Where did the Old Time Radio Western Go?

Scholars agree that the Western Genre reflects American sensibilities and values. Of course there will always be debate over just what those values and sensibilities are.

Western stories are generally set in the rural Western portion of the United States, primarily the Southwest, and take place during the mid to late 1800's. But like the West itself, the genre is too big and wild to be constrained even by these rules.

The frontier itself forms a theme of many Western Stories--specifically in the forces of civilization over coming wildness and lawlessness. Western heroes are bound by a code of honor not unlike the knights in European tales of chivalry. Whether this code is the "Law of the Land" such as the Marshall is upholding authority of his Tin Star, or a more personal sense of Right and Wrong, like The Lone Ranger who only used his remarkable marksmanship to shoot the six-guns out of the bad guy's hands.

The antagonist in most western stories are the forces that oppose the advancement of civilization, usually in the form of a bad guy who seeks to take advantage of those in a weaker position. These may be "Dirt Farmers," Settlers, even "Friendly Indians" whose cause the hero has taken up.

There are several typical villains in the westerns. They may be a marauding gun-slinger who bullies the settlers; a band of bloodthirsty Indians; a con-man that cheats honest cowboys out of their hard earned wages; or a merciless land-grabbing rancher who doesn't want farmers encroaching on the water he needs for his cattle.

This is the great irony of the western - the cowboy hero is often supporting the very forces that will eventually eliminate him and his way of life.

Cereal Serials

Kids and Cowboys just go together, and producers knew it. And they set up their Westerns to appeal to them. Take a look at one of the earliest successful Kiddie Westerns, Bobby Benson and the B Bar B Riders (1932-36, 49-55). The first kiddie element is Bobby himself, who, even though he was a youngster he was the owner of the B Bar B spread. His foreman and mentor is the real hero of the show, Tex Mason. Tex was good with his guns, but was the sort to shoot to wound or disarm, not to kill. He always knew the right thing to do (his personal code) and would side with defenseless Indians or the poor, hard working settlers. He probably let Bobby stay up too late. The young listeners got to participate in the adventures by eating the sponsor's cereal and sending in the box top premiums for "valuable prizes" like Bobby Benson Code books, cereal bowls, drinking glasses and card games.

Bobby Benson and the B Bar B Riders:

The classic kiddie Western is The Lone Ranger (1933-56). With his companion, Tonto, the Masked Man did more to tame the Old West than the Calvary, the Pony Express, and Roy Rogers combined!The fact that the Ranger has a closer relation to Batman than to true-life cowboys is beside the point. He was a hero who always shot the gun out of the bad guy's hands instead of killing them; he never appeared with out his mask or a disguise, and always left his audience wanting more (Who was that Masked Man?)

Most of the Kiddie Western Heroes didn't have time for women-folk. They were to busy clearing out the Bad Guys. Red Ryder (1941- 51) would go riding with the local School Marm, but not for yucky stuff like kissing and swooning. And she would lose his attention very quickly when he finds out the Bad Guys are up to no good. Red Ryder came to the Radio from the Comic Pages. Like other Kid's Serials, Red Ryder came with a built in Bad Guy, Ace Hanlon; and a "Little Buddy", his Indian ward Little Beaver, whom every kid listening wished they could be.

Red Ryder:

Kiddie Serials were usually scheduled for the late afternoon, so the kids could hear them after school, but before Dad got home for dinner and the start of more family oriented family fare. An important element of the Kid Serials were the give-away premiums. Brand Recognition is all well and good, but what really prompted the kids to woof down bowl after bowl of the sponsor's cereal was the need for box tops they could send in for "Valuable Prizes." Premiums varied from the "Injun-uity Cards" placed between layers of Shredded Wheat for Straight Arrow (1948- 51) to the multiple Decoders and Badges of the Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters Club (1933-50s). For many the ultimate prize was the wooden revolver Tom Mix offered; but no amount of Hot Purina cereal could make up for the disappointment the kids found out what a cheap toy it was in the later years of the show.

Straight Arrow:

Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters Club:

Both Kinds of Music: "Country and Western"

The movies did not invent the Singing Cowboy. The first Western song is thought to be 1844's Blue Juaniata, the story of an Indian Maiden awaiting her lover along the banks of a Pennsylvania River (in 1844 anyplace West of the Appalachian Mountains was "Out West.")

Western Music has its roots in English folk music, just like Country or "Hill Billy" music. Western is seasoned with the influence of Mexican Music, and scented with the smoke of thousands of campfires. Due to the realities of the Open Range, where the music developed, traditional instruments are of the hearty and portable type; guitars, fiddles, and occasionally harmonicas. Early Western Music had three tempos that were influenced by the cow-pony: walk, trot and lope.

"Country and Western" music were two separate things until they were lumped together by Billboard Magazine. The earlier term for Country Music, "Hillbilly Music", fell out of favor when fans and performers began to feel the term was belittling in the 1940's. Country music has similar origins to Western Music, coming from the folk music of the British Isles.Hill Billy, or Country music took root in the American Old South, and took influences from the music of the cultural mix there. Instrumental influences include the West African banjo, the Italian mandolin, the German dulcimer and the Spanish guitar. Country Music twas shaped by Negro Spirituals that would develop into both the Blues and Gospel.

One of the earliest regular Country Music broadcasts was National Barn Dance from WLS, Chicago, beginning on Apr 19, 1924. The original announcer George Hay left the show in Nov 1925 for WSM, Nashville. The WSM Barndance would later become the Grand Ole Opry.

National Barn Dance:

Hollywood Barn Dance (1943-48) started as a replacement for singing cowboy Gene Autry's very popular Melody Ranch (1940-56)when Gene joined the Army Air Corps.These programs featured music with more Western influence, thanks largely to the Hollywood popularity of the Singing Cowboys.They are among the many Musical Variety shows that featured comedy and sketches along with the music.

Hollywood Barn Dance:

Melody Ranch:

The promotion of consumer products has long been the driving economic force in Commercial Radio and for some reason Flour Milling Companies had a great affection for Western Music programs. The Light Crust Dough Boys were a Western Swing band that formed in 1931 to promote the product of the Burrus Mills and Elevator Company. Western Swing is fusion of Country and Western with influences of polka, blues, Dixieland Jazz and augmented by horns, piano, electrically amplified string instruments, especially the Steel Guitar. The Dough Boys would break up into Pat O'Daniel and His Hill Billy Boys (1939), featuring the Flour Company president Pappy O'Daniel as announcer (O'Daniel would ride his radio popularity into the Texas Governor's mansion and the US Senate.) Later the Doughboys would reform and have their own radio show in the late 40's.

The Light Crust Dough Boys:

Pat O'Daniel and His Hill Billy Boys:

Another great Flour program would be the Mother's Best Flour Show (1951-52), a fifteen minute morning spot in Nashville featuring Hank Williams and his Band having fun and playing music. The Ten Two Four Ranch Show (1944-45) featured music from "The Sons of the Pioneers" and others. The program was a fun advertisement for Dr Pepper soda pop.

Mother's Best Flour Show:

The Ten Two Four Ranch Show:

True History of a Popular Myth

The great majority of Western Programs featured recurring characters and situations. An exception would be the western movie adaptations presented on Lux Radio Theater and Screen Director's Playhouse. Another exception is the Historical Anthology programs.

Death Valley Days (1930-51), sponsored by the Pacific Borax Company, would be a part of Family Entertainment well into the Television Age. The series was created by Vassar graduate and New York city resident Ruth Cornwall Woodman. To write authentically for the show she spent several summers travelling the deserts of the Southwest. Ruth would become a respected authority of Western Lore and History.

Death Valley Days:

Frontier Fighters (1938) presented 15 minute dramatizations of persons and events from the History of the American West. The short format forced a compressed look at the subjects. However the shows are still used today by many Educational Organizations as a sort of "Audio Textbook."

Frontier Fighters:

Historic persons and events are also explored in American Trail (1953). Sponsored by the Women's Auxilliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the programs have a pleasant and decidedly Patriotic tone.

American Trail:

Grown Up Westerns

Scholars recognize three distinct but overlapping eras of Western Fiction in literature and movies. These are the Wholesome Era which lasted into the '50's; the Flawed Hero Era of the Sixties, and the often violent Anti-Heroes of the 1970s which have lasted to a certain extent through the present day.

The heroes of the Kiddie Westerns are clearly part of the Wholesome Tradition, which is very appropriate for children. But once the kids have gone to bed, the Radio Western was allowed to reflect the growing tastes and desires of a Grown Up audience (of course not too Adult; even if the Kids are in bed--walls are thin.)

One of the first Adult Western was Hawk Durango/Hawk Larrabee (1946-48). Hawk was a small time rancher in 1840's Texas who dealt with the coming of civilization to his small frontier community. Frontier Town (1952-53) would deal with this theme from a slightly differing perspective. In this case the rancher's son has gone "back East" for his education but returns to the West to deal with lawlessness using his education in the Legal Profession.

Hawk Larrabee:

Frontier Town:

A strong indication of the coming Anti-Hero Era would be Gunsmoke (1952-61). The characters and situations would later be very much cleaned up for Television Audiences, but while William Conrad was "Marshall Dillon" the West was a savage and dangerous place. In the opening episode a young miscreant slips through the Marshall's fingers who would later grow into the famous sociopath Billy the Kid. In the brutal West of Gunsmoke the Marshall can't always arrive in time to save the day, but he is an admirable figure because through his scars he holds to his "Code of Honor," the law that will eventually bring civilization to the western wilderness.

Gunsmoke:

An interesting comparison is one of radio's best produced and acted Westerns, James Stewart's portrayal of "Britt Ponsett," The Six Shooter (1952-53). Ponsett is a drifting cowboy with a sense of right and wrong. Although he has a reputation as a fierce fighter, he avoids violence when he can. He sees that civilization is coming to the West, and sees it is a good thing, Ponsett can see that he (and with him the myth of the American Cowboy) will never be able to settle down, fated to drift forever.

The Six Shooter:

Another incredibly well done Radio Program is Have Gun, Will Travel (1958-60). Coming near the end of the Golden Age of Radio, Have Gun, Will Travel is a bit of an anomaly; the program came to Radio from Television instead of the other way around. The stories of Paladin are terrific fare from TV's Golden Age, but many feel the radio version is a better program. Paladin may be a flawed hero in that he is a gun for hire, but even though his services are expensive, he always winds up on the side of "the little guy" and the persecuted.

Have Gun, Will Travel:

Into the Setting Sun

Many times the Western has been called a dying genre, yet it continues to resurface. In literature the trend seems to be towards Westerns as Historical Novels.

In film and television, the Western is becoming more and more rare. When a Western project does come along, it usually garners critical and commercial success, like Deadwood and the recent remake of True Grit (2010).

Radio Westerns are largely frozen in time. Country and western music is a growing segment of the Local radio market, but DJ programs do not compare with the live performances of the variety music shows from the golden era of radio.

Like old movies, the radio western dramas remain great entertainment, even if they showcase an obsolete art form. They have value as a snapshot of our values and expectations during their time in history.