Once upon a time there was old time radio

By Ned Norris

Back when gasoline was just a dime a gallon, when fresh milk was still delivered to people's doorsteps in glass bottles, when America had just discovered sliced bread and automatic pop-up toasters...back when times were simple...

...there was old-time-radio.

Of course, we call it "old-time-radio" today but back in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, radio was the newest, most popular and powerful medium around.  Radio was to the 1930s what the Internet was to the 1990s.

The years between 1959 and 1962 are often referred to as the Golden Age of Radio -- and radio programs that were broadcast during that period had significantly more variety than radio programming today.

The shows captured the hearts and imaginations of Americans from coast to coast.  It was a time when families would gather 'round the radio in the living room -- that "magic box" that had the mysterious power to snatch laughter, tears, drama, thrills and adventure out of the air and bring it into our homes.

The Golden Age of Radio started in 1929 with the debut of radio shows like The Goldbergs, True Detective Mysteries, National Farm and Home Hour, and the Rudy Vallee Show. It continued through into the 1930s when shows like Fibber McGee and Molly, Lux Radio Theater, The Aldrich Family, Bob Hope, and the Al Jolson Show hit the airwaves.

By the 1940s radio broadcasting was in full flow. Shows like Abbott and Costello, Escape, Suspense, This is Your FBI, the Judy Canova Show, You Bet Your Life, and The Adventures of Phillip Marlow dominated the airwaves

By the time the 1950s came around radio had a serious competitor in the form of television, but many high quality shows could be heard every night of the week. Gusnmoke, Dimension X, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Dr. Kildare and The Sixty-Four Dollar Question were heard by millions.

By the late 1950s the glory years of radio drama were coming to an end. In September 1962 the last episodes of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar were broadcast. It was the end of a glorious era. An era that exploded into the public consciousness in the 1920s, but had finally been cast aside in favor of the new visual medium of television.

What happened to all those old radio shows and why would anyone want to listen to them today?

It's been over 70 years since Amos n' Andy hit the airwaves, nearly 50 years since Fibber McGee's junk-filled closet crashed down on anyone that happened to open the door, and over 40 years since Johnny Dollar filed his final expenses claim, so why would anyone want to listen to decades-old radio shows when we have literally hundreds of TV and cable channels to choose from, and an endless selection of movies on the big screen,  not to mention online entertainment with all its interactive bells and whistles?

One of the primary reasons is nostalgia for the "Good Old Days". Old-time-radio shows enable listeners to take a pleasant stroll down memory lane to when times were simple. For older listeners it brings back memories of their childhood or early adult life, and for the younger generations it provides a wonderful insight into how lives have changed over the years.

Another reason why the old time radio shows are seeing a renaissance is the amazing variety of shows that were recorded during radio’s golden period. There are literally thousands of old-time-radio programs to suit every taste, mood and age bracket, covering everything from spine tingling thrillers through to surreal comedy.

Finally, there an ever increasing desire for wholesome entertainment. Old-time-radio shows offer a refreshing respite from the vulgarities, profanities, sex and violence that punctuate modern-day TV, movies and other forms of entertainment.

Fortunately, over the years many people have collected and restored these old shows so that they can be enjoyed again as much by older listeners as a new generation coming to them for the first time. Ironically, it was the growth in popularity of a brand new technological medium, the Internet, that really helped to make these classic radio shows available to a wider audience.

So, whether it is for nostalgia reasons, for wholesomeness, or just for plain entertainment value, old-time radio shows are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to today’s mainstream media and one that is well worth checking out whether you’re 9 or 90.