Posts
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Thursday, October 12, 2017
GI Jive 1945
When AFRTS worked best, it was the Voice Of Home, a place to remember. Nowhere was that easier to see than by the presentation of women. During WWII Martha Wilkerson was GI Jill, a friendly neighbor. In the 1950s it was Rebel Randall. In the 1960s Chris Noel was very much a product of the times. Here's GI Jill:
Monday, October 9, 2017
Chris Noel - 1968
Chris is okay after the nasty weather in Florida! To celebrate Chris Noel's book "A Blonde Bomb Goes To Vietnam" (get a copy by clicking here , proceeds benefit Chris's veterans shelter "Ceasefire House"), it's time for A Date With Chris.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Continental Varieties 1960
Here's Dick Crawford with some dinnertime Music of the Continent. Today the highlight is on the Americans. Dick did the show from the late 50s until the mid-60s. I can see a lot of Colonels grooving...
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
AFN Berlin - Tom Adams 1990
The tapes a little beat up, but from Berlin Tom Adams plays them for you...
Friday, September 22, 2017
Chris Noel 1968
Chris Noel with Lawrence Welk
Chris Noel was an amazing talent. Let's go back to 1968 for a Date With Chris.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
AFKN 1970 - Dave Massa
Well AFKN in Seoul is on it's way to being closed. A while back Dave Massa sent a memory, a 1970 AFKN Munsan aircheck. It's time for "Mail From Home" Here's a nice history from 1970 the AFKN story
AFKN Munsan 1970 - Dave Massa
Friday, September 15, 2017
Blue Danube Network - AFN Austria 1955
Blue Danube Network in Austria. BDN was initiated shortly after World War II, and the first station went into operation in Salzburg July 10, 1945.
The unit opened its first permanent station in Salzburg under the call letters KZCA. The Salzburg station was followed by BDN Vienna, when the capital city became the command's headquarters. Next came the Linz outley, thus creating a trio of stations spread across Austria.
The quality and originality of BDN production increased gradually and soon augmented AFRS "canned" shows. Two of the original productions were "Hospital Request Show" and "Man On The Street."
Located At Klessheim
When USFA Hq moved from Vienna to Salzburg in 1950, BDN Salzburg became the main station. In 1955 BDN was shut down as the Americans were asked to leave Austria.
Here's a variety of airchecks and interviews about BDN
Monday, September 11, 2017
Russian Roulette with a Sugar Cube 1966
By the mid 60s drugs were being an issue and the information crew of AFRTS wanted to get the truth out about LSD. It's an interesting show.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Chris Noel 1968
Chris Noel is an amazing story if you haven't heard it already take a look at her website.
She still does so much more than she has too. Vetsville is a homeless shelter for veterans that she keeps running. Make a contribution, go to her website and buy something. It helps.
Thursday, August 10, 2017
AFRTS at 50, FEN at 30
The history of AFRTS was published by AFRTS in 1993 to celebrate the anniversary. It's been impossibly out of print. This is a reprint. If you'd like to read it online Click here
Far East Network
The Far East Network was headquartered out of Japan and at times FEN was the callsign of stations in several countries. There was an interesting history. Air Force SGT Jim Dougherty has the highlights of the first 30 years.
FEN 30th anniversary 1975
More of our anniversaries
The Far East Network was headquartered out of Japan and at times FEN was the callsign of stations in several countries. There was an interesting history. Air Force SGT Jim Dougherty has the highlights of the first 30 years.
FEN 30th anniversary 1975
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Chris Noel 1968
Chris Noel
A while back I was called by someone with a week of Chris Noel shows. He wanted to know if I was interested. Safe assumption that was. So from late 1968, A Date With Chris
AFRTS 1979
In October 1979 Vincente was recording the Torrejon station. We'll hear from our AFRTS-LA friends Kris Erik Stevens, Wolfman, Johnnie Darin and a bunch of surprises.
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Jubilee 1944
Ernie Whitman
Friday, July 28, 2017
Interlude 1972
Interlude was one of the many "Music for Colonels" shows. Soft symphonic music for the dinner hour, or evening, or overnight. Through most of the history of the network, we played this music.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Chris Noel - 1969
Thank you Chris Noel for sharing the memories. A few years ago Chris called and asked if I'd like to be able to share these shows. She had saved most of them. That was an easy question. She had finished doing the show before I enlisted but at the station at the 2d Infantry division had saved hundreds of these. I thought they were perfect radio. Then and now.
Let's remember 1969 with A Date With Chris.
Friday, July 21, 2017
The Green Slime - 1969
Today (July 18, 2017) I saw the movie The Green Slime (1969) again on cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM). It aired at 12:45 p.m. EDT. The thing about The Green Slime was that the monsters were not "green" and were not "slimey". Their alien blood however, was "green".
To my knowledge, this is the only Tokyo-made movie that featured the FEN Production Director, Leonard "Bud" Widom (FEN 1964-1969), in fourth billing, along with dozens of FEN enlisted personnel and wives as "extras". I recognized SSGT Larry Rogers, now called Frank Rogers, in a "party" scene.
The movie was actually filmed in 1968 from studios that were located on the road, as you drove from the "back gate" of Grant Heights FHA to Momote Village.
Some FEN announcers may have been given "bit" parts where they spoke a few words. All the performers were "round-eye"; there were no Japanese actors visible. They all had "appropriate" haircuts for 1968, and senior enlisted personnel (E-7 to E-9) stood out. There were many 20-something females featured from somewhere, but not FEN who had only dependents available.
The Green Slime was featured on TCM with a group of "horror" movies that were considered "camp" or Grade B. The Green Slime was also the premiere movie of the parody-series Mystery Science Theater 3000. That was the series where the host and two robot-puppets were super-imposed on theater seating in opaque and added snarky commentary as the movie was super-imposed behind them.
I was at FEN in 1969 when the movie premiered on the Japanese AAFMPS circuit, to much hoopla and fanfare, in October 1969, at North Camp Drake and Grant Heights Theaters.
Don Browne "LT", FEN Tokyo 1969-1971
Thursday, July 20, 2017
AFKN video production 1977
AFKN video production 1977. So that's how it was done 40 years ago... and kinescopes...
Thanks Linda! High tech is us.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Jingle Jangle...
Grab a bunch of TPs, the currents and some jingles! You're late for The Morning show!!!
Saturday, July 15, 2017
LaRita Shelby 1994
There is a party going on, with LaRita Shelby. She shared several programs with us and I'm thankful.
If you haven't heard "Date With a Song" you really should. Light, jazzy but not muzaky. Information at http://www.laritashelby.com
Golden Days Of Radio - 1968
In 1968 Frank Bresee started doing the Golden Days of Radio. Frank had been a radio star in the 1940s and brought back the memories. The show was most often a potpourri of the best of radio. Radio dramas and comedy were on AFRTS for many many years. We still had multiple places with no television station.
Sunday, July 9, 2017
AFN Nightside - Craig Miller
Nightside was a little bit of everything. Craig Miller was a part of it. Definitely good radio.
Thursday, July 6, 2017
If Freedom Failed - 1953
The Voice Of Information with "If Freedom Failed" 1953 government-produced radio series dramatizing the impact of a Communist take-over of the United Statestoday starring Mary Anderson. Mary had quite a career 31 films including Gone with the Wind (1939), Lifeboat (1944) and The Song of Bernadette (1943). Later she did a bunch of television.
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Chris Noel 1968
Something fun for the collection is an original wirephoto from the Baltimore Sun of Chris Noel
Top Pops
The TP (or "Top Pops") were a weekly series of disks with the hits of the week. It ran from 1962-75. After 1975 we received similar disks but as regular library records, making it harder to use. Remember grabbing a handful and rocking up a storm?
Monday, July 3, 2017
Not allowed in your country
Roger Carroll's Best Sounds in Town is up and streaming, out of beta. Yay! Apparently if you're not in the United States you have to use an internet proxy. Same thing I use too listen AFN here. It's worth paying for, but there's a free one. I did a story about this a while back.
Sunday, July 2, 2017
WACR Radio Blackhorse, Vietnam 1970
During Vietnam, several commands had their own command information radio stations, providing a fast way to communicate with the troops and of course an ego stroke for the commander. "Radio Blackhorse" (11th Armored Cav) was in Quon Loi.
Don Browne shared the following:
Due to the "Status of Forces" agreement, the RVN agency that controlled radio broadcasting, ostensibly the QC, had no control over any U.S. agency broadcasting.
This included AFRS and its successor AFVN, any U.S. PIO "independent" radio stations, the VOA, and the CIA "black" stations in RVN.
WACR was considered one of about ten PIO "independent" radio stations. They received hand-me-down broadcast equipment from AFVN, received free "DJ copies" of 45 RPM and 12-Inch LP's, and purchased "jingles" from state-side producers.
WACR purchased jingles from a company that was inferior to Pepper-Tanner.
This was unfortunate.
At the time in question (late sixties), a private person could purchase any Gwinsound jingle for twenty-five dollars. Many jingle collectors in my jingle-collecting community actually did this. The quality of Gwinsound was excellent; it was equal to top-selling CRC but not as good as PAMS. But PAMS was too expensive for "private collectors".
The equipment featured in the photo of WACR was mostly provided by AFVN. This included a McMartin six-fader tube-based audio console, an RCA twin-mounted cartridge player, and an old ATC P-150 cartridge player (mounted on the audio console).
The WACR transmitter used at the time was a ten-watt exciter on 107.9 MHz.
Later a low power AM transmitter on 1550 kHz would be added.
WACR was close enough to the AFVN FM transmitter at #9 Hong Thap Tu and its 100,000 watts to receive a clean off-air feed of News-On-The-Hour (NOH).
The 7 p.m. NOH featured "Larry Rogers", who I worked with at FEN in 1969 prior to his assignment at AFVN. Based on the "Black Panther Courtroom Rally in New Haven, CT" story which occurred on Friday May 1, 1970, the newscast was 7 p.m. Saturday May 2, 1970 (7 a.m. Saturday morning May 2, 1970 New Haven time).
Gary W. Gears was still the production voice featured on AFVN news in 1970, although he had ETS'd a few months earlier.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
One Night Stand - Lionel Hampton 1947
One Night Stand was on for decades featuring the best bands in the land. AFM and the networks sent in live remote broadcasts which were repackaged. Some of these really were the best, like this one with vibraphone master Lionel Hampton.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Chris Noel 1968
When I was at AFKN Camp Casey in 1977, there was an amazing stack of these in the record library. I heard Chris the first time then and thought that these were great programming. If I could have figured a way to reuse them, I would have. Wonderful radio. To this day she helps or veteran bothers.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
FEN Macabre 1962
Macabre was produced in-house by the Tokyo studios of the Far East Network of the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. Two Air Force personnel were most responsible for creating the series: William Verdier as writer, performer, and director; and Program Director and performer, John F. Buey, Jr.. Mr. Buey entered the Civilian Service from the old Yankee Radio Network, serving as Program Director of FEN Tokyo from its inception in 1946.
The Verdiers, William and Christine, were active in several local origination FEN Tokyo productions, with Mr. Verdier responsible for the original 15 ips tape submission that resulted in the green light to produce the series of broadcast episodes.
The series arose out of an impromptu competition between The Far East Network and The Armed Forces Network-Germany. Both networks sent 15 ips audition tapes to the AFRTS Headquarters in Los Angeles and FEN Tokyo won the 'competition'. The AFRTS transcribed and distributed the Macabre series on October 4, 1961-- a month before FEN Tokyo recorded a ninth episode of Macabre for Christmas Day, titled Of Frankincense and Myrrh.
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