Archival Dispatch: 32 Master Broadcasts Dated Across Golden Days of Radio, Paul Harvey, Jim's Christmas Stocking, and Louisiana Hayride
Date:
Author: radio index
Reading: 6 min
Tags: Golden Days of Radio, Frank Bresee, Paul Harvey, Rest of the Story, Elvis Presley, Gandhi, Christmas Radio, BBC, Louisiana Hayride, George Jones, Jimmy Martin, Original Filenames
Batch 37 Forensic Discoveries
Batch 37 resolves 32 historical entertainment, narrative mystery, holiday, and live country music broadcasts: 8 retrospective audio history episodes from Frank Bresee's The Golden Days of Radio (1969–1971, featuring Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Arthur Godfrey, Bing Crosby, and Stan Freberg), 8 classic syndicated broadcasts from Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story (including the secret origins of Elvis Presley, Mahatma Gandhi's first legal case, and Mario Andretti), 8 holiday drama anthologies and BBC festive specials from Jim's Christmas Stocking (1986–2005), and 8 Saturday night live stage performances from KWKH Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride (featuring George Jones, Jimmy Martin, Faron Young, and The Browns).
1. The Golden Days of Radio — 1969–1971 Frank Bresee Retrospectives
Documenting the golden age of American broadcasting:
| Original Circulating Filename | Canonical Title | Verified Airdate | Featured Radio Personalities |
|---|---|---|---|
Golden_Days_Lum_Abner_Hope.mp3 |
"The Golden Days of Radio: Lum and Abner & Bob Hope" | 1970-04-12 | Pine Ridge comedy sketches and wartime Bob Hope USO broadcasts. |
Golden_Days_Godfrey_Freberg.mp3 |
"The Golden Days of Radio: Arthur Godfrey & Stan Freberg" | 1970-07-19 | Arthur Godfrey's morning chatter and Stan Freberg's radio satires. |
Golden_Days_Wilson_Harris.mp3 |
"The Golden Days of Radio: Don Wilson & Phil Harris (Jack Benny Special)" | 1970-10-25 | The Jell-O program cast backstage stories and rehearsals. |
Golden_Days_Sound_Effects_Benny.mp3 |
"The Golden Days of Radio: Radio Sound Effects with Jack Benny" | 1971-02-14 | Sound effects master Ray Erlenborn demonstrates vintage radio foley. |
Golden_Days_Fisher_Berle.mp3 |
"The Golden Days of Radio: Eddie Fisher & Milton Berle" | 1971-05-23 | 1950s variety radio comedy and musical numbers. |
Golden_Days_Howard_Shelton.mp3 |
"The Golden Days of Radio: Tom Howard and George Shelton ('It Pays to Be Ignorant')" | 1969-11-09 | Classic radio quiz comedy parody. |
Golden_Days_Gunsmoke_Freberg.mp3 |
"The Golden Days of Radio: Gunsmoke & Stan Freberg Satire" | 1970-01-18 | Western radio drama alongside Stan Freberg's parodies. |
Golden_Days_Crosby_Colonna.mp3 |
"The Golden Days of Radio: Bing Crosby & Jerry Colonna" | 1970-03-01 | Kraft Music Hall tunes and Jerry Colonna's wild comic banter. |
2. Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story — 1978–1988 Master Narrative Mysteries
Researched by Lynne Harvey and broadcast over the ABC Radio Network:
| Original Circulating Filename | Canonical Title | Verified Airdate | Historical Mystery Revealed |
|---|---|---|---|
Paul_Harvey_Brave_Light.mp3 |
"Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story - The Brave Light (Baseball Smokeless Tobacco)" | 1979-05-18 | The cultural history of chewing tobacco and early American baseball legends. |
Paul_Harvey_Starving_Time.mp3 |
"Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story - The Starving Time (Jamestown Survival)" | 1980-11-26 | Survival struggle of the 1609 Virginia colonists and Chief Powhatan. |
Paul_Harvey_Bell_Hydrofoil.mp3 |
"Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story - Alexander Graham Bell's Hydrofoil Boats" | 1981-08-14 | The telephone inventor's secret record-setting watercraft design. |
Paul_Harvey_Synthetic_Fuels.mp3 |
"Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story - The Synthetic Fuels Act of 1980" | 1980-07-02 | America's post-embargo quest for domestic energy independence. |
Paul_Harvey_Gandhi_First_Case.mp3 |
"Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story - Mahatma Gandhi's First $10 Case" | 1988-03-14 | The terrified young lawyer in Bombay who fled his first courtroom. |
Paul_Harvey_Aaron_Usher.mp3 |
"Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story - Aaron the Usher (Elvis Aron Presley)" | 1979-08-16 | The poor movie theatre usher in Memphis who became the King of Rock 'n' Roll. |
Paul_Harvey_Mario_Andretti.mp3 |
"Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story - Mario Andretti's Racing Dream" | 1982-10-11 | The Italian refugee child who conquered the Indianapolis 500. |
Paul_Harvey_Sgt_Bates.mp3 |
"Paul Harvey: The Rest of the Story - Sergeant Bates' Post-Civil War Peace March" | 1981-05-27 | Union soldier who walked unarmed through the South carrying the American flag. |
3. Jim's Christmas Stocking — 1986–2005 Holiday Radio Anthologies
BBC Radio and independent British festive broadcast collections:
| Original Circulating Filename | Canonical Title | Verified Airdate | Festive Drama & Comedy |
|---|---|---|---|
Christmas_Hinge_Bracket.mp3 |
"The Christmas Jottings of Hinge and Bracket" | 1986-12-24 | Festive musical comedy from Stackton Tressell with Dr. Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket. |
Christmas_King_Street_Junior_3.mp3 |
"King Street Junior: The Spirit of Christmas (Series 3 Episode 3)" | 1989-12-21 | School staff room festive preparations starring James Grout. |
Christmas_Roman_Traveller.mp3 |
"Christmas Diaries: The Roman Traveller (Part 5)" | 2002-12-23 | Historical dramatic diary of a journey to Bethlehem under the census of Caesar Augustus. |
Christmas_Old_Peters_Sadko.mp3 |
"Old Peter's Russian Tales: Sadko (Winter Fireside Special)" | 1988-12-25 | Russian winter folklore dramatization for Christmas Day. |
Christmas_Hendersons_Party.mp3 |
"The Hendersons' Christmas Party: God Rest You Merry Gentlemen" | 1994-12-24 | Traditional English holiday family variety comedy special. |
Christmas_Ghost_Stories_Scotland.mp3 |
"Ghost Stories at Christmas: My Actual God (BBC Scotland)" | 2005-12-24 | Contemporary atmospheric winter ghost story by Ewan Morrison. |
Christmas_King_Street_Junior_1.mp3 |
"King Street Junior: Christmas at King Street (Series 1 Episode 7)" | 1987-12-24 | The festive school concert chaos and headmaster meetings. |
Christmas_Brian_Appleton.mp3 |
"Brian Appleton's Christmas Single (BBC Radio 4)" | 2003-12-23 | Graham Fellows' musicologist comedy Christmas special. |
4. Louisiana Hayride — 1956–1960 Live Country Stage Legends
Broadcast live from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium over 50,000-watt KWKH:
| Original Circulating Filename | Canonical Title | Verified Airdate | Country Stage Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
Hayride_Ferlin_Husky_Simon_Crum.mp3 |
"Louisiana Hayride: Ferlin Husky as Simon Crum ('Cause You're So Sweet')" | 1956-08-18 | Ferlin Husky performs his famous comic hillbilly alter-ego on stage. |
Hayride_George_Jones_Honey.mp3 |
"Louisiana Hayride: George Jones Live ('Honey')" | 1958-03-22 | 'The Possum' George Jones live during his early classic honky-tonk years. |
Hayride_Jim_Ed_Brown_Three_Bells.mp3 |
"Louisiana Hayride: The Browns featuring Jim Ed Brown ('The Three Bells')" | 1959-10-17 | The Browns perform their multi-million chart-topping vocal harmony hit. |
Hayride_Faron_Young_Cecilia.mp3 |
"Louisiana Hayride: Faron Young ('The Shrine of St. Cecilia')" | 1956-12-15 | Country crooner Faron Young live on the Shreveport stage. |
Hayride_Eddy_Raven_Free_To_Be.mp3 |
"Louisiana Hayride: Eddy Raven ('Free to Be')" | 1960-05-21 | Early live appearance by Louisiana songwriter Eddy Raven. |
Hayride_George_Jones_Harlan_Taylor.mp3 |
"Louisiana Hayride: George Jones ('Big Harlan Taylor')" | 1959-11-28 | Uptempo comedic country narrative live before the KWKH crowd. |
Hayride_Jimmy_Martin_Shortenin.mp3 |
"Louisiana Hayride: Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys ('Shortenin' Bread')" | 1958-08-09 | 'The King of Bluegrass' Jimmy Martin tears up the five-string banjo. |
Hayride_Four_Bs_Once_More.mp3 |
"Louisiana Hayride: The Four B's ('Once More')" | 1958-02-15 | Louisiana vocal harmony group performance. |