Blogpost #33

Welcome back, Beatle people! November 24 marks the birthday of Pete Best, born 1941 and still remembered as the unlucky soul who was "drummed out" of the Beatles just before the start of Beatlemania. This week's show features my biography of Pete, including the true reason he was dismissed from the group.

Pete made his American TV debut on March 30, 1964 as a mystery guest on the game show "I've Got A Secret" with Garry Moore as host. A clip from that show is on YouTube.

In March 1982, Pete gave an in-depth interview about his life to Los Angeles FM deejay Jim Ladd, who released an edited version on an LP titled "Like Dreamers Do" that also featured ten tracks from the Beatles' Decca studio sessions. It's currently available on eBay from a collector who wants $120 for a sealed copy. If you're only interested in the interview, it's available on video for only ten bucks from Robert York at eskimo.com.

If you're interested in Pete's life story, he's written three autobiographies, including a 1985 book that completely ignores Neil Aspinall's relationship with Pete's mom. Next week we'll feature highlights from the Million Dollar Quartet sessions from 1956 that inspired the stage musical. Thanks for listening!

Blogpost #31

Welcome back, radio historians! Today is the 83rd birthday of the National Broadcasting Company. NBC signed on the air November 15, 1926 with a four-hour program of music from various dance bands, comedy from Will Rogers, and numerous speeches from company executives. The program cost $50,000 to produce and was heard as far west as Kansas City via a "chain" of 25 stations.

Today, we celebrate NBC's birthday with an hour of excerpts from a 1966 radio special produced for NBC's 40th anniversary. The special was hosted by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy. It was heard over the NBC radio network on November 13, 1966 and was later issued as a two-LP set.

I had considered playing the show in its entirety over two weeks, but there were too many things that needed to be edited out. You probably won't miss the commercials for Chase and Sanborn coffee or the annoying laugh tracks, but just in case you'd like to hear the unedited version, it's available for free download at archive.com. I also decided to delete the performances by Al Jolson and Amos 'n' Andy, who represent a style of humor that has no place in the 21st century. If there's a Museum of Outdated Stereotypes, you'll find them there.

Next week, it's another Beatle birthday tribute. This time we're remembering Pete Best, who famously got the sack just days before the group was to make their TV debut. You'll hear a 1982 in-depth interview, plus rare recordings from his two years as a Beatle. There's also a clip from a 1964 TV quiz show where a celebrity panel tries to guess his identity. Thanks for listening!

Blogpost #30

Welcome back, friends! This week's show is a special Veteran's Day tribute. We'll be saluting all our fighting men and women of past wars by presenting a rare documentary LP from 1966 titled Historic Music and Voices From World War II. The LP was produced by American Heritage Publishing and was narrated by actor Luis Van Rooten. The LP lasts just under an hour, and we'll hear it in its entirety. Unfortunately, little information could be found about the LP on the web. There is a used copy available on eBay, but not for much longer.

Highlights of the documentary include these historic recordings:

Adolph Hitler addresses Nazi Congress at Nuremberg, 1934
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge criticizes League of Nations, 1919
Franklin Roosevelt supports joining the League of Nations, 1920
Emperor Haile Selassie speaks at the League of Nations, 1936
Neville Chamberlain announces peace treaty with Hitler, 1938
Nazi troops terrorize Jews on Night of Broken Glass, 1938
Kate Smith debuts God Bless America on Armistice Day, 1938
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk appeals to America, 1939
Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany, 1939
Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister, 1940
Benito Mussolini declares war on England and France, 1940
Winston Churchill delivers England's Finest Hour speech, 1940
France is occupied and controlled by Nazi Germany, 1940
German air fighters drop bombs over English Channel, 1940
Princess Elizabeth speaks to evacuated British children, 1940
President Roosevelt announces first draft number drawn, 1940
Joseph Stalin announces Nazi invasion of Western Russia, 1941
Japan massacres American troops at Pearl Harbor, 1941
President Roosevelt delivers Day of Infamy speech, 1941
American troops surrender to Japan in the Philippines, 1942
Sir Harry Lauder sings for Scottish troops at Christmas, 1942
German radio announces British bombing raid on Berlin, 1943
Allied troops announce D-Day landing on French coast, 1944
NBC reporter Tom Traynor describes D-Day landing, 1944
French radio announces liberation of Paris from Nazis, 1944
Charles DeGaulle attacked by snipers at Notre Dame, 1944
General Douglas MacArthur returns to the Philippines, 1944
Allied forces capture Japanese airfields on Iwo Jima, 1945
BBC radio reports discovery of Nazi death camps, 1945
Death camp survivor plays tribute song on Nazi piano, 1945
Prosecutor reveals Nazi horrors at Nuremberg trials, 1946
German radio announces death of Adolph Hitler, 1945
British cathedral bells ring to celebrate V-E Day, 1945
Jesuit priest describes survivors of Hiroshima bomb, 1945
Robert Montgomery honors Roosevelt on V-J Day, 1945

The LP was compiled from thousands of hours of audio saved by archivists in Japan, Germany, France, Russia, and England as well as America. I couldn't think of a better tribute to our troops for this coming Veteran's Day. I hope you'll take the time to visit the grave of a veteran in your family to pay your respects and maybe spruce up the grave site, just we do every year.

Next week marks NBC's 83rd birthday. Once again, we'll pay tribute with lots of clips from NBC's early years of radio broadcasting. Thanks for listening!

Blogpost #29

Welcome back, friends! Here's a preview of what's coming up for the month of November.

November 2, 1920 marked a milestone in the history of radio. It was on that day that KDKA signed on the air under the ownership of the Westinghouse Electric Company. Today, nearly 90 years later, it is still on the air with its original call letters. Other stations have claimed to have started transmitting prior to 1920, and WBZ claims to have the first legally defined broadcast license in 1921, but only KDKA can claim to have retained its original call letters since 1920.

The station was started by Dr. Frank Conrad, a radio hobbyist who worked for Westinghouse. In the fall of 1920, he was operating a small radio transmitter out of his garage purely for his enjoyment. He would read news items out of the paper and play records from a Victrola. Since microphones hadn't been invented yet, he spoke through a telephone mouthpiece propped up in a cardboard box insulated with cotton. He called his station 8XK.

Harry Davis, Conrad's boss at Westinghouse, knew about his radio hobby but thought nothing of it until a Pittsburgh department store placed an ad offering radio sets to the public for ten dollars. When Davis read the ad, he suddenly realized that radio offered unlimited potential for growth. Not every home could use electricity back then, but any home could use a battery-powered radio. He asked Conrad to start up a radio station for Westinghouse, and he managed to get it on the air just in time to announce a breaking news story: Republican candidate Warren Harding had been elected president. KDKA had scooped every newspaper in Pennsylvania.

To honor this historic occasion, I will be presenting a special two-hour edition of A Time To Remember which will document radio's famous firsts. You'll hear a reenactment of the first broadcast on KDKA along with dozens of other milestones, including the radio debuts of many of radio's best known performers such as Frank Sinatra and Edgar Bergen. You'll also hear an hour-long documentary produced to commemorate KDKA's golden anniversary.

Don't forget, it's a two-hour show next Sunday, November 1. Thanks for reading and thanks for listening.

Blogpost #28

Welcome back, Beatle people! We're presenting a month-long celebration of John Lennon's birthday as well as the anniversary of the first Beatles single to be released in Britain.

John Lennon was born October 9, 1940, and so was his son Sean (not a coincidence, as it was later revealed). All month long, we'll be listening to excerpts from his final interview taped hours before his death. The interview was conducted in Lennon's New York office by Dave Sholin of San Francisco's KFRC in the early afternoon of December 8, 1980. Dave and three staffers flew back home that evening with two 90 minute cassettes filled with John and Yoko's revealing commentary; by the time the plane landed, Lennon was dead.

Dave had little time to mourn his passing; he suddenly had to deal with dozens of requests for media interviews as 'the last man to interview John Lennon'. With the help of engineer Ron Hummel and writer Laurie Kaye, the historic interview was expanded into a three-hour radio special titled "John Lennon: The Man, The Memory" that first aired December 14, 1980.

In February of 1984, Silhouette Records compiled a two-LP package titled "Reflections and Poetry" using lengthy excerpts from Dave's special (taped off the air without his permission) with newly added narration from New York radio deejay Bob Miles. It was released in June 1984 in a limited edition of 10,000 copies which sold out within two months. Plans for a repress were foiled by Yoko Ono's attorneys on the grounds that her voice was used without her permission. A British record label simply reedited the material to eliminate any trace of Yoko's voice, and issued it on CD as "The Last Word". Having heard both the CD and vinyl versions of the repackaged interview, I can assure you that the vinyl is definitely more listenable and more complete.

The original two-LP package will be presented in its entirety over the course of four weeks, one side per show. The interview has been restored to its original speed, since Lennon's voice was speeded up on the records. In addition, the vinyl has been cleaned up extensively for broadcast using digital declicking and noise reduction. It actually sounds better than the CD version, which appears to have been mastered from a cassette.

In addition to Lennon's farewell interview, we'll also hear the classic Beatles singles as released in Britain - all 22 of them! This is my way of commemorating the 47th anniversary of the first Beatles single release on October 5, 1962. We started with "Love Me Do" on October 4 and we'll finish up with "Let It Be" on October 26. I hope you'll join us every week as we celebrate Beatle month on A Time To Remember. See you again in November!

Blogpost #27

Welcome back, loyal listeners. For you newcomers, here's a look at what's coming up soon on A Time To Remember.

September 20: A birthday salute to Ray Charles (born September 23, 1930). A rare concert taped on September 22, 1963 for Brazilian TV. Listen for "Hit The Road Jack", "What'd I Say", "You Don't Know Me" and a dozen other favorites from Ray, his orchestra, and the Raelettes. Bonus track: Ray sings a duet with his biggest fan, Flip Wilson on a February 1, 1973 broadcast of TV's "Flip Wilson Show".

September 27: A birthday salute to Groucho Marx (born October 2, 1890). A rare unedited full-length recording session for the "You Bet Your Life" quiz show from December 5, 1949. Listen for technical errors, retakes, and lots of risque wisecracks from Groucho that never made it past the censor.

October 4: A birthday salute to John Lennon (born October 9, 1940). An historic and poignant interview taped December 8, 1980, just hours before his death. Listen for John's tragically ironic comment: "My work won't be finished until I am dead and buried - and I hope that's a long, long time".

If you have suggestions for future birthday salutes or anniversary tributes, send them to johnbialas@yahoo.com. Thanks for listening. See you again next month!

Blogpost #26

This past September 12 marked what would have been the 96th birthday of the late Jesse Owens, an outstanding track and field star of the early 20th century. As a college athlete in the early 1930's, he tied or broke several world records. His medal-winning performance at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany established him as the greatest living American athlete.

Sadly, his dire financial condition led him to resign from the American Olympic team to pursue lucrative offers that were later withdrawn. He struggled to support his family, and was often forced to accept embarrassing jobs such as attempting to outrun a racehorse in Cuba.

To his credit, he never lost his dignity or his high moral standards. He launched a new career as a motivational speaker for the state of Illinois, inspiring students and teachers alike to pursue their own level of excellence, just as he did. From the late 50's to the mid 60's, he was a jazz deejay on Chicago radio station WAAF 950 AM. He passed away in 1980, shortly after hearing the disappointing news of the 1980 Olympic boycott.

This week's show draws on a rare collection of audio clips from an out-of-print tribute LP celebrating the life and achievements of Jesse Owens. It's titled "Jesse Owens: The Olympic Years", and it was released in 1983 on the nostalgia label Mark 56 records. I did extensive research to put the audio clips in their proper context, much of it coming from a 2007 book by ESPN's Jeremy Schaap titled "Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics". It's available as a "bargain book" from Amazon.

Next week is Ray Charles' birthday, and I'll be playing a rare Brazilian TV concert appearance from 1963 featuring Ray on piano and sax along with his orchestra and his backup singers, the Raelettes. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.