AFN SHAPE Bob Switcher 1977

It's a summery night in Soesterberg, 1977 and Bob Switcher has Music Off The Record..

Thanks Hans Knot!!

AFN SHAPE - Bob Switcher 1977

Hans says that this is really Bill Swisher.  This sounds like the makings of a good story...

American Country Countdown - 1977

Before Bob Kingsley took over ACC it was hosted by Don Bowman on this special, Johnny Cash is the guest host on this 1977 visit.

American Country Countdown - 1977

Jon Rivers - Countdown Magazine 1990

Jon Rivers was a Marine in Vietnam that came back and worked for a ton of great stations.  His radio ministry was heard everywhere on  “POWERLINE” , “COUNTRY CROSSROADS, “MASTER CONTROL”, “THE BAPTIST HOUR”, “GOSPEL AMERICA”  and “TWENTY THE COUNTDOWN MAGAZINE”.

Countdown Magazine - 1990

More from Chapel

Join us on facebook

The afrtsarchive.blogspot.com facebook page is great way to stay updated and share your memories and requests.  click here and be sure to "like" the page.

Thanks!

Thanks John!

Longtime friend of the blog John just made a contribution. A bunch of really great early 60s shows will be finding a new home. I'd like to say thank you!  When you click the "Donate Via PayPal" button it does two things, it allows us to get better things.  Many times thing come up and I'm just a few dollars short of being able to make it happen. It says that this is important to you.  You never have to but I'm very grateful if you choose to do it.  Thank you for visiting!

We Who Fight

This was a great show from WWII with the troops telling their stories.  I've located a few partial shows, recently transferred.  Take a listen:

We Who Fight

More We Who Fight

Chris Noel 1968

Chris Noel was very important to Vietnam era troops.  Her show A Date With Chris was the girl next door to thousands.  Today Chris still serves with her shelter for homeless veterans.  She needs you help, please click here.

But here's how it sounded in 1968

Date With Chris - 1968

More from Chris Noel

Top Pops

Between 1962 and 1975 the weeks new hits would ship on special albums, the "TPs" would have this weeks 45s in a handy place.  These 650 albums were a wonderful, easy to find oldies library.  After 1975 they made similar disks but they'd be filed at random in the regular library.  

Jill's All Time Jukebox 1944

Martha Wilkerson did the GI Jive show.  Starting near the end of the war was the "All-Time Jukebox", memories with GI Jill.  Here's a 1944 visit

Jill's All-Time Jukebox - 1944

Here's more from GI Jill

Wes Wilson - AFRTS Torrejon 1982

Christmas is coming.  1982 from Torrejon AB here's Wes Wilson. 

Wes Wilson - 1982 AFRTS Torrejon Spain

Invitation to Learning - 1950

"The Voice Of Information and Education", over the years the network took that very seriously.  Part of that was being done by stateside radio and part of it was an obligation to the troops.  In 1950 "Invitation To Learning" had a panel discussion about the writer Cicero.  I wonder if such things will ever find a mass audience again.  The program continued well into the 1960s

Invitation To Learning - 1950

More Invitation to Learning

Walt "Baby" Love - the Countdown - 1990

Walt "Baby" Love has spent almost four decades in radio.  In 1990 he was doing "The Countdown", which ran every weekend.

The Countdown - 1990

While still making great radio, Walt practices his ministry, visit his website:

http://www.waltbabylove.com/

AFVN PSAs 1970-71

Duke Miller at AFVN

We pause for Command Information.  These are from 1970-71.  Primary voices are Doug Jennings, Phil Davies and Bob Kohtz

AFVN PSAs

More from AFVN

FEN - Frank Knauer 1980

Chip Barris recorded this on Kedena AB. Frank Knauer was running the AFKN Taegu station 1977.  This is the second hour of an East Of Midnight that was posted a few years ago.

Frank Knauer - FEN 1980

Hour One

Robert Q Lewis - 1958

By the late 1950s network radio was pretty much done.  Robert Q. Lewis was still doing great radio from New York on CBS    Take a listen.

Robert Q Lewis - 1958

FORSCOM Update - Dan Rook - 1976

The services did their own shows, run Sunday mornings nationwide.  The Army's Forces Command had "Update".  Army Sergeant Dan Rook with memories of 1976.

FORSCOM Update - 1976

Michael Brown AFRS Adak Alaska 1971

Thanks again to Michael Brown for sharing his AFRS memories.  Today it's almost three hours of the request show.

Michael Brown - AFRS Adak - 1971

We went to different high schools together...

Chad Johnson on the board in Adak

This is a page of memories from the Kodiak station.

Melody Roundup - 1944

Lum and Abner were a good fit for the Melody Roundup.  Today they bring a piece of the Jot em Down Store to the troops with Texas Jim Lewis.

Melody Roundup - 1944

More Melody Roundup

SCN-FM Panama 11/83

This is a photo of the  automation from AFVN in the 60s, 15 years

later it was exactly the same in Panama

SCN-FM November 1983

Craig Miller - 1975

In 1975 Craig Miller talked with a lot of stars on AFN.  Today Rob Bachman from Bachman Turner Overdrive on Nightside.

AFN Craig Miller - Rob Bachman 1975

More from Craig Miller

We Who Fight - 1943

Billboard Magazine - 1943

We Who Fight, a half hour in the We, the People style only for and with servicemen.  This one uses men from all the services of all the nations and aims to keep the men in the Pacific posted on what their allies and comrades are doing on other fronts produced before an audience drawn from people with men in overseas service, uses an army band and a name emcee, who will soon be replaced by a man in uniform.  At the moment there are plans to air We Who Fight for domestic consumption.

This was just recently located

We Who Fight - 1943

More Old Time Radio

AFN Thurndorf

Last year I didn't win an eBay auction, the seller had a second one of these.  AFN Thurndorf?

This has been driving me crazy for a while.  AFN Historian John Provan clears it up a bit:

 

I checked my files and AFN never had a place called Thurndorf. Whoever made this goofed AFN had a location at Thumsdorf, which belonged to AFN Bayreuth. It began in October 1945 and probably operated until November 1946. It is even listed on many German radios as being a real station. It was not, rather it transmitted the AFN Munich programming.

AFN Bremerhaven PSAs 1989-90

Do you remember the package from the PAO?  In 1989-90 the crew at AFN Bremerhaven did some wonderful work.  Every week all of the stations would be tasked with "command information".  Sometimes it could be fun....

AFN Bremerhaven - PSAs 1989-90

More from AFN

AFN Berlin - Mark White

The late Mark White spent over three decades with AFN Berlin.  He was a legend. 

Here are some big band memories from 1980-83

Mark White AFN Berlin

Mystery Theater - Cary Grant

Mystery Theater was a repackaging of classic radio mysteries. In one form or another it started in WWII and continued well into the 1970s.  AFRTS still had the rights to the best.

In 1950 Cary Grant starred "Suspense" and On a Country Road. A couple is stranded during a storm, with a murderer on the loose! In the early 1970s the program was edited into this Mystery Theater broadcast.

Mystery Theater - On a Country Road

More Old Time Radio

GI Jive - 1944

GI Jill with another Jive Session, your favorites by request,

GI Jive - 1944

More Old Time Radio

Simple Gifts - 1972

Simple Gifts was a 1972 bizarre set of 5 minute filler shows.  It was shipped as a MISC so it was to be saved for later use.

Simple Gifts - 1972 

What is that all about?

More about Simple Gifts

We get these things...

Thanks for stopping by.  There are a LOT of different stories behind how this material became available.  Sometimes the talent has made their copies available, thanks again Chris Noel, Roger Carroll, Joe Ferguson and several others.  Sometimes a bunch of disks get rescued on their way to the dumpster and sometimes there's a box of disks have been in storage for decades and sometimes something will show up in a junkshop or on ebay with no story.  If you can help or share material it's always very appreciated. Here's how you can help.

Small World - 1965

Small World was a potpourri of music, comedy and the occasional interview.  Sort of like Monitor, hosted by George Church

Chris Noel made her AFRTS debut on a Small World which I would really like to hear.

Small World - 1965

More Small World

Hear AFN live

I've heard from a few people that would like to be able to listen to AFN live.  They use geo-location, a fancy term for not being able to be heard in the US.  That settles that, er... no.

I'm listening to AFN Stuttgart

A proxy server is a computer that transmits data back and forth to your computer.  The point is the original sending computer doesn't see yours, it only sees the one you're connecting to.  

The easiest way to use this is to get Google Chrome Google Chrome allows the easy integration of several features.

Hola is a proxy that directly integrates into Chrome.  It will work with other browsers.

Get Hola

After it's installed, pick the country you'd like to look like you're from, there's a sun/fire icon in the upper right corner of your browser...

Listen to AFN Europe

Listen to AFN Pacific

You should tell a friend about this...