Latino! A special program, presented five times a week. With Victor, at your service.
"Victor" was Vance Graham. An announcer who's career went back to WWII when he was doing news at KMPC. Later he worked at KFI. Prior to Latino, Vance did the "Bolero Time" program for AFRTS. "Vance Graham Bolero Show" was a daily feature at KTYM Los Angeles in the 1950s.
Herman Griffith kicked up a storm, with KGFJ and with AFRTS. I wish I knew more of his story. Roland Bynum says that Herman helped him get his job with us.
Turn Back the Clock was a regional show that ended up on NBC (regional?) in 1955. They came over to AFRTS and shared songs from their personal collection. They've got some good ones today.
A few years ago Frank's amazing record collection went on the market. But these were the days, a 1951 Lux Radio Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard.
Jim Ameche had the most beautiful sounds around. An hour of orchestral music, with just the right touch of personality. Jim had knocked around in radio since the 1930s but hit his stride with syndicated DJ shows starting in the 1950s. As the man that made syndicated DJ shows work he was a natural for the world's largest radio network.
Gene Price updates us on the benefits of joining todays all volunteer force! These programs would run on local radio here in the states and be credited as 25 minutes of Public Service time. Very popular on Sunday morning.
He started his career at KMTR in 1938 (later became KLAC) , working as a record librarian and occasionally as an announcer. A recent graduate from Stanford with a degree in basic medical science, his passion for radio began at the tender age of eight during a visit to a local station with his father. Ira, a native of Duluth, Minnesota, recounted in a detailed interview, "During World War II, at the Battle of the Bulge, we lost 10 to 15 guys from my platoon." Post-war, Ira teamed up with Frank Bull to broadcast boxing and wrestling matches from the Olympic Auditorium. Later, he became the host of Lucky Lager Dance Time on KFAC and pursued his interest in songwriting.
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!"
That picture is from the AFRTS-LA promo set of 8x10s that went to every station. We lost Charlie a while back. The family is working on a tribute at http://www.charlietuna.com
It's a trip to 1980, a Friday and time for the Charlie Tuna Show.
A solitary GI yearning for a female voice found solace in Mary Turner's broadcasts, as she carried on the legacy of GI Jill, Rebel Randall, and Chris Noel, speaking directly to the hearts of the troops.
Andy Mansfield loved his oldies, but when you start doing an oldies show in the 1950s we hear big band and before. His first show was with his wife but always it was some of his favorites from his collection.
Well into the 1960s radio had remote broadcasts from the big bands. AFRTS played these for the troops worldwide on One Night Stand. A little piece of home.
Si Zentner had a very good band. Unfortunately, the big bands were dying out. But they'll always have a magic:
It's a Monday in 1980, but don't let that get you down. Soulin' and Roland...a perfect combination. Here's Roland Bynum with another hour of favorites. And still lookin good...
Jim was another giant, I wish I had more tape of the show. Jim was an AFKN vet, who went on to be a successful producer, songwriter and jock. Today we take another look at rocks beginnings. The top seven hits of 1964.
"The Most Beautiful Sounds Around" is a phrase that evokes the rarity of orchestral music today. Jim Ameche, a prominent figure during the golden age of radio, introduced it to AFRTS. He remained a successful DJ, sustaining his stardom beyond his radio days.
And we were proud to have her. Mary started her show with us in 1982.
Mary Turner, hailed as the first lady of rock radio in Los Angeles, passed away in 2023 at the age of 76. She died at her Beverly Hills residence after a prolonged fight with cancer.
From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, Mary Turner was the leading female air personality in contemporary music radio. She was the top-rated disc jockey at Los Angeles' iconic KMET, hosted "Off The Record," a nationally syndicated interview show by Westwood One that broadcasted on over 300 stations weekly, and led the "Mary Turner Show" on Armed Forces Radio. After departing from radio in 1994, Dr. Pattiz enrolled at UCLA, becoming a certified drug and alcohol counselor, and started her career in substance abuse treatment. She earned a Doctor of Psychology degree from the California Graduate Institute, now part of The Chicago School, in 2008. She was active in the field as a counselor and group leader, and held positions on the boards of DARE, the Musicians Assistance Program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's COACH for Kids, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' MusiCares, the Betty Ford Center, and the Betty Ford Institute. Dr. Pattiz was the spouse of the late Norman Pattiz, the founder and chairman of Westwood One Companies, and resides in Beverly Hills and Santa Barbara.
How do you come up with words for something like this? In 1942 the US radio networks and all of the stars of radio and movies cooperated to make the biggest variety show ever, Command Performance. The program continued well into 1951. The wartime shows in particular were a big deal.
Don Browne has some insights: Not all AFRTS-LA radio show hosts methodically recorded their programs at the beginning of the RU8-week cycle-to-air. Of course, all AFRTS stations and networks held the RU "on the floor" for an additional 3-weeks as a protection for four-class mail delays enroute. The only exception was AFVN in Saigon, RVN who aired the RU and RP ("Date With Chris") the week that it was received. Saigon had daily flights from Travis AFB, CA and didn't have to worry about delay in four-class mail deliveries.
Bill Stewart, and a few other hosts, recorded and stored their shows at AFRTS-LA for four to six months prior to air. Although the programming was 5-55:00 at the beginning, it was considered "ever green" by the LA producers. Bill Stewart never mentioned "it's the Monday edition" or "it's the Tuesday edition" the way Roger Carroll did for his 5-55:00 series. I believe this was due to the inordinate delay in recording the Bill Stewart Shows. He just didn't know what day the show was to be aired!
When Bill Stewart says "this song is a new release", it really isn't. . .it's four to six months old!
Because of the long "lead-time" in recording the Bill Stewart Shows (at the request of Bill himself), I reviewed and logged a year of the Bill Stewart Show to determine if there was a detrimental effect on the program. This took about two weeks of auditioning the pristine discs in the Library of Congress. I saved the "Bill Stewart logs" when I retired from AFRTS in January 2001.
Bill Stewart is back for another swinging hour. It's a little jumpy near the beginning but it fills the Bill..
In 1969 the Coca-Cola company asked some very bigtime jocks to record shows for the troops, which were distributed on LP. The Real Don Steele did one. Hy Litt did one Here's the one that Cousin Brucie did..
The series was not documented. What I know for a fact is that the Don Steele one showed up on eBay last year and went for top dollar. I've heard rumors that AFVN ran some of them on the air. I can't confirm that.
Don Browne has details "Date" was started expressly for the Vietnam War to counter AM broadcasting from "Hanoi Hanna". The first show with Chris Noel was aired 12 December 1966, 5-55:00, RP 23-7. As the Vietnam War began to wind down in 1969, the last AFRTS 13-week "flight" of 5-55:00 was 14-0 to 26-0 (Oct - Nov - Dec 1969). "Date" was demoted to "flights" of 1-55:00 and the last-ever Date With Chris AFRTS 13-week "flight" was 27-1 to 38-1 (Jan - Feb - Mar 1971).
When I arrived in Panama and was settled into the temporary quarters in 1980 there was Gene Price. Gene and Leonard had a long run on the network. Gene followed fellow KFOX vet Charlie Williams as one of the AFRTS country voices and truly made the show his own.
In 2017 a friend of mine was visiting family in Duluth MN. I was texted "Charlie Tuna's on the radio up here!!!" Charlie had a syndicated show heard from coast to coast (through Black Card).