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Martha Wilkerson Collection

One of AFRS's most popular productions was also one of its simplest, G.I. Jive featuring G.I. Jill voiced by girl-back-home Martha Wilkerson

Martha Wilkerson

41 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 16 hours, 1120 min)
available in the following formats:

1 MP3 CD
or
14 Audio CDs


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Play a sample episode from November 05, 1944:

"GI Jive 784"



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Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

Martha Wilkerson
(1918 – 1999)

Martha Wilkerson

Martha WilkersonThey were the men of America's Greatest Generation, and they were being called upon to make incredible sacrifices, not just for their country and "the folks back home", but for future generations, even the spirit of Democracy itself. It is hard to say how many of these men appreciated the full magnitude of what they were doing, or even if their leaders did. Thankfully, relatively few of them would be called upon to make the Ultimate Sacrifice, although assuredly almost to a man, they would have all willingly made it if called.

The War Effort in the Second World War demanded unprecedented levels of manpower, but the government and the American people would not have allowed the sacrifice unless they were assured that most of their boys would make it home. To successfully meet the foe, they had to not only be the best outfitted, equipped, and trained, their morale had to be kept at an incredibly high level. Some of the morale boosting efforts were transparently commercial, like providing servicemen with inexpensive cigarettes, addicting many of them who may have never smoked otherwise, or the fact that one of the first infrastructure projects in every theater of the War was the building of a Coca Cola Bottling plant. Others, like USO Shows and the Armed Forces Radio Service, were a tangible demonstration of support from back home.

AFRS came from relatively humble origins. Before the War, command structure in Alaska and the Panama Canal zone was such that troops were spread out a great distance from their central command post. One-way communication over short-wave radio helped the central commander in the area in touch with his men. When the broadcast facilities were not being used for official transmissions, the commanders allow them to be used for morale-boosting entertainment. In the weeks immediately after Pearl Harbor, AFRS went service-wide, serving Allied Forces in every theater.

Martha Wilkerson and Bing Crosby

The quality of radio programming made available to AFRS was on par with programming from the commercial networks, in some cases, even better. Shows like Command Performance, Mail Call, and G.I. Journal were not available to the folks back home, and since the Hollywood Stars involved were working as volunteers, they were sure to bring forth their best performances. Although the big shows were very well done, one of AFRS's most popular programs was also one of its simplest: G.I. Jive.

G.I. Jive was conceived as a transcripted disk jockey program. In the early broadcasts, the guest DJ was either a celebrity like Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, or Frank Sinatra, or a serviceman with a ready patter and a wide knowledge of popular music would have been asked to host the broadcast.  G.I. Jive was such a simple but effective program that it was one of the first to be developed, recorded, and sent overseas for broadcast. However, one vital element was missing--Sex.

Before the War, Mort Werner had been a broadcaster and program director for the Don Lee/Mutual Network on the West Coast, as well as for NBC and CBS. Werner had a service deferral due to his marriage and two daughters, so he went to work for the Office of War Information, who produced the G.I. Jive series. In May 1943, rather than finding another serviceman or celebrity, he put his wife, Martha Wilkerson, in front of the microphone.

Martha was anything but a polished radio performer, but she did have the voice of a pretty girl and the troops could tell that she had a genuine (if sisterly) affection for them. She was seen as an unintentional rival to Japanese propagandist, Tokyo Rose. While Rose's mission was to undermine the morale of American troops, G.I. Jill was a welcome voice from home who built them up.

In short order, hundreds of pounds of mail began pouring into the AFRS studios for G.I. Jill. Some of the letters were requests for special songs, but a good deal of it was genuine fan mail. To her credit, along with her broadcasting work and the trials of raising two girls, Ms. Wilkerson also took on the challenge of answering as much of the mail to G.I. Jill as she could.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

These classic recordings are available in the following formats:

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  • MP3 CDs are delivered by mail. These archival quality MP3 CDs are playable in your computer and many MP3 player devices.



    41 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00. Total playtime 16 hours, 1120 min
    41 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00
    total playtime 16 hours, 1120 min
    Add MP3 CD Collection to Cart

    1. 41 shows – total playtime 16 hours, 18 minutes
    2. Anacin Hollywood Star 490910 Promise Of Murder.mp3
    3. Cp 450705 182 Juke Box Night Salute To Gi Jives 1000th Show.mp3
    4. Cp 450814 Victory Extra.mp3
    5. Cp 460529 Fourth Anniversary Special.mp3
    6. Ft 490420 114 Empty Room.mp3
    7. Ft 490427 115 Throw Your Heart Into Ring.mp3
    8. Ft 490504 116 Round Trip.mp3
    9. Ft 530325 311 Round Trip.mp3
    10. Gi Jive 0601 Honey Suckle Rose.mp3
    11. Gi Jive 0602 Blue Lou 2.mp3
    12. Gi Jive 0704 Eager Beaver.mp3
    13. Gi Jive 0705 Blue Skies.mp3
    14. Gi Jive 0721 Sugarfoot Strut.mp3
    15. Gi Jive 0722 For Dancers Only.mp3
    16. Gi Jive 0731 Who.mp3
    17. Gi Jive 0740 Sugar Foot Stomp 2.mp3
    18. Gi Jive 0784 Woodchoppers Ball.mp3
    19. Gi Jive 0790 Well Git It! 2.mp3
    20. Gi Jive 0803 Two Oclock Jump 2.mp3
    21. Gi Jive 0831 Dipper Mouth Blues.mp3
    22. Gi Jive 0832 Elks Parade.mp3
    23. Gi Jive 0836 Jumping At Woodside.mp3
    24. Gi Jive 0839 Casa Loma Stomp.mp3
    25. Gi Jive 0848 Song Of India.mp3
    26. Gi Jive 0855 South Eager Beaver.mp3
    27. Gi Jive 1033 Opus One 2.mp3
    28. Gi Jive 1096 Night Ride 2.mp3
    29. Gi Jive 1834 Best Things In Life Are Free.mp3
    30. Gi Jive 2315 Youre One.mp3
    31. Gi Jive 845 Glenn Miller Here We Go Again.mp3
    32. Gi Jive 846 King Porter Stomp.mp3
    33. Gi Jive 847 Bugle Call Rag.mp3
    34. Hollywood Group 3003 Unforgotten Melody.mp3
    35. Hollywood Group 3004 Whirlpool.mp3
    36. Jills All Time Juke Box 029 Lullaby In Rhythm.mp3
    37. Jills All Time Juke Box 035 Lets Dance.mp3
    38. Jills All Time Juke Box 040 Loch Lomond.mp3
    39. Jills All Time Juke Box 048 Boogie Woogie.mp3
    40. Jills All Time Juke Box 050 Mission To Moscow.mp3
    41. Radio Hall Of Fame 460324 121 Agnes Moorehead.mp3
    42. Vox Pop 450820 Hollywood California.mp3
  • MP3 downloads are available instantly after purchase!



    41 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00. Total playtime 16 hours, 1120 min
    41 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00
    448 MB – total playtime 16 hours, 18 min
    Add Instant Download Collection to Cart

    1. 41 shows – 448 MB – total playtime 16 hours, 18 minutes
    2. Anacin Hollywood Star 490910 Promise Of Murder.mp3
    3. Cp 450705 182 Juke Box Night Salute To Gi Jives 1000th Show.mp3
    4. Cp 450814 Victory Extra.mp3
    5. Cp 460529 Fourth Anniversary Special.mp3
    6. Ft 490420 114 Empty Room.mp3
    7. Ft 490427 115 Throw Your Heart Into Ring.mp3
    8. Ft 490504 116 Round Trip.mp3
    9. Ft 530325 311 Round Trip.mp3
    10. Gi Jive 0601 Honey Suckle Rose.mp3
    11. Gi Jive 0602 Blue Lou 2.mp3
    12. Gi Jive 0704 Eager Beaver.mp3
    13. Gi Jive 0705 Blue Skies.mp3
    14. Gi Jive 0721 Sugarfoot Strut.mp3
    15. Gi Jive 0722 For Dancers Only.mp3
    16. Gi Jive 0731 Who.mp3
    17. Gi Jive 0740 Sugar Foot Stomp 2.mp3
    18. Gi Jive 0784 Woodchoppers Ball.mp3
    19. Gi Jive 0790 Well Git It! 2.mp3
    20. Gi Jive 0803 Two Oclock Jump 2.mp3
    21. Gi Jive 0831 Dipper Mouth Blues.mp3
    22. Gi Jive 0832 Elks Parade.mp3
    23. Gi Jive 0836 Jumping At Woodside.mp3
    24. Gi Jive 0839 Casa Loma Stomp.mp3
    25. Gi Jive 0848 Song Of India.mp3
    26. Gi Jive 0855 South Eager Beaver.mp3
    27. Gi Jive 1033 Opus One 2.mp3
    28. Gi Jive 1096 Night Ride 2.mp3
    29. Gi Jive 1834 Best Things In Life Are Free.mp3
    30. Gi Jive 2315 Youre One.mp3
    31. Gi Jive 845 Glenn Miller Here We Go Again.mp3
    32. Gi Jive 846 King Porter Stomp.mp3
    33. Gi Jive 847 Bugle Call Rag.mp3
    34. Hollywood Group 3003 Unforgotten Melody.mp3
    35. Hollywood Group 3004 Whirlpool.mp3
    36. Jills All Time Juke Box 029 Lullaby In Rhythm.mp3
    37. Jills All Time Juke Box 035 Lets Dance.mp3
    38. Jills All Time Juke Box 040 Loch Lomond.mp3
    39. Jills All Time Juke Box 048 Boogie Woogie.mp3
    40. Jills All Time Juke Box 050 Mission To Moscow.mp3
    41. Radio Hall Of Fame 460324 121 Agnes Moorehead.mp3
    42. Vox Pop 450820 Hollywood California.mp3
  • Standard Audio CDs are delivered by mail on archival quality media with up to 60 minutes on each CD and play in all CD players



    41 recordings on 14 Audio CDs. Total playtime 13 hours, 9 min
    41 recordings on 14 Audio CDs
    total playtime 13 hours, 9 min

    Martha Wilkerson Disc A001

    1. Gi Jive 0601 Honey Suckle Rose
    2. Gi Jive 0602 Blue Lou 2
    3. Gi Jive 0704 Eager Beaver
    4. Gi Jive 0705 Blue Skies

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A002

    1. Gi Jive 0721 Sugarfoot Strut
    2. Gi Jive 0722 For Dancers Only
    3. Gi Jive 0731 Who
    4. Gi Jive 0740 Sugar Foot Stomp 2

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A003

    1. Gi Jive 0784 Woodchoppers Ball
    2. Gi Jive 0790 Well Git It! 2
    3. Gi Jive 0803 Two Oclock Jump 2
    4. Gi Jive 0831 Dipper Mouth Blues

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A004

    1. Gi Jive 0832 Elks Parade
    2. Gi Jive 0836 Jumping At Woodside
    3. Gi Jive 0839 Casa Loma Stomp
    4. Gi Jive 0848 Song Of India

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A005

    1. Gi Jive 0855 South Eager Beaver
    2. Gi Jive 1033 Opus One 2
    3. Gi Jive 1096 Night Ride 2
    4. Gi Jive 1834 Best Things In Life Are Free

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A006

    1. Gi Jive 2315 Youre One
    2. Gi Jive 845 Glenn Miller Here We Go Again
    3. Gi Jive 846 King Porter Stomp
    4. Gi Jive 847 Bugle Call Rag

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A007

    1. Hollywood Group 3003 Unforgotten Melody
    2. Hollywood Group 3004 Whirlpool

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A008

    1. Jills All Time Juke Box 029 Lullaby In Rhythm
    2. Jills All Time Juke Box 035 Lets Dance

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A009

    1. Jills All Time Juke Box 040 Loch Lomond
    2. Jills All Time Juke Box 048 Boogie Woogie

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A010

    1. Jills All Time Juke Box 050 Mission To Moscow
    2. Cp 450705 182 Juke Box Night Salute To Gi Jives 1000th Show

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A011

    1. Vox Pop 450820 Hollywood California
    2. Radio Hall Of Fame 460324 121 Agnes Moorehead

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A012

    1. Ft 490420 114 Empty Room
    2. Ft 490427 115 Throw Your Heart Into Ring

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A013

    1. Ft 490504 116 Round Trip
    2. Anacin Hollywood Star 490910 Promise Of Murder

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Martha Wilkerson Disc A014

    1. Ft 530325 311 Round Trip

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00

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