Places to go

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Charlie Tuna 1972

 


In 1972, Charie was kicking oit at KHJ and started with AFRTS.  That partnership lasted almost 25 years.

Charlie Tuna 1972

More from Charlie Tuna

Chris Noel 1967

 


Chris had been doing the show for less than a month, she's already making magic.



Sunday, February 26, 2023

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

AFN Stuttgart 1980 Lou Biel


The weekend it hers and time for fun with Lou Biel from "AFN Lunchbox"





 

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

SCN Ernie Rollag 1983

 


I had just left SCN Panama a couple of months before so I remembered everyone there.  Some very talented people.  Here's the Afternoon Show.


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.



Wolfman Jack 1975




Time for good, good music on the radio!   So who else played these in the states?




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







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!



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.
 

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"



Hy Averback remembered his troop time:

"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

More Golden Days of Radio

Joe Ferguson 1983

 

Joe at KFOX

Joe Ferguson is back.  It's 1983 and Portland OR had some neat radio.



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

More Laurie Allen

Monday, February 6, 2023

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

 


Every Sunday morning, time for chapel.  AFRTS had a long history of working with the chaplains to minister worldwide.



Friday, February 3, 2023

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

 


This one one of the last broadcasts before they closed the old network.  Jim Pewter still had it after almost 30 years.

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


AFN Jingles 1973

More Jingles



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:
 

 

Roger Carroll 1981

 

Young RC at WMFD

Roger has the Happy Hour.  It's the Best Sounds in Town..