| Turn back the clock a few decades to a time | | | | television. |
| when fresh milk was still delivered to the | | | | What happened to all of those wonderful old time |
| doorstep's of the nation in glass bottles, when | | | | radio shows and why would anyone want to listen |
| sliced bread was a recent innovation and when | | | | to these shows today? |
| pop-up toasters were the height of sophistication | | | | It's been over 70 years since Amos n' Andy hit |
| ... back to when times were simple ... | | | | the airwaves, nearly 50 years since Fibber |
| ...there was old-time-radio. | | | | McGee's junk-filled closet crashed down on |
| Of course, we call it "old-time-radio" today but | | | | anyone that happened to open the door, and |
| back in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, radio was the | | | | over 40 years since Johnny Dollar filed his final |
| newest, most popular and powerful medium | | | | expenses claim, so why would anyone want to |
| around. Radio was to the 1930s what the Internet | | | | listen to decades-old radio shows when we have |
| was to the 1990s. | | | | literally hundreds of TV and cable channels to |
| The years between 1959 and 1962 are often | | | | choose from, and an endless selection of movies |
| referred to as the Golden Age of Radio -- and | | | | on the big screen, not to mention online |
| radio programs that were broadcast during that | | | | entertainment with all its interactive bells and |
| period had significantly more variety than radio | | | | whistles? |
| programming today. | | | | One of the primary reasons is nostalgia for the |
| The shows captured the hearts and imaginations | | | | "Good Old Days". Old-time-radio shows enable |
| of Americans from coast to coast. It was a time | | | | listeners to take a pleasant stroll down memory |
| when families would gather 'round the radio in the | | | | lane to when times were simple. For the older |
| living room -- that "magic box" that had the | | | | generations it brings back memories of when |
| mysterious power to snatch laughter, tears, | | | | they were younger, and for todays youngsters it |
| drama, thrills and adventure out of the air and | | | | provides a wonderful insight into just how much |
| bring it into our homes. | | | | lives have changed over the years. |
| The Golden Age of Radio started in 1929 with the | | | | Another reason why the old time radio shows are |
| debut of radio shows like The Goldbergs, True | | | | seeing a renaissance is the amazing variety of |
| Detective Mysteries, National Farm and Home | | | | shows that were recorded during radio's golden |
| Hour, and the Rudy Vallee Show. It continued | | | | period. There are thousands of old time-radio |
| through into the 1930s when shows like Fibber | | | | programs to appeal to every taste, mood and |
| McGee and Molly, Lux Radio Theater, The Aldrich | | | | age group, covering everything from surreal |
| Family, Bob Hope, and the Al Jolson Show hit the | | | | comedy through to spine tingling thrillers. |
| airwaves. | | | | Finally, there an ever increasing desire for |
| By the 1940s radio broadcasting was in full flow. | | | | wholesome entertainment. Old-time-radio shows |
| Shows like Abbott and Costello, Escape, | | | | offer a refreshing respite from the vulgarities, |
| Suspense, This is Your FBI, the Judy Canova | | | | profanities, sex and violence that punctuate |
| Show, You Bet Your Life, and The Adventures of | | | | modern-day TV, movies and other forms of |
| Phillip Marlow dominated the airwaves | | | | entertainment. |
| By the time the 1950s came around radio had a | | | | Fortunately, over the years many people have |
| serious competitor in the form of television, but | | | | collected and restored these old shows so that |
| many high quality shows could be heard every | | | | they can be enjoyed again as much by older |
| night of the week. Gusnmoke, Dimension X, Tales | | | | listeners as a new generation coming to them for |
| of the Texas Rangers, Dr. Kildare and The | | | | the first time. Ironically, it was the growth in |
| Sixty-Four Dollar Question were heard by | | | | popularity of a brand new technological medium, |
| countless millions. | | | | the Internet, that really helped to make these |
| As the 1950s came to a close the glory years of | | | | classic radio shows available to a wider audience. |
| radio were coming to an end. In September 1962 | | | | So, whether it is for nostalgia reasons, for |
| the last episodes of Suspense and Yours Truly, | | | | wholesomeness, or just for plain entertainment |
| Johnny Dollar were broadcast. It was the end of | | | | value, old-time radio shows are becoming an |
| a glorious era. An era that exploded into the public | | | | increasingly popular alternative to today's |
| consciousness in the 1920s, but had finally been | | | | mainstream media and one that is well worth |
| cast aside in favor of the new visual medium of | | | | checking out whether you're 9 or 90. |