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Time for more Harry Newman. The next time "Cops" comes on, listen closely to the announcer. From 1986, welcome back Harry Newman..
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Jim Pewter 1980
Jim Pewter was great. Such a mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar that was the Jim Pewter show. Jim was an AFKN vet, starting a super Los Angeles run shortly after.
This time it's back to 1980. Friday night, I was at SCN, getting ready for "Evening of the Isthmus". Time for Jim Pewter
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Learn someting new every day
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AFRN Alaska - Michael Brown 1971
Yes, Adak, Alaska, (halfway out the Aleutian chain), has a radio station. Two of them actually, The AM station on 890 kHz (yep WLS) and an automated FM.
I was in the Navy and was a CTM-2 when I arrived on Adak, June 1970. I left 1 year, 22 hours and 15 minutes later (plane landing to plane takeoff).
My main job had nothing to do with radio, but since I had an interest in being a DJ, I managed to get a weekend shift in the late night hours on Sunday, for 1.5 hours. I eventually got moved to Sat afternoons for 2 hours and then expanded to 3 hrs. I have tapes of pretty much all of my shows, which I've recently transferred to WAV files on the computer.
While there, the staff of the station did a radio series called Ptarmigan Tim.
At my last tour of duty, which was Edzell, Scotland, I did four DeeJay gigs at the EM club near the end of 1973. Did some private party deejaying for a few years after getting out.I was in the Navy and was a CTM-2 when I arrived on Adak, June 1970. I left 1 year, 22 hours and 15 minutes later (plane landing to plane takeoff).
My main job had nothing to do with radio, but since I had an interest in being a DJ, I managed to get a weekend shift in the late night hours on Sunday, for 1.5 hours. I eventually got moved to Sat afternoons for 2 hours and then expanded to 3 hrs. I have tapes of pretty much all of my shows, which I've recently transferred to WAV files on the computer.
While there, the staff of the station did a radio series called Ptarmigan Tim.
During the hey-day of Doctor Who on PBS, I did pledge drives answering phone banks and a few times did on camera pledge drives.
Otherwise, I got into electronics as well as computers; self taught Unix system adminstration long before Microcrap came along. So, I am one of those computer geeks and my house has the computers to show for it.
AFRS Adak - Michael Brown May 29, 1971 Last show
Monday, June 5, 2023
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Roland Bynum 1973
1973 was an amazing year for Soul music. Was the music great or did Roland make it that much better? I think it was a bit of both. We just received several "Soul In Motion", the Air Force recruiting show Roland did for Roger Carroll's company. These are great listening:
Friday, June 2, 2023
Gunsmoke 1957
Gunsmoke radio cast, upper left is William Conrad (Matt Dillon), also the announcer on Rocky and Bullwinkle and Frank Cannon.
We had a lot of places where television was late to the mix. Radio dramas and comedies ran well into the 1990s. "Professor Lute Bone" originally broadcast October 20, 1957. This recording of the show is from a 1967 reissue.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Sports Forum 1952
Fred Hessler was with an AFRS station during WWII. After the war did a lot of sports in Los Angeles, eventually ending up the voice of UCLA football. Here's an early 50s interview show.
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
AFVN Tet Offensive - January 30, 1968
The Tet Offensive was launched on January 30, 1968 by the North Vietnamese forces against the forces of South Vietnam, the United States and their allies. The purpose of the offensive was to utilize the element of surprise and strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam, during a period when no attacks were supposed to take place.
Six men assigned to AFVN were taken prisoner during the Vietnam war, five spending about five years in captivity before being released. The sixth, Steven Stroub, was executed shortly after capture. Three AFVN’ers were killed, others taken as prisoners, to spend the rest of the Vietnam war as captives. Today, only one of those men, SFC Harry Ettmuller (USA, Ret) remains alive to recall those days. Today is also a day to honor all those men and the memory of their sacrifice. -- following a fierce fire fight during the Tet holiday -- on Feb 5, 1968.
Two other men also died that day at AFVN. SGT Thomas Franklin Young, USMC was Killed in Action in that fight. Also killed that day was Courtney Niles, a civilian with NBC International, who died defending the station. One AFVN'er escaped.
Duke Miller made the following memo available. It had been posted on the bulletin board at AFVN.
AFVN Tet Offensive memo 1968
SFC Harry Ettmueller (Ret.) describes the fighting at AFVN Detachment 5 [Hue] Tet 1968
SFC Harry Ettmueller (Ret.) describes the fighting at AFVN Detachment 5 [Hue] Tet 1968
Friday, May 26, 2023
Charlie Tuna 1980
In Korea we had a wall of 8x10s of the AFRTS-LA talent, sort of a reminder. Vicente was recording the Torrejon AFB station and saved the tapes. Here's a 1980 look at Charlie Tuna "coming back at ya for another hour in the radio."
Chris Noel 1970
By 1970 the music was rocking and Chris Noel made it happen. You have a "Date With Chris"
Friday, May 19, 2023
Roger Carroll 1974
Roger with Petula Clark and Johnny Magnus.
Roger Carroll had come up with a great idea. The services had been doing recruiting radio shows since WWII. The majority of them not as slick as they could be. Roger assembled some top talent.
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Johnny Bond 1961
Johnny Bond was a star on Gene Autry's Melody Ranch and sung with fellow AFRTS host Jimmy Wakely (and Scotty Harrell) as the Jimmy Wakely trio. 1965 brought Johnny his biggest hit record "Ten Little Bottles" which still gets me to laugh. Pull out the gramophone Johnny...
Roland Bynum 1973
1973 was an amazing year for Soul music. Was the music great or did Roland make it that much better? I think it was a bit of both. We just received several "Soul In Motion", the Air Force recruiting show Roland did for Roger Carroll's company. These are great listening:
Click that link and hear some Good Bynum...
Monday, May 15, 2023
Benny Brown AFN 1995
Benny is still wowing the continent after over 15 years. It started at AFN. Here's another hour of the weekend show from the network..
Benny Brown remained until 15 July 2015 the “last man standing” from 2-0-8, the fabled English Service of Radio Luxembourg, with his Benny Brown Show that captivated RTL Radio Lëtzebuerg listeners. Now he presents Time Out on Radio 100,7.
Friday, May 12, 2023
Charlie Tuna 1987
Charlie Tuna now
70s, 80s and 90s that's a lot of shows. Charlie started our days in 1971 and continued until 1996. All that time waking Southern California, doing voiceover, TV and film. Busy guy.
Monday, May 8, 2023
Saturday, May 6, 2023
Harry Newman 1982
Today we bring to Archive AFTRS another golden piece of radio history. It´s a Harry Newman aircheck from the American base radio in Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain, in 1982.
Emmylou Harris is a country music legend and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. By that time, 1982, Harry Newman was one of the best dj´s of country music along with Gene Price. And both of them worked for the American Forces Radio. On its program he played the best country music and interviewed the best country music acts like Emmylou Harris or Crystal Gayle. He knew his country music.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Melody Roundup - Hollywood Barndance
Andy Parker and the Plainsmen
Melody Roundup was a catch-all. Stations all over the country would send recordings of their local "hillbilly" shows, they'd be repackaged into a 15 minute program.
The "Hollywood Barn Dance" was KNX, Los Angeles version of the Opry..
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Jimmy Wakely 1969
Jimmy Wakely was one of the last singing cowboys. Singer, film star, songwriter and record company owner. In films he was in Roy Rogers and Gene Autry films. Working with Gene Autry eventually led to long-term performances on Melody Ranch. In later years Jimmy performed on the Grand Old Opry and did a tour for the troops with Bob Hope. We lost Jimmy to emphysema in 1982
In 1969 Jimmy played your country favorites worldwide.
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Sunday, April 23, 2023
JIm Hawthorne Comedy Theatre
Jim Hawthorne was a genius. He was doing freeform radio in the 1940s. "The Hawthorne Thing" was the final NBC radio show to originate on the west coast. He did short films, records, television.
He did many shows for AFRTS. I can't date this one, but it looks to be from the late 60s or early 70s. The Comedy Theatre sounds a bit like the comedy show that Jack Carney and Dick Cavett did in the 1980s..
Charlie Tuna 1984
Here's part of Charlie's biography from charlietuna.com :
Charlie Tuna has worked as morning drive personality for more stations and formats than anyone in Los Angeles radio history: Top 40, AC, Hot AC, Oldies, Talk, Sports Talk, Country.
In 1990, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honored Charlie with his own Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, January 10, 1990. Charlie was the first KHJ Boss Jock to receive a Star on the Walk of Fame, and was inducted in 2008 into the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was inducted into his home state Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 1997, Los Angeles Radio People readers voted Charlie one of the Top 10 L.A. Radio Personalities of All Time, and in 2007, Charlie was once again elected by his LARadio.com broadcast peers as one of the Top 10 Los Angeles Radio Personalities. Among his L.A. Radio credits are: Being part of the legendary KHJ Boss Jock line-up; starting KROQ radio; starting KIIS and serving as both Program Director and Morning Man for KIIS AM & FM.
Tuna was heard around the world daily on the Armed Forces Radio Network for a 25 year – 6000 show run from 1971 to 1996, as well as on numerous nationally syndicated radio shows, since the early 70’s.
Friday, April 21, 2023
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Love 1971 - Tony Pigg
Back to early AOR. In 1971 it was being done by a handful of stations, usually bigger markets, usually the first time the station made any money. Tony Pigg was in that first group that made it happen. Tony brought "Love" to AFRTS.
Kris Erik Stevens 1980
Kris Erik was with the network for a long time and always did a great show.
He's still involved in a lot of great things. Visit Kris at http://www.kriserikstevens.com/
Friday, April 14, 2023
Captain Madrac AFTN 1973
Before they made him use his real name, Ralph Gebes was Captain Madrack on AFTN Odapau, Thailand.
There's a really great website with AFTN memories click here.
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