Some of the most popular actors and singers of the era appeared on AFRS free of charge and in some cases the only ones who would get to hear the AFRS shows were the troops because the recordings were not available to the general public.
36 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 9 hours, 534 min)
available in the following formats:
Most of the programing on the Armed Forces Radio Service programming was produced by the War Department for the troops. Some of it was popular programing from commercial radio, which had been "de-commercialized" for play on the military network. Even though any sponsor reference was scrubbed from the recordings, the producers and the networks were very happy to provide the programming to AFRS as part of the effort to build troop morale.
The celebrities who appeared on the shows produced by AFRS felt the same way, some of the most popular actors and singers of the era appeared on AFRS free of charge. Because they were working for the Boys in Uniform, many of the Hollywood elite made an extra effort to deliver an exceptional and unique performance. In most cases, the only ones who would get to hear the AFRS shows were the troops because the recordings were not available to the general public.
Personal Album is a collection of memorable performances for the troops. The show takes the form of a photo album in sound, with the artists describing the "picture" or song on each page of the album. Artists who contributed to Personal Album include Fibber McGee's featured vocalists, the King's Men, Doris Day with the Les Brown Orchestra, Andy Williams, Johnny Mercer, Martha Tilton, Marilyn Maxwell, Eileen Woods, Shirley Ross and others.
These Personal Album recordings appear to have been made late in WWII and into the post war period.
I opted to order the mp3 of the Doris Day show and downloaded it in the wee hours of the morning and was quite impressed by the audio quality. I have my own listening preferences like everyone else, so played around a little when listening to it via iTunes player on my Mac (which is connected to a Bose radio) and the sound is very pleasant.
Most of the programing on the Armed Forces Radio Service programming was produced by the War Department for the troops. Some of it was popular programing from commercial radio, which had been "de-commercialized" for play on the military network. Even though any sponsor reference was scrubbed from the recordings, the producers and the networks were very happy to provide the programming to AFRS as part of the effort to build troop morale.
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