Welcome

UPDATE: Expecting new material from FEN and AFKN. If you saved anything, I'd really like to hear it!
March hit count is well over a thousand (1145!!!). THANK YOU, and thank you for sharing this site. If you're new, welcome to the archive. It's been amost 15 years since the 'old network' existed. From 1943-96 the network would block book radio shows. Over the years it changed from Old Tyme Radio but the concept was the same but with a bunch of top Los Angeles radio talent. In 1996 our friends were all fired and it seems to be more or less US satellite music networks. It's cheaper and easier to use. I don't think it's better.

I plan on celebrating those years.

Your comments, memories and ideas are always welcome. At the end of each post it'll say something like 0 Comments, click it and you can leave your comment.

So, who are you? What was the best thing about Armed Forces Radio?

Did you save any airchecks?

Mary Turner

Been too long since we've heard Mary Turner. She retired from the industy, got her Doctorate and has had a great marriage. In the picture Ms Turner, husband Norm Pattiz and Dennis Miller.

Mary Turner 1984
Direct Download

Ira Cook

In the early 60s, AFRTS was an extra gig for a lot of the talent from Gene Autry's KMPC. Roger Carroll, Pete Smith, Gary Owens and Ira Cook.
Ira was still recording shows in the 70s for us. They always had style.
The picture makes more sense if you know that Mr. Cook was one of the leading proponants of Hawaiian music, playing at least one every day on KMPC.

Ira Cook 1964
Direct Download

AFVN Sgt Pepper

1968 was a particularly interesting time for music and radio, great pop music and great album rock. Let's let Sgt Pepper (Scott Manning) show us the way.





AFVN Sgt Pepper 1968
Direct Download

Jim Pewter 1976

Jim was another giant, I wish I had more tape of the show. Jim was an AFKN vet, who went on to be a successful producer, songwriter and jock. Today we take another look at rocks beginnings. The top seven hits of 1964.

Straight ahead, don't bunch up...



Jim Pewter
Direct download

LaRita Shelby

LaRita sent along an aircheck of the AFRTS show, she's totally right about bringing a freshness to her show.

Here she is live, doing a song from the cd.








Visit her website http://www.laritashelby.com/
Check out the CD, jazzy and smooth.  

Mark White

This is the second time we hear from Mark White, he went to AFN Berlin in the 1950s and ended up staying. He's retired and to noones surprise living in Berlin. On weekends, the salute to the Big Bands was a tradition.



Mark White AFN Berlin 1983

Stay Tuna'd

Ask must anyone about Armed Forces Radio in 70s, 80s and 90s and they'll remember different things, but always Charlie Tuna. Recently we received a ton of AFN airchecks (Thanks Steve!). The majority were Charlie Tuna.

Suddenly it's 1988...




Charlie Tuna 1988
Direct Download Here

Visit Charlie's website at http://www.charlietuna.com

The Early Years

They're here! They're here! Rand over at Rand's Esoteric OTR sent over a wonderful box of early AFRS ETs. They will get a good home. If you enjoy OTR, be sure to visit his blog. He also sent along amazing quality transfers of the disks, which is great as I still can't find a 16" turntable. When I think of how many turntables I saw go to the trash...
What would you like to hear 1943-96? Why was AFRTS special to you? If you enjoy the website be sure to tell a friend.

Thom
afrts@live.com

Random TP

TP-43 RL7-4 1964

Shelby Flint-Little Dancing Doll
Jack Nitzshe-Lonely Surfer
Nancy Wilson-Tell Me The Truth
Billy Abbott-Groovy Baby
Kim Weston-Love Me All The Way
Gene McDaniels-It's A Lonely Town
Floyd Cramer-How High The Moon
Cliff Richard-Lucky Lips
Bill Purcell-Pride
Jackie DeShannon-Little Yellow Roses
Peter Paul and Mary-Blowin In The Wind
Bill Anderson 8 x 10
Burl Ives-This Is All I Ask
Claude King-Scarlet O'Hara

How many of THOSE are still being played on the radio?

LaRita Shelby

Ms. Shelby sent along some promos from the show, with a surprise guest at the end...



LaRita Shelby Promos AFRTS

There's still time to pick up her album "A Date With A Song" from Amazon

La Rita's website (very cool) just click here

John Doremus

What an incredible voice. Mr Doremus began this style of late night radio on WMAQ Chicago and syndicated on the BIG stations. He also 'invented' in flight music.




John Doremus 1967

Willard W. Willard

I was pretty excited to get a bunch of Gene Price amy recruiting shows that I hadn't heard before. I'll give them a good home. Gene had a two and a half decade run on the network. Roger Carroll worked out a deal to make these Sunday morning recruiting shows. Let's go back to the Summer of 1974 and Watermark studios.



Gene Price Country Express 1974

Country Corner with Charlie Williams

Charlie picked up the Country Corner after Joe Allison. Charlie was another songwriter/DJ came from KFOX, 1960-72, where he did afternoon drive. Charlie moved to Nashville and built a home on a lake. He managed Bobby Bare and hosted a talk show on WSIX. Charlie passed away in 1995.




Charlie Williams - Country Corner 1972

Herman Griffith 1972

Somewhere I have a picture of Mr. Griffith the rest of the AFRTS crew, but he's largely a mystery man. We've looked at his early shows. Now it's 1972




Herman Griffith 1972

AFN Operation Information 1953

Operation Information was a weekly "Radio Newsreel" on AFN Berlin. Let's go back to January 1953.




Operation Information 15 January 1953

Don Tracy Through The Years

It's amazing how consistantly great all of these guys were. Let's take a look at 7 years of Don Tracy



Don Tracy 1986


Don Tracy 1988


Don Tracy 1993

Who's on First

Back to more recent things after this, but it's such a classic.

Melody Roundup

In World War Two AFRS was the source of a lot of Country and Hillbilly Music. Here's some of the best, a couple of dozen shows. Happy listening...



Melody Roundup

Gene Price for Today's Army

Gene Price checked in with some good words in the email last week. Thanks! I did ask a bunch of questions that I hope we get answers for.



Gene Price Country Express 1974
300 Bucks a month to be in the army?


(Photo: Gene Price, Charlie Tuna and Jim Pewter)

Don Tracy and Roland Bynum 1983

Don Tracy and Roland Bynum were a yin and yang. Tracy more uptown with his BIG sound and Roland connecting on a one-to-one level. And from them both, great radio.

Don Tracy seems to have left the business and Roland Bynum works at Stevie Wonder's station in Los Angeles, not sounding a day older.




Roland Bynum 1983

Don Tracy 1983

Top Pops

Another bunch of TP disks have found a good home. The TP series ran from 1962-75 and was the weekly disk with the new hits. They made a very good oldies collection when I was at AFKN/SCN. Take the current top 40 and a handful of TPs and there was a show. The rest of the library was VERY random and neat in it's own right. The TPs had a lot of songs from small labels that ended up "lost.

Random TP disk: TP 311 1969

Supremes "Love Child"
Dion "Abraham, Martin and John"
Dells "Always Together"
Bobby Goldsboro "The Straight Life"
Glen Campbell "Wichita Lineman"
Dean Martin "Not Enough Indians"
Peggy Scott "Pickin Wild Mountain Berries"
1910 Fruitgum Company "Goody Goody Gumdrops"
Stevie Wonder "For Once In My Life"
Jackie Wilson "For Once In My Life"
Jose Feliciano "Star Spangled Banner"
Gary Lewis and the Playboys "Main Street"

Good stuff from a good year, other than the scandelous version of the National Anthem, the suits had a fit.

Happy Birthday LaRita Shelby!

LaRita Shelby has a birthday coming up this week and gave us the present. She's asking her friends to pick up a copy of her cd. Get it here
Some wonderful music there, like Sour Citrus. Click here to see it
Her new website looks slick and has some great pictures from the AFRTS days. http://www.laritashelby.com/
LaRita says she will be making an AFRTS aircheck available soon!