The Origins
Old-Time Radio (OTR) and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the dominant home entertainment medium in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
During this period, when radio was dominant and the airwaves were filled with a variety of radio formats and genres, people regularly tuned in to their favorite radio programs. In fact, according to a 1947 C. E. Hooper survey, 82 out of 100 Americans were found to be radio listeners. The end of this period coincided with music radio becoming the dominant radio form and is often marked in the United States by the final CBS broadcasts of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar on September 30, 1962.
The Cast Of Characters Was Endless
Time To Laugh
Popular Shows
Vintage Commercials The Shadow CBS Radio Mystery Theater Abbott and Costello Amos 'n' AndyComedy
A Date with Judy Abbott and Costello Amos 'n' Andy Blondie Bob Hope Ed Wynn The Fire Chief Father Knows Best Fibber McGee and Molly It Pays To Be Ignorant Jack Benny Judy Canova Show Magnificent Montague Our Miss Brooks Red Skelton The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet The Aldrich Family The Baby Snooks Show The Great GildersleeveDrama
A Canticle for Liebowitz Adventures By Morse Authors' Playhouse Bold Venture Campbell Playhouse Cathy and Elliott Lewis On Stage Dragnet Encore Theater Gang Busters Nightbeat Radio City Playhouse Terry and the Pirates The Adventures of Maisie The Adventures of the Thin Man The Black Museum The FBI in Peace and War The First Nighter Program The Lives Of Harry Lime The Price of Fear Wayside Theater Yours Truly, Johnny DollarMystery
A Man Called X Barry Craig Confidential Investigator Beyond Midnight Boris Karloff Candy Matson CBS Radio Mystery Theater CBSRMT Danger Dr. Danfield Escape Radio Shows Lights Out Quiet Please Suspense Radio Shows The Adventures of Horatio Hornblower The Adventures of Leonidas Witherall The WhistlerSci Fi / Superheros
2000 Plus Batman Blue Beetle Flash Gordon Frankenstein Journey to the Center of the Earth Mind Webs Omar, The Wizard Of Persia Planet Man Superman The Avenger The Falcon X Minus OneWestern
Death Valley Days Fort Laramie Frontier Town Gene Autry Gunsmoke Hopalong Cassidy Red Ryder Roy Rogers Tales Of The Texas Rangers The American Trail The Town CrierDetective Stories
Blackstone The Magic Detective Boston Blackie The Adventures of Sam Spade The Amazing Mr. Malone The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The ShadowMusic
Artie Shaw Benny Goodman Bob Crosby Glen Miller Louis Armstrong The Eddie Arnold Show The Ray Anthony Show Theater of Hits Tommy DorseyMiscellaneous
Fireside Chat with Franklin D. Roosevelt Green Valley Line Jerry of the Circus Les Miserables Lux Radio Theatre Vintage Commercials Voices of History World War II News BroadcastsToday We Have Several Websites Providing Access To The Golden Years
- Radio Archives - Provides access to thousands of recordings for a price.
- Free Old Time Radio - This site provides free access to thousands of Old Time Radio Shows for your listening pleasure. We have come to love old time radio and we have donated our time (and plenty of it ;) and not an insubstantial sum on server rental and internet connection fees.
- Antique Radio - This web site is dedicated to the history of radio broadcasting. It has been created not just for your listening pleasure but to help spark your interest in the history of broadcasting and the enjoyable hobbies of collecting old time radio programs, collectable radios and related memorabilia.
- Old Time Radio Programs - Welcome to Old Radio World! Here you will find some of the most popular radio programs of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Before television, radio provided entertainment by presenting radio plays and programs of mystery, intrigue, and comedy. There was also news and soap operas.
Listening Circa 1930-1950
Paul remembers the big radio in the front room that was used in the 1940's and 1950's. It was a Zenith Trans-Oceanic and in fact picked up stations on the short wave bands!
Content Covered All
Radio content in the Golden Age of Radio had its origins in audio theatre. Audio theatre began in the 1880s and 1890s with audio recordings of musical acts and other vaudeville.
These were sent to people by means of telephone and, later, through phonograph cylinders and discs. To day we do it with CD's and MP3 files!
Visual elements, such as effects and sight gags, were adapted to have sound equivalents.
In additions, visual objects and scenery were converted to have audio descriptions.
The First Broadcast
On Christmas Eve , 1906, Reginald Fessenden sent the first radio program broadcast, which was made up of some violin playing and passages from the bible.
The year Paul's father was born!
It Was Live
In the beginning of the Golden Age, American radio network programs were presented almost exclusively live, since the national networks prohibited the airing of recorded programs until the late 1940s. As a result, prime-time shows would be performed twice for both coasts. However, some programs were recorded as they were broadcast during this period, typically for syndicated programs or for advertisers to have their own copy. When the networks became more open to airing recorded programs in the 1950s and 1960s, recordings became more common.
Recordings Were Not CD's
Recordings of radio programs were typically made at a radio network 's studios, since the expense and expertise of making a recording was usually more than a local station was capable of handling.