NRR Project: 'The Guiding Light' (Nov. 22, 1945)

 

Irna Phillips

NRR Project: “The Guiding Light”

Created by Irna Phillips and Emmons Carlson

Broadcast Nov. 22, 1945

14 min.

It was the longest-running scripted show in electric media’s history. This soap opera, 15 minutes Monday through Friday, debuted on NBC Radio on January 5, 1937. It moved to CBS Radio in 1947, continuing even after the TV version began its broadcast on June 30, 1952. (For four years, the performers did it twice: once for the microphone, once for the camera.) The video incarnation lasted until Sept. 18, 2009.

It is difficult to conceive how prevalent the soap opera has been, from its beginning in early network radio. It was the great progenitor, Irna Phillips, who launched the genre with Painted Dreams in 1930. Phillips would create many more, including this show, As the World Turns and Another World. She was a genius at spawning a drama that would move forward with various and interconnecting emotional dramas, eking out mileage from conflicts, misunderstanding, and the woes of the fated, that were designed to amuse bored housewives during the day.

Looking at a schedule of daily broadcasts, it is instructive to see that soaps dominate the hours between the morning news and the afternoon kids’ shows. Some titles: Adopted Daughter, Backstage Wife, John’s Other Wife, Life Can Be Beautiful, Myrt and Marge, The Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters.

Phillips produced her own stuff, then sold it to sponsors and the networks. She somehow wrote (or rather dictated) 30,000 words a week, composing multiple series simultaneously, keeping things clear with charts. For a time, she had the inhabitants of three different soaps – Guiding Light, The Woman in White, and Today’s Children – interpenetrate each others’ stories.

At the show’s beginning, its protagonist was Rev. John Ruthledge, who ministered to the folk of “Five Points” in Chicago. He and his daughter Mary (the great Mercedes McCambridge) interacted with the parish, and the usual heavy drama ensued, year after year, effortlessly making the move to television.

Karen Fishman’s story about this entry is top-notch and must be referred to. She has heard the actual episode and I have not. It takes the form of a Thanksgiving sermon, the first since the end of the war. Fishman quotes from it extensively: it is well worth a read. The gist of it is the reaffirmation of the spirit of brotherhood in mankind. Such noble sentiments are true and good, even if unenforceable. However, it reflects a time during which America was seen as the moral conscience of the world, and could best deliver salvation thereunto through democracy and capitalism. We were sick of war; we really wanted the unification of the human race (well, except for with the godless Communists -- the Cold War was already brewing).

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: F.D.R.’s funeral.

NRR Project: Fiorello LaGuardia reads the comics (July 8, 1945)

 

NRR Project: Fiorello LaGuardia reads the comics

Broadcast July 8, 1945

Go to Cary O’Dell’s explanatory essay for not only an extensive outline of this entry but a look at the political uses of radio broadcasting during the period.

Fiorello LaGuardia (1882-1947) was an extraordinary politician who is most famous for serving as the mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1946. He was progressive, reform-minded, gregarious, a natural and ebullient communicator.

Growing up, he worked all kinds of jobs. He earned a law degree and began to work in the system. He was the deputy attorney general of the state, and went on to serve as a Congressman, He won the mayoral election and got to work.

He was a little dynamo, a short, squat figure with tons of energy. He got the city back on its feet, helped the poor, improved the city’s infrastructure. He was an interventionist – he outlawed burlesque houses, pinball machines. When Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were threatened by American Nazis over their creation of comic-book hero Captain America, LaGuardia provided protection for them.

Most memorably though it is his widely publicized reading of the comics to New York City’s children (over New York City’s radio station, WNYC) that he is remembered for. The reason for this was a strike by newspaper delivery personnel. LaGuardia disapproved; his solution to the deprivation of the funny papers to the children of the city was simple and direct – he read them to the kids.

Listening to an excerpt, it is clear LaGuardia was a practiced showman. With great enthusiasm he describes the panels from the cartoons and reads the dialogue, interrupting to editorialize about how a life in crime results in misery.

For three weeks, LaGuardia kept it up. And it was a political stunt, sure, another platform for the mayor to direct his beliefs through. But he was engaging.

The strike ended. Things got back to normal. But many would remember the chipper voice of New York’s “Little Flower” mayor breathlessly updating us to the status of Dick Tracy.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: The Guiding Light.’

NRR Project: 'Ko Ko' (November 26, 1945)

 

NRR Project: ‘Ko Ko’

Written by Charlie Parker

Performed by Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Curley Russell, Max Roach, and Dizzy Gillespie

Recorded Nov. 26, 1945

3:01

A new chapter in jazz starts here. Charlie Parker (1920-1955) is responsible.

The young saxophonist practiced incessantly and quickly became a virtuoso. However, he wanted more out of jazz than the usual melody-based improvisations. They were boring and predictable to him, and he longed to express a music that he heard but could not quite articulate.

"I'd been getting bored with the stereotyped changes that were being used all the time at the time,” he said, “and I kept thinking there's bound to be something else. I could hear it sometimes but I couldn't play it ... Well, that night I was working over 'Cherokee' and, as I did, I found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes, I could play the thing I'd been hearing. I came alive.”

Parker’s ability to write new tunes over standard chord changes, his speed, his inventiveness, gave him the power to soar free above the musical conventions of the day. It remained only for him to record it. A musicians’ strike from 1942 through 1944 meant that no new music could be recorded. It was during this lull that “bebop” developed. This new style consisted of music definitely not crafted with the dance floor in mind. Faster tempos, complex rhythmic approaches, unusual harmonies, and a general sense of cutting free from the crowd-pleasing ethos of the swing era informed this new music.

On Nov. 26, 1945, Parker, trumpeter Miles Davis, trumpeter and pianist Dizzy Gillespie, bassist Curley Russell, and drummer Max Roach gathered in New York for a recording session. The tune we know as “Ko Ko” was derived from the chord changes in Ray Noble’s 1938 composition “Cherokee.” Parker took these basic building blocks and squeezed out something new and unique, involved, complex, and challenging. “KoKo” is also performed at breakneck speed.

The overall effect is bracing – Parker is making it up as he goes, turning the contents of his head into notes in the air. The traditional jazz musicians and listeners were initially off-put by the new music’s strangeness, but soon “bebop” would become the dominant expressive mode of jazz. And it all started here.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: Fiorello LaGuardia reads the comics.

NRR Project: 'Caldonia' (Jan. 19, 1945)

 

NRR Project: ‘Caldonia’

Written by Louis Jordan

Performed by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five

Recorded Jan. 19, 1945

2:40

He’s the grandfather of rock and roll. It’s the birth of rhythm and blues. It’s proto-rap. It’s infectious. It’s an inspiration for a whole generation of music-makers.

Louis Jordan (1908-1975) played the alto sax, sang, wrote songs, and led a band. He got his start in the Swing Era of the 1930s, with drummer Chick Webb’s band. He set out on his own and really connected with the mood of the times. The war was almost over; people wanted something upbeat, something propulsive. “Caldonia” is all that.

Jordan starts things off with a straight-ahead boogie woogie riff on the piano. The horns join in slyly. Jordan begins to sing.

“Walkin' with my baby she's got great big feet

She's long, lean, and lanky and ain't had nothing to eat

She's my baby and I love her just the same

Crazy 'bout that woman cause Caldonia is her name

 

Caldonia, Caldonia

What makes your big head so hard?

I love you. I love you just the same

I’ll always love you baby cause Caldonia is her name”

 A nifty sax break follows, then an interplay. Then there’s spoken engagement, reminiscent of the approach of the late Fats Waller, and destined to be passed on to Chuck Berry, Bill Hailey, and even unto James Brown, Our Godfather of Soul.

 “You know what mama told me? She told me to leave Caldonia alone, that’s what she told me. No kidding. That’s what she told me. That’s what she said, she said, ‘Son, leave that Caldonia alone. She ain’t no good. Don’t bother her.’ But Mama didn’t know what Caldonia was puttin’ down. So I’m going to Caldonia’s house and going to ask one more time:”

 “Caldonia, Caldonia

What makes your big head so hard?

I love her. I love her just the same

Crazy 'bout that woman cause Caldonia is her name”

“MOP!” yells Jordan, and it sounds appropriate. Jordan would continue to entertain for decades. His record is unmatched. He spent almost twice as many weeks on the R & B charts than any other performer. He had 54 Top 10 hits, including “Saturday Night Fish Fry,” “Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens,” “Five Guys Named Moe,” “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby,” and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie”. He made Decca Records.

In 1945, they made a two-reel movie of “Caldonia,” in which Jordan and company do the title song, “Honey Child,” “Tillie,” and “Buzz Me.” You can dial him up and watch him at work.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: Ko Ko.

NRR Project: The Library of Congress Marine Corps Combat Field Recording Collection, Second Battle of Guam (July 20-August 11, 1944)

 

NRR Project: The Library of Congress Marine Corps Combat Field Recording Collection, Second Battle of Guam

July 20-August 11, 1944

As usual, I must point to Karen Fishman’s excellent explanatory essay on this entry.

The combat field recordings in this collection were captured by Marine combat correspondents during battles in the Pacific. The original intent was to record native songs and rituals on the islands fought for by U.S. forces.

However, the project morphed into something larger. Taking incredible risks, correspondents recorded actual combat, and also covered briefing sessions, interviews, and messages home. Altogether, many hours of material was gathered, and remains stored in the Library of Congress for the use of researchers. This represents the first time thorough documentation of combat was attempted.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: Louis Jordan performs Caldonia.

NRR Project: 'Jazz at the Philharmonic' (July 2, 1944)

 

NRR Project: ‘Jazz at the Philharmonic’

Recorded July 2, 1944

First, let me point you to Tom Maxwell’s clear and comprehensive essay on this entry at the National Recording Registry.

Jazz changed during the war years. Swing music faded away as the dominant form. The tight arrangements and sweeping sway of Goodman, Shaw, Miller, and Dorsey no longer enchanted the majority of the country’s listeners. Instead, singers began to become the focus of mainstream music, and bands began to perform as glorified backup ensembles.

Meanwhile, bebop came along, forged on the West Coast in the mid-1940s. This new style, in which jazz became a kind of chamber music, cut out the need to make something to dance to and replaced it with something connoisseurs could sit quietly and listen to. Much more adventurous in nature, bebop and related subgenres of jazz appealed to a smaller but enthusiastic listenership.

Enter Norman Granz. The jazz enthusiast and promoter was dedicated to providing the audience with content that was normally reserved for after-hours jam sessions. Granz wanted to bring this raw creativity to the average listener. He began booking gigs on Monday nights, first in clubs and then in L.A.’s Philharmonic Auditorium. He booked jazz’s greatest exponents and simply let them get together and blow.

The results he recorded and released, beginning a new tradition in jazz. The excitement of these live sessions was easily translated onto vinyl, and Granz continued to curate lively recording sessions for decades.

Another huge step forward was the debut of the racial integrated ensemble. To this point in jazz history, there had been white bands and Black bands. Granz struck down those barriers, choosing his participants for their talent, not for the color of their skin.

The lineup for the very first Jazz at the Philharmonic was stellar. Nat King Cole played paino, and Les Paul was on guitar. Illinois Jacquet and Bumps Myers were on tenor sax, pianist Lux Lewis was there, trumpeter Shorty Sherlock as well, Johnny Miller on bass, Together they tore up the night with wild improvisations, in front of an enthusiastic crowd. A newchapter in jazz was being written.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: The Library of Congress Marine Corps Combat Field Recording Collection, Second Battle of Guam. (July 20-August 11, 1944).

 

 

NRR Project: Eisenhower addresses troops, Europe on D-Day (June 6, 1944)

 

NRR Project: D-Day address to the troops/to occupied Europe

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Broadcast June 6, 1944

1:49/3:18

In World War II, the Allied invasion of Europe took place on D-Day, June 6, 1944. This massive operation involved hundreds of thousands of men. The fate of the war rested on its successful outcome.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, knew it was important to communicate to both his troops and to the people of occupied countries. To give them hope, and to invoke their patience. He recorded two messages for broadcast: first, to his soldiers:

“Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force:

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.

The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.

In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory.

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory.

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

His second address was broadcast to Europe that same day. In addition, millions of copies of it, in five different languages, were distributed surreptitiously across the continent.

“People of Western Europe: A landing was made this morning on the coast of France by troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force. This landing is part of the concerted United Nations plan for the liberation of Europe, made in conjunction with our great Russian allies.

I have this message for all of you. Although the initial assault may not have been made in your own country, the hour of your liberation is approaching.

All patriots, men and women, young and old, have a part to play in the achievement of final victory. To members of resistance movements, I say, follow the instructions you have received. To patriots who are not members of organized resistance groups, I say, continue your passive resistance, but do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give you the signal to rise and strike the enemy. The day will come when I shall need your united strength. Until that day, I call on you for the hard task of discipline and restraint.

Citizens of France! I am proud to have again under my command the gallant Forces of France. Fighting beside their Allies, they will play a worthy part in the liberation of their Homeland.

Because the initial landing has been made on the soil of your country, I repeat to you with even greater emphasis my message to the peoples of other occupied countries in Western Europe. Follow the instructions of your leaders. A premature uprising of all Frenchmen may prevent you from being of maximum help to your country in the critical hour. Be patient. Prepare!

As Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, there is imposed on me the duty and responsibility of taking all measures necessary to the prosecution of the war. Prompt and willing obedience to the orders that I shall issue is essential.

Effective civil administration of France must be provided by Frenchmen. All persons must continue in their present duties unless otherwise instructed. Those who have made common cause with the enemy and so betrayed their country will be removed. As France is liberated from her oppressors, you yourselves will choose your representatives, and the government under which you wish to live.

In the course of this campaign for the final defeat of the enemy you may sustain further loss and damage. Tragic though they may be, they are part of the price of victory. I assure you that I shall do all in my power to mitigate your hardships. I know that I can count on your steadfastness now, no less than in the past. The heroic deeds of Frenchmen who have continued the struggle against the Nazis and their Vichy satellites, in France and throughout the French Empire, have been an example and an inspiration to all of us.

This landing is but the opening phase of the campaign in Western Europe. Great battles lie ahead. I call upon all who love freedom to stand with us. Keep your faith staunch – our arms are resolute – together we shall achieve victory.”

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: Jazz at the Philharmonic.