Command Performance 1942

 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.

Here's how it all began:

Command Performance #1 - 1942

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Command Performance - Christmas 1942

 

 

Command Performance was an amazing thing.  All of the biggest stars made themselves available for the troops.  It didn't matter which network or studio.  It was the biggest stars and it was all for he troops.  This is the big Christmas show from the first year of the network.  Merry Christmas!

Command Performance Christmas 1942

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Jubilee 1942

 

I normally don't bother with "split" shows but Jubilee is always special.  In late 1942 we recorded the (Nat) King Cole trio, Mantan Moreland with wonderful comedy, Judy Carroll and Noble Sissle. Supporting the troops should always be this good.

Jubilee - 1942

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Sports Interviews 1942

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Sports has always been a huge draw, but in the beginning we had no way of reliably broadcasting it live, eventually via shortwave and then landlines.  So there were a lot of interviews.  In 1942 Joe Hassel spoke with runner Greg Rice.

Sports Interviews - 1942

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Battle of Guadalcanal 1942

 

I was at the record store and saw a used album by the USMC Band.  The thing was too thick.  With the record were 2 12" 78s that sound like they were done for the troops as a command information thing.  This one has a short clip recorded in the studio at Guadalcanal.  There's just not much audio from the Mosquito Network.  It's a good listen.

Battle of Guadalcanal

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Sound Off 1942

I've only seen a handful of these. Prior to AFRS, Special Services recorded shows on 12" disks to be used with a record player, generally in whatever passed as a Mess Hall or Rec Center as the troops were battling on the ground.

Sound Off continued with the newly formed AFRS.  Here's Harry VonZell

Sound Off - 1942

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Collectors Corner 1968

AFRTS was the introduction for a lot of troops to classical music.  In 1968 the University Of Virginia was producing Collectors Corner with rare performances from around the world.   Here's Rod Collins.

Collectors Corner 1968

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Before there was an AFRS - 1942

Thanks to Ian Grieve

Why We Fight - 1942

In 1942, Troops needed to understand what we were getting into.  There was no AFRS yet so outreach was very hit and miss.  CBS broadcast a series of speeches to help.  The mandate was to get these to the troops.  Difficult to say how effective that was.  Correspondent Lee White was in Europe when that part of the war started.  He shares his thoughts.

Why We Fight - 1942

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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.

Command Performance - Christmas 1942

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Intermezzo - 1942

There's always been symphonic favorites.  "Intermezzo" was the music, back announced.  A formula they were still using for "Just Music" in the 1960s.  Major Meredith Willson leads the AFRS Orchestra. 

Intermezzo - 1942

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Jubilee - 1942

Here's the first Jubilee show.  I've never heard one of these that didn't have amazing music.

Rex Ingram is the host.  The program was recorded at a small studio in Hollywood in October 1942 with Duke Ellington, Ethyl Waters and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson

Ethyl Waters and Duke Ellington with Vicente Minnelli during the filming of Cabin In The Sky.  Thank you Kurt!

Jubilee - 1942

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Words And Music - Ann Richards 1942

The "Words and Music" program was usually a pretty girl reading poetry.  Sounds like a winning formula.

Here's Australian actress Ann Richards

Words and Music - Ann Richards 1942

Sound Off - Bill Goodwin 1942

Here's the other side of a disk from a couple of months ago.  Before we had a network the government was sending radio shows to the field.  Announcer Bill Goodwin shows us a precursor to American Top 40:

 

Sound Off - 1942

 

 

Sound Off - 1942

Johnson Mercer has more of the countdown you called for in "Sound Off".  Sound Off is older than AFRS.  These programs were distributed on 12" vinyl like V-Disks.  I've heard there were disks with rebroadcasts of network shows, I've just never actually seen one.  The joint is jumpin'... Sound Off!!

Sound Off - 16 -1942

Downbeat 1942

We didn't quite exist yet, but there were plans. The War Department was distributing radio programming on 12" disks. These disks could be sent wherever the troops were. Welcome to Box B.
 

Downbeat - Jimmy Dorsey

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