Lum and Abner was a radio comedy show which aired on the NBC network from
1931 to 1954. The show was created by it’s stars, Chester Lauck and Norris Goff
(shown above). It was modeled on life in the small town of Waters, Arkansas
near where the pair grew up. In 1936 the town of Waters changed its
name to Pine Ridge, after the fictional town in the radio show.

Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson, Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959) went
by the name “The Big Bopper” when he became a deejay (below) at KTRM radio
(now KZZB) in Beaumont, Texas. He had been working part time at the station after graduating from high school in 1949. Richardson went full time at KTRM after a stint
in the army and having quit college. His show,"The Big Bopper Shop", attracted a
strong listenership. In May 1957 he set a world record for continuous broadcasting
with his "Discathon," remaining on the air for six straight days and spinning 1,821 records. J.P. was influenced by Country and Western music and began writing songs, moving toward the new sound of Rockabilly. During this abbreviated songwriting career, he composed about thirty-eight tunes, and recorded over twenty of them. One of those tunes was Chantilly Lace, released on Mercury Records in the summer of 1958. On
February 3, 1959, Richardson was killed in a small-plane crash in Iowa, along with
the great Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.

Take It or Leave It was a CBS radio quiz show, which followed in the wake of
Professor Quiz, radio’s first quiz program. The show was first hosted by Bob Hawk ( 1940-41), followed by Phil Baker (1941-47). It aired until July 27, 1947. In 1947
the radio series switched to NBC and was hosted various times by Baker, Garry
Moore (1947-49), Eddie Cantor (1949-50), and Jack Paar who hosted the show beginning on June 11, 1950. On September 10, 1950, Take It or Leave It changed
its title to The $64 Question and continued, with Paar as host, until June 1, 1952. It
was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.

Phil Baker

Your Hit Parade began as a 60-minute music program on NBC radio and ran
till 1955. The first number one song on the initial program was “Soon” sung by
Bing Crosby. 

 

Singer Helen O’Connell appears on Your Hit Parade

Lights Out was an extremely popular old-time radio program devoted mostly to
horror and the supernatural. The first series of shows ran on a local New York
NBC affiliate, WENR, at midnight on Wednesday, starting in January of 1934. It
was soon picked up by the NBC radio network, after huge demand. and was
broadcast nationally, usually late at night and always on Wednesdays until
the summer of 1947. The series eventually made the transition to TV. The
show was to radio, like what The Twilight Zone was to television.

Arch Obler, left, was the writer/director of Lights Out during the 
early years of the show. He is seen here with actor Tommy Cook.