? http://www.charlietuna.com .
Jim Pewter 1976
A Friday, a new year and Jim Pewter. Jim celebrated this music every day. Writing, performing, playing the songs on the radio and being a record dealer. He loves and shares this music.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Mail Call 1944
Mail Call. May 24, 1944. Program #93. The program is dedicated to the state of Kentucky. Borah Minevich and His Harmonica Rascals do a spectacular arrangement of, "Brazil." Mortimer Snerd tells Paulette Goddard about his first date. Charlie McCarthy tries to apologize to W. C. Fields for setting a skunk trap in Fields' garden. This is a well-known routine, using the same script as in, "The "Chase and Sanborn Program" recording from September 21, 1941. This time, W. C. loses his place in the script and mis-reads several lines. The date above is the recording date. The program was released June, 1944.
Early AFRS and WC Fields, total win.