AT HOME: around the house, kitchen, in the bath, knitting, cutting the grass, or in the garden; old time radio fans enjoy a good radio yarn!
WORKING: writers, painters, photographers, truck drivers, farmers, teachers, and office workers all report enjoying old time radio shows during the day to boost productivity! Sometimes its hard to keep the grin off your face at the office when you're listening to old time radio shows. Police officers have written to say they enjoy a good Dragnet episode while on the job and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar is the favorite show of an OTRCAT.com customer and real-life private detective!
EXERCISING: enjoy classic radio while on a walk or exercising--staying fit has never been so much fun.
TRAVELING: old time radio takes out the stress and boredom of commuting, riding the bus or train, RV'ing, long distance drives, and air travel! Listening to a familiar old time radio show while staying at a hotel is a great way to unwind from a day of travel too! Some listeners enjoy listening to old time radio shows on the open water while sailing!
CAMPING: share a spooky tale around the campfire with friends and family!
FALLING ASLEEP: insomnia be gone! Late at night, listening to the gentle humor of classic radio or your favorite radio show is the perfect way to rest!
CLASSROOM: educators worldwide (homeschoolers, K-12 school teachers, & college professors) use old time radio shows in their curriculum to enhance learning, illustrate American values and culture, and make history fun.
RETIREMENT CENTERS: Classic radio shows bring back smiles and fond memories for listening residents of nursing homes, senior day centers, and long-term care facilities!
WITH YOUR FAMILY: Some families listen to bible stories every Sunday and others set aside evening time to catch up together with a Fibber McGee episode. We hope you'll introduce classic radio shows to a new generation and share old time radio shows with your family, loved ones and friends today.
Did we miss one? Add your favorite to the comments below to let us know where you're listening to Old Time Radio today!
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Re: Falling Asleep --
You have to be careful if you have the ear buds in while listening to OTR comedy in bed at night. My wife gets mad at me if I'm stifling my laughter but still manage to shake the bed listening to Jack Benny or Burns and Allen.
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As a guy who's been listening to OTR since I was 15, back in the 70's, I'd say you hit a good chunk of all the places I've enjoyed OTR.
My Sons got their dose of OTR, but we started with the audio version of Starwars, to get them used to how it worked. Then it was The Great Gildersleeve and Jack Benny. They are now 27 and 23. I don't know how much they listen these days, but they were huge fans as kids and I suspect they'll come back around. They were big fans of Johnny Dollar, Dragnet, as well as Suspense and Adventures by Morse, and George Burns.
My Youngest Sonturned his Girlfriend on to The Cinamon Bear this passed Christmas.
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Excellent ideas and article! I especially like the suggestion of retirement communities and related places. Their recreation management are always looking for ways to keep their folks busy and happy. I am going to write some communities on our side of town and have them visit your website. I can imagine an invitation for all to come listen "around the radio" to an old-time radio show, a different one each time...or even have the residents submit their favorites. Regardless, I imagine the memories will come flooding back whatever they enjoy!
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You forgot fishing! You're not working just waiting, not traveling, just waiting, not sleeping, just waiting If no bites, maybe not with friends anymore Haha I listen while hiking! Thanks for the memories!
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Just a brief note to say Thanks for what you do, and let you know that most of the !0 places you list for listening to OTR were spot on. I have written you in the past to let you know how much I value the OTR recordings when I travel. For many years I have traveled, domestically and internationally, for business and OTR recordings were always my companion. I listened to them during long, tedious flights, while working on the computer in hotel rooms, and to help me drift off to sleep after long days away from home. I also do a lot of driving, both for business and pleasure, (usually logging more than 25K miles per year), and OTR is always keeping me company. I have a collection of hundreds of OTR mp3's across most genres. When I take my daily walks, Matt Dillon, Joe Friday, Fibber McGee and Throckmortin P. Gildersleeve are usually tagging along.
Again, just wanted to say thanks for offering such great companionship for so many aspects of my days and nights.
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I T A with #6! Why do I look forward to going to bed every night? Because I get to listen to old time radio shows! Reminds me of hearing bedtime stories when I was a kid. And we're never too old for those. They always make me feel young again. Take care and keep up the good work.
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I want to play your product in some nursing homes as a time machine travel radio show where the senior citizens can make request for me to play. My 12 year old son won't part with his ipod telling me to get my own. I have used mini disc players, and cd players this mp3 is new to me.
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I just want to let you know how much I enjoy your website, and the many radio shows you offer.
Viewing the various shows & pictures in your messages and on your site brings a warm feeling of America the way it used to be.
And the kind of America we will soon become again as — The Best is yet to come!
Best wishes and keep doing what you do so well. We need this in our lives! The young lady posing on the beach with her radio looks like my aunt, Suzie Lovell in about 1954 on Santa Monica Beach, here in sunny Southern California!
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Hello Jon - just to let you know I received your card today - thank you very much, that was a nice gesture - as it happened I was listening to the Doris Day Show at the time - this is all great listening and I fully agree with your "places to listen", below - my wife and I go to sleep every night listening to OTR - I have heard artists and movies that I had never heard of before because of these programs and have then bought DVDs and CDs as a result - I often listen to them during the day, especially if I'm doing some work from home - when the children were younger we used to listen to the Great Gildersleeve on holiday road trips - the early episodes of GG were very funny, especially the first season written be Leonard Levinson (I wished he had stayed) and the children still remember some of them - these are an unmatched treasure trove of great entertainment - great acting, great scripts, great singing and especially great humour - a lost age for sure, never to be repeated
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OTR has been a hobby of mine since the 1960’s when I came across a presentation album from Lux Radio Theater that had been presented to Charles Laughton. In those days collectors traded recordings on reel to reel tape. I met some interesting people through this hobby. Your recordings are generally excellent quality, some of the early tape based materials weren’t that good!
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NOT A "PLACE"...
But a HIGHLY EFFECTIVE "MOOD-ENHANCER"!
Many "OTTERS" ("OTR-ers") I have spoken with (to both my surprise and delight) are in agreement on "THIS"...
A "FORMULA" for using OTR to IMPROVE MOOD while working, yet NOT "distracting from productivity" (following OTR 'plot-lines' OR 'punchlines'):
"LAUGHTER" is a powerful "FORCE" in life. Usually, for "GOOD"!
The "TRICK" is: 1) DETERMINING the OTR "SHOW(S)" that work BEST for YOU; 2) "FINDING" the optimum VOLUME LEVEL on YOUR audio system that "allows" the "DIALOGUE" to be "inteligible." BUT... "Enhances" "LAUGHTER," which will be "louder" than speech (Just ASK any OTR "Comedy-Show" SPONSOR!!!) And, 3) "getting used" to this...
NO dubious "organics"! NO chemicals!! NO prescriptions!!!
SOUND CRAZY? JUST TRY IT!!
"The OLD-Cat"
P.S. Many folks I spoke with about this "Phenomenom" were already aware of it!
Even an OTR show mentioned most often!! WHICH ONE?
"MINUS" the "band number" AND "tenor solo"... PLUS "A Laugh" that was (Almost...) a "Cast Member" in its' own right...
The OTR show named most often for this "FORMULA"?
"THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE"
But ONLY those (65% of these programs) with ("T.P.G." - #1) HAROLD PEARY!
"#2" = WILLARD WATERMAN (35% of the shows) "did" the
"G.G." character's "Voice" to a point of "eerie perfection"! But couldn't do "The LAUGH"! And, whether from wisdom or respect, "W.W." never even tried to "use" IT!
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The return trips to Mars can be monotonous, so I power-up the saucer's Internet antenna and typically tune into 1956 or '57. Good stuff, but a tad OOD.
WORKING: writers, painters, photographers, truck drivers, farmers, teachers, and office workers all report enjoying old time radio shows during the day to boost productivity! Sometimes its hard to keep the grin off your face at the office when you're listening to old time radio shows. Police officers have written to say they enjoy a good Dragnet episode while on the job and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar is the favorite show of an OTRCAT.com customer and real-life private detective!
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