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Let us get back in time… there was a hype about radio entertainment in the 1920s. This hype ruled till the early 1960s. At the beginning, the majority of radio programs imitated the variety show acts that had been the stronghold of civic amusement until radio. Comics or singers also started ruling the airwaves!
Most of all, you did not have to go away from your home in order to enjoy the entertainment! Eventually, audiences in general became somewhat more mature and a variety of other types of entertainment programs were added to the lineups on radio networks.
One of the major popular areas of Radio was drama series. They became very popular including various shows featuring doctors and soap operas, or even popular movie scripts especially adapted for public radio broadcasts.
The old time radio action series had cops, robbers and private detectives! There were some fantasy series that thrilled large audiences with extremely famous fictional characters, often from comic book fame including Superman as well as the Green Hornet!
But horror shows were also in great demand. Thus came shows that featured things like ghosts, vampires, as well as werewolves. But the world never lacked science fiction fans. Thus came tales and predictions on the future, space travel, and exciting exploration of the things unknown including the paranormal.
As for another other instance, take the account of game shows such as "You Bet Your Life" that let the most of the average people to escape from the monotony of everyday life!
Do you know what is the 1st ever commercially held radio station on the land of the U.S? According to most of the historians, it was radio station KDKA in Pennsylvania.
Radio stations began their irregular broadcasting in the early 1920s. But you may ask which form of entertainment was initially popular on radio? Until the end of 1920s, the vast majority were musical programs including opera, jazz, country/western, classical, or other forms of popular music. Between songs the singers themselves might tell a joke or two or tell an amusing story about something that happened in their real life. In the early days, there were only a very few dedicated comics as would become most popular beginning in the 1940s.
The in the 1930s, the very first daytime series had appeared by featuring love, romance, and other emotional subjects that were employed to appeal to the average American housewives. The vast majority of those programs were sponsored by contemporary soap products. That is the time when they came to be known as the soap operas. Gone are the days of intense cliffhanger shows like "The Cisco Kid" or the "Captain Midnight" that were broadcast during the afternoons to entertain young people of that time. Moms loved the shows, not to watch themselves, but as "babysitters" for their kids who were home and often restless from a day stuck in a desk at school.
Comedy series were always the "Kings" of the old time radio shows, however. Shows like "Amos 'N' Andy", "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", "The Jack Benny Show", "The Milton Berle Show", "The Martin and Lewis Show", and many others brought a bit of cheer to what were often hard lives for millions of viewers.
Oh yes, there are still a few classics around such as CSI, but many people would agree that ninety per cent of what's on these days is hardly worth watching.
There is an alternative and it's one that has a lot of advantages over the square box in the corner of the room. This alternative is called old time radio and I'm going to give you seven reasons why you should switch of your large screen plasma TV and listen-up.
First let me quickly tell you what old time radio is.
Old time radio covers the period from the start of the 1930s through to the very early 1960s. It's often referred to as the "Golden Age of Radio". These were the decades when radio was the main medium of mass entertainment and when America led the way in creating some of the best, and most loved radio shows ever to have been broadcast.
Old time radio covers everything from classic drama like the Lux Radio Show through to spine-tingling thrillers like Orson Welles War of the World and The Shadow. You'll hear hilarious comedies like The Bob Hope Show and Fibber McGee & Molly and shows for children and the young at heart such as Superman and The Green Hornet.
You might be thinking "I'm too young for that kind of stuff" or maybe you're thinking "Okay, but where can I hear those classic broadcasts these days" well let me give you the "7 Reasons Why You Should Be Listening to Old Time Radio Shows".
Reason 1 - Great entertainment has a long shelf life
If old time radio shows were poor entertainment these shows wouldn't have stood the test of time. The fact that there are over 30,000 old time radio show recordings still in existence makes it, without doubt, one of the most well archived formats of entertainment of all time.
Reason 2 - Who needs more misery?
Isn't there enough misery in the world? Wars, famine, crime, corruption. Isn't it good to have a break from all this misery? Old time radio can provide you with that break. Just put on your headphones and escape to mysterious lands whenever you get the urge. It's got to be one of the best forms of escapism ever invented.
Reason 3 - It's not expensive?
For the price of a burger and fries you can enjoy hundred and hundreds of hours of classic radio shows. You can burn them to CD and listen in the car. You copy them onto your MP3 player and listen whilst you jog. You can enjoy the shows again and again whenever you like.
Reason 4 - No bad language
You can listen to old time radio shows for thousands of hours and the worst word you're likely to hear will be "darn". This is a medium that boasted some of the most talented writers in the world, many of whom went on to be best-selling authors or top script writers in Hollywood.
Reason 5 - Ideal for Children
Do you worry about what you are exposing your children to when they watch TV. Even shows that are supposed to be appropriate for youngsters seem to be full of innuendo or even inappropriate language. With old time radio show you don't have to worry about what they might hear as the shows of this era adhered to far stricter ethical codes.
Reason 6 - Collecting old time radio shows is a great hobby
Not only are these shows great to listen to, but they're also great fun to collect. There are few things more satisfying than tracking down that final elusive episode that gives you the complete run of a series or uncovering a gem that few people have heard for half a century.
Reason 7 - Brush up on your history
Old radio shows are a wonderful way to learn more about history. Without making any effort you'll learn about everything from the Civil War right through to World War II. You'll hear news broadcasts covering events as they happened and even the advertisements will help you to learn about how different things were back in the middle of last century.
Well, that's seven great reasons why you should be listening to old time radio shows. It's a wonderful form of entertainment and more accessible today than it ever has been since its glory days.
So turn-off and tune-in today!
This article is also available as a .pdf files at the following url: http://www.otr-ftp-server.com/7reasons.pdf