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In 1972, Charie was kicking oit at KHJ and started with AFRTS. That partnership lasted almost 25 years.
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Ira Cook 1974
He began at KMTR in 1938 as a record librarian and sometime announcer. He had just graduated from Stanford with a degree in basic medical science. His love affair with radio started at age 8 on a
visit to a local station with his father. Ira was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota. "During World War II, I was at the Battle of the Bulge and we lost 10 – 15 guys in my platoon," said Ira in a detailed interview. After World War II service, Ira hooked up with Frank Bull to broadcast boxing and wrestling from the Olympic Auditorium. He went on to host Lucky Lager Dance Time on KFAC. He also had a fascination with being a songwriter.
In a 1957 Newsweek story connected with a payola probe, Ira made the following comment about being a DJ: "It's safer than stealing, more legal than gambling, easier than loafing, and it beats working!"
Charlie WIlliams 1972
Charlie Williams in 1990
After Joe Allison left the Country Corner in the early 70s the show went to KFOXs Charlie Williams. In 1972 Charlie moved to Nashville, managed Bobby Bare and did a talk show on WSIX. Charlie passed away in 1995. It was Charlie who suggested to Gene Price that he get down to McCadden Ave and try for the gig..
Magic Carpet - Jack Teagarden 1945
Magic Carpet was a catchall show that featured remote band broadcasts from all over the country. Usually a pretty swinging band. Jack Teagarden's history goes back to the "Hot" jazz bands of the 1920s. He's always been a favorite of mine.
As a side note, XUSF was in Chungking China, after that part of the network was shut down in 1945-46 the disks went the new FEN network in Japan. I wish I owned this disk...
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
SCN Ernie Rollag 1983
Jim Pewter 1980
Jim Pewter at AFKN
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.
Rock and Roll is Here to Stay!!
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
A Chat with Roger Carroll 2014
Roger Carroll at Robert Wagner press conference.
Almost ten years ago???
This was fun. I spoke with Roger Carroll about AFRTS, ABC and KMPC. A wonderful career. A friend.
Turn Back the Clock 1961
So what exactly were oldies in the mid 50s? Here's a good place to start. Andy and Virginia Mansfield got their show on the air on the west coast, on NBC and then on AFRTS.
Happy February
So... How are we doing so far? It's a huge process to get everything over from the old server to the new one. I REALLY like the way it works though.
Still need your memories. Recordings, stories. Let's keep the story growing.
Be sure to tell a friend!
This has been around in one form or another for over 15 years (long enough where I don't want to do the math). There's been a lot of wonderful stories, pictures and unfortunately obits.
To make it easier to find, I'm moving those to a separate site afrtsradio.blogspot.com
Thank you for visiting!
Thom
John Doremus 1967
Music about hands and letter writing... It's the John Doremus show.. Wonderful stories wound into beautiful orchestral music.
Joe Ferguson 1983
In 1983 the network did a cute bit, short term deals with jocks all ovr the country. "The Voice of Home".
Joe Ferguson has your favorites on a Wednesday in 1983. Here's the Joe Show!
Don Tracy 1980
In 1968 Don Tracy was winning in Hartford. A handful of years later Los Angeles and the world...
Gene Price 1974
Gene Price and Leonard Finsterwall with your country favorites. 1974 memories for the Army.
Sunday, February 19, 2023
LaRita Shelby 1994
LaRita was totally right about bringing a freshness to her show.
LaRira Shelby 1994
More Larita Shelby
Visit her website http://www.laritashelby.com/
Check out the CD, jazzy and smooth.
More Larita Shelby
Visit her website http://www.laritashelby.com/
Check out the CD, jazzy and smooth.
Mosquito Network - Hy Averback 1944
Hy Averback was born in 1920 in Minneapolis. During WWII Hy was one of the first AFRS talents, training at Fox Studios and going to the Mosquito Network. After the war, he became a very successful director and producer, known for The Real McCoys, MASH and I Love You Alice B Toklas. He died on October 14, 1997 in Los Angeles, California.
Martin Harlow did a dissertation about the Mosquito Network.
"The year is 1944 and the world is at war. In the South-West Pacific, US soldier and radio broadcaster, T/5 1 Hy Averback, presents the /4teib/7ne Cocktail Hour program on the airwaves of the American Expeditionary Station (AES) on Guadalcanal in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. To keep his audience of Gl's and other service personnel amused and interested, Averback invents make-believe locations and situations for his show. "From the fungus-festooned Fern Room, high atop the elegant Hotel DeGink 2 in downtown Guadalcanal, we bring you the dance music of the Quinine Quartet'. 3 With Harry James' version of The Flight of the Bumble Bee 4 as its musical theme and accompanied by background sound effects of a murmuring crowd, women's laughter and ice tumbling into cocktail glasses, Averback's program is a daily reminder to troops to take their anti-malarial Atabrine tablets"
"When Bob Hope brought his USO entourage to Seoul in 1951, Hy Averback was with them. I did not meet him but one of our Seoul AFRS guys was able to do some interviews. Averback told him it brought back memories of his AFRS assignment during WWII." - Palmer Payne
Friday, February 17, 2023
Charlie Tuna 1987
Never needs Tuna Helper!
Here's Charlie Tuna with a 1987 good morning. Charlie was with the network for a quarter century at the same time waking up Los Angeles on all of the stations that mattered. Thanks Charlie!
Chris Noel 1967
Chris Noel got the troops through the Vietnam war. After the war, she still keeps helping. All over the world, here's how she sounded in 1967.
Monday, February 13, 2023
Harry Newman 1980
Harry always told the story of the music. Harry was on the air in southern California for 30 years including KBLA, KBBQ and KLAC.
Jasin Sreet 1971
Jay with Joi Lancing
So sometimes it's still a surprise. I just received a bundle of disks and in there was "Jasin Street". Never heard of it. Jay Jasin (Herman Jasinski) started jocking in the late 40s, mostly through the Midwest. By 1962 he had teamed with Jim Ameche to syndicate a jazz show. Around then he started acting and was in Spinout and Hillbillies in A Haunted House. In 1971 it was traditional jazz on AFRTS. We lost Jay in 1984.
Sports Reel - Fred Hessler 1968
At one time presenting live news and sports was much more difficult than now. There was a market for interview shows that provided context.
Fred Hessler was the voice of UCLA football for 25 years but before that was one of us. During WWII he was with AFRS at an unknown station but after that went to the network as a civilian for about 10 years. In 1954 he did Sports Forum, an interview show.
He also worked at KMPC 1953-83
In 1968 he was still at it with "Sports Reel"
Fred Hessler - 1968
Sunday, February 12, 2023
Tom Gauger AFN Hoechst 1965
This is a 30 minute aircheck during a summer day in 1965 when I did AFN Frankfurt's mid-day dj show The Duffle Bag. The show was split into two parts with AFN News taking up 15 minutes at noon. It was a hot day and there was no air conditioning in the Castle.
I'm the DJ, Ken Larvick (now with Well Fargo in Wisconsin) is the studio announcer, Maury Cagle is the news reader. It's interesting that there is not a single actuality in the newscast as they were hard to come by in those days. We had to steal stuff via short wave, if the quality was good enough.
The second half of The Duffle Bag featured items for sale sent in by listeners.
I was at AFN in the old castle in Hoechst between 63 & 65. I did the afternoon local "Music Off the Record" (17:05-18:00) for a long time
Also, "Music In the Air," a network dinner-hour music segue for the officer crowd, 19:05-20:00.
Lotsa good times with Sgt Sam, station commander Col. Bob Cranston, PD Trent Christman and many others including the legendary Gisela Breitkopf, AFN's librarian and den mother to us all.
I came back to the states and finished up at WMAL in Washington during its salad days in the 70s & 80s. Later did a five year gig at ABC Radio News as a reporter/editor.
My best,
Tom Gauger
Janice from AFRS Spain was a big Tom Gauger fan
Hi, Thom, and thanks for posting the words/images of Tom Gauger. When we left Spain in 1983 (after my second tour at AFRS Rota) and moved to the DC Metro area, we loved listening to WMAL-AM. It was SO DC and, as transplanted southern California native, it was my prime source for a wealth of local info. The on-air personalities were "traditional" radio types (e.g., Frank Hardin and Jackson Weaver, among many notables). Since I was having serious withdrawal from my years as a Navy Journalist. It was somehow soothing (comforting) to have that station "in my ear." I think I might ever have called Mr. Gauger once, after realizing that he, too, had been a military broadcaster.
I wish I could say good things about the state of local-area radio in 2011. Things have changed—most not to my taste, so now my daily "radio fix" comes from out local NPR station. But, I often think about what Mr. Gauger term WMAL's "salad days" and the delights of REAL radio. For that I thank him and WMAL colleagues.
Best Regards to all,
Janice
JR Gerde
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Roger Monroe worked in the Von Bruning Schloss 1957-58
. The castle was not only a wonderful and historic place to work, it was scenic and romantic. Some of the guys were fortunate to live in parts of the castle. However, most of us lived in a three-story house a block away. That's where we ate and had our living accommodations. We also had a club in the lower level of the castle where drinks were served. We were a part of the Hoechst community about as much as Americans could be. Heck, I even dated a beautiful German fraulein there which made my involvement in Hoechst even more personal. In retrospect, when I was offered the opportunity to extend my military commitment, I should've accepted it. I did sports and traveled all over Germany doing Army baseball games sometimes in uniform sometimes out of uniform. It was a blast. Shelby Whitfield joined the sports department later and he stayed and stayed, married a German girl and went on to bigger and greater things including serving as head of ABC Radio Sports and working with Howard Cosell and even collaborating with him in writing a book. I still admire Shelby.
Roger
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Roger Carroll 1981
Roger spent a long time with the worlds biggest radio network, bring the Best Sounds in Town. DEcades later we put an online station on. RC still had the stuff...Here are some 1981 memories:
Wolfman Jack 1973
Are you Wolf enough?
Wolfman's on a tear on this 1973 recruiting broadcast for the Air Force.
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Golden Days of Radio 1990 - 45th anniversary of AFN
Frank Bresee was great, in the 1940s he was a part of Old Time Radio, by the 1960s he was largely responsible for the revival
Golden Days of Radio - 45th Anniversary of AFN
Roland Bynum 1982
Roland Bynum with the late Don Cornelius
In 1982 Roland Bynum always brightened my day...
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Laurie Allen 1996
Haven't had the chance to present Laurie Allen yet. These are great. Laurie's another Minnesotan, like Jim Pewter and Ira Cook she was a LA radio star. KIIS, 1982; KNX/fm, 1983-84; KMGG, 1984-86; KPWR, 1986-94; KKGO, 2008-10. For 11 years, Laurie worked at the Bright AC format at Dial-Global (Westwood One Radio Networks) until late 2008. She does weekends at KKGO, "Go Country."
Laurie played a lot of great gold from the 70s and 80s.
Laurie Allen 1996
Monday, February 6, 2023
Gene Price 1978
Whoever came up with the phrase Country Gentleman must have known Gene Price. It's classy. It's silly and it's wonderful radio.
Swingin' Years 1961
Chuck Cecil did the Swingin' Years for a long long time. In the late 1950s he started the show at KFI and eventually brought it over to AFRTS. A quarter of a century later it was still going strong.
"It's a beautiful day in southern California!".Sunday, February 5, 2023
AFPN Clark Topics
So do you remember all of the local television shows? A lot of PSA stuff, a lot of dependents. This is from AFPN Clark AFB in 1969
Charlie Tuna 1973
In 1973 the show was only 45 minutes with a lot different feel to it. It was near the beginning of Charlie's quarter century with us. Stay Tuna'd
Chris Noel 1969
It's a nice way to start the week. Chris Noel with a Tuesday in 1969 magic on "Date With Chris"
Hymns From Home 1945
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Every Sunday morning, time for chapel. AFRTS had a long history of working with the chaplains to minister worldwide.
Friday, February 3, 2023
Bill Stewart 1968
Great jock, swinging tunes. It's time for your Musical Bill Affair! Bill was also a successful record producer that played a lot of his songs on the air at KMPC. That became an issue.
One Night Stand 1944
Normally One Night Stand was re-packaged radio remotes for the troops but in 1944 Esquire Magazine had a vote on the best jazz talent. There was one of the best all star shows ever. AFRS was there.
This part of the program originates from Philharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles. The first tune is, "Mood To Be Wooed." Lionel Barrymore presents an Esky award to Duke Ellington. Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown, Harry Carney and Ray Nance also receive awards. . Jerome Kern presents an Esky award to Billie Holiday, Danny Kaye presents awards to Al Casey and Sidney Catlett. Halfway through this program, the AFRS announcer mentions that the nationwide Blue net portion of the broadcast has been concluded and the rest of the show is for the AFRS audience only
Jim Pewter 1996
Jingles AFN 1973
Garry sent along a great one. Several of these jingles were new to me. Be sure to check how youtube page of great memories of AFN. Afrtsfan
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
AFVN John Allgood
Biography from macoi.net:
John Allgood was born 27 August 1947 in Monroe, Louisiana. He was an only child and his father died when John was young. He lived with his mother who suffered from diabetes, a disease which eventually took her life. Upon his mother's death, he enlisted for a tour in the Navy and then briefly returned home where he worked for a time as a radio deejay in Ruston and Bastrop, Louisiana. He did not finish high school.
When he left Louisiana for the final time, this time to join the Army, he largely broke off contact with family members. At some point prior to his assignment to Vietnam, John married briefly and fathered a daughter. Trained as a medic, he was sent to Vietnam in 1972, where his radio experience earned him an audition with AFVN. He was popular with his colleagues, and was soon hosting the famed morning show, "Dawn Buster," where he proved to be a very talented broadcaster. At his next duty station, Fort Lewis, Washington John married a second time, but this marriage, like the first, eventually failed.
Back in civilian life, John moved to Southern California and worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. There is no clue as to why he never ventured into radio in the lucrative California market. Although he had no formal training in broadcasting, John's natural talent would easily have allowed him to develop into a first rate deejay.
John Dempsey Allgood died in Los Angeles 15 June 2006 at the age of 58.
From 1972, from Saigon, here's the Dawnbuster:
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