Original The Story Behind The Song header art

The Story Behind The Song Radio Program

Dee-Scription:

Home >> D D Too Home >> Radio Logs >> Story Behind The Song

The Story Behind The Song weekly feature. Sweet Adeline from November 15 1925

The Story Behind The Song weekly feature. Home Sweet Home from June 20 1926

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. That pretty much summed up the era of the mid-1920s to mid-1930s. A combination of the boom and bust era of The Roaring 20s, the stock market crash, and the Great Depression left early Radio listeners clinging to their fondest memories while they awaited some relief from the American economy.

The familiar songs and hymns of the era were an even greater source of comfort and reassurance to millions of Americans of the era. Sheet music, for those with the means to employ them, was one of the less expensive diversions available to the vast majority of the population.

Recognizing the resurgence of interest in America's fondest musical standards, the newspapers of 1925 and 1926 published a highly popular feature titled, The Story Behind The Songs. The articles were first published and illustrated by the M. Witmark & Sons music publishing house, a prolific sheet music publisher from the turn of the century.

Presumably having noted the popularity of the weekly, syndicated feature, the Transcription Company of America (Transco) undertook a thirty-nine episode series of vignettes very similar to the syndicated print feature, with the added advantage of dramatizing the stories and playing the popular standards with a full orchestra and chorus.

Transco marketed the series to large and small stations--and networks--alike. NBC-Blue's WJZ, New York, was the largest of the networks of the day to broadcast the series. Beginning in May of 1930, the syndication was airing in small market stations throughout the midwest. By 1931, NBC-Blue was broadcasting the series as filler for their 10:00 p.m. nighttime Wednesday or Thursday slot.

All thirty-nine episodes aired throughout the midwest as late as February 1931 during their first runs. The syndication was also broadcast throughout 1931 and 1932 by several small market stations.

The songbook of Stephen Foster was repeatedly tapped for six of the standards dramatized. Popular hymns and favorite military songs were the next most represented songs. Patriotic standards such as La Marseillaise, Hail Britannia, The Star-Spangled Banner, and The Battle Hymn of The Republic were among the seven national songs highlighted during the series.

The series also recounted the history of some of the more obscure popular songs throughout history, such as the college song, Upidee, Upida and some of the popular British Empire songs of history.

Series Derivatives:

None

Genre:

Anthology of Golden Age Radio Historical Dramatizations

Network(s):

NBC-Blue

Audition Date(s) and Title(s):

Unknown

Premiere Date(s) and Title(s):

30-05-14 01 The Star Spangled Banner

Run Dates(s)/ Time(s):

30-05-14 to 31-02-04; NBC-Blue; Thirty-nine, 15-minute programs; Wednesdays or Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. depending on the market and station.

Syndication:

Transcription Company Of America (Transco)

Sponsors:

Local sponsors or sustaining messages

Director(s):

Unknown

Principal Actors:

Frank Nelson

Recurring Character(s):

None

Protagonist(s):

None

Author(s):

Francis Scott Key, John Fawcett, Hans G. Naegeli, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, Stephen Foster, John Howard Payne, James R. Randall, Sir Arthur Sullivan, Adelaide Anne Proctor, William Douglas, Alicia Scott, Fanny Crosby, J. R. Shannon, John V. Eppel, Franz Schubert. P. P. Bliss, Doctor Richard Shuckburgh, Henry W. Armstrong, Richard H. Gerard, James Lawson, Lady Caroline Keppel [or Robert Adair], Richard Haydn, James Thompson, Thomas Ames, Julia Ward Howe, Augustus Toplady, Charles Harris, Joseph Hopkinson, George F. Root, Robert Burns, W. C. Handy, Henry Clay Work, Theodore August Metz, Joe Hayden, F. N. W. Crouch

Writer(s)

Music Direction:

Musical Theme(s):

Unknown

Announcer(s):

Estimated Scripts or
Broadcasts:

Episodes in Circulation:

Total Episodes in Collection:

Provenances:

RadioGOLDINdex, Hickerson Guide.

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were the log of the radioGOLDINdex and newspaper listings.

The Hickerson Guide is predictably inaccurate--it's cited dates off by exactly one year.

Digital Deli Too RadioLogIc

OTRisms:

We'd like to have cited an entire 'as broadcast' log, but it would seem that NBC-Blue, over station WJZ, only broadcast The Story Behind the Song on an occasional basis between 1930 and 1931. The 1930 run, while supported by contiguous grid listings provides no titles for the run. The 1931 run of only a few weeks, cites only a handful of titles then disappears.

We could have simply lied about this series like everyone else in the otr community has, but we simply don't have the stomach for that nonsense. "Wishful thinking" simply isn't good enough. We've cited the earliest known broadcasts below, while adding a corrected catalog of the series employing the stated Transco transcription numbers from radioGOLDINdex. Until we determine a second provenance for the transcription numbers, we've left them color-coded as provisional.

Bogus Encoding Alert: virtually all circulating collections of The Story Behind The Song are up-encoded from their original 64-bit encodes to 'fake' 80-bit encodes. This practice renders an identical-sounding recording with the identical sound wave characteristics and content but wastes almost 2 Mbs of storage per recording. The nominal size of a 15-minute, 64-bit .mp3 recording is about 7 Mbs. Whoever's engaging in this practice is simply attempting to give the appearance of a higher quality encode to a nominally encoded 64-bit .mp3. Buyers and downloaders beware.

We encounter frauds like the above day in and day out circulating throughout the otr community. In the 'race to the bottom,' apparently it's 'no-holds barred' now. This is most certainly not vintage Radio preservation. It's simply yet another of millions of online and eBay vintage Radio scams on a par with 'Nigerian inheritance' scams. The more hang-time podcasters can trick naive downloaders into wasting, the longer they can bombard you with all their ads and banner exchanges--all the more opportunity to generate income on their 'free downloading' and 'free podcasting' sites, at your expense. And of course you end up filling up your iPod or other portable device with as much as 48 Mbs of wasted storage in the process.

What you see here, is what you get. Complete transparency. We have no 'credentials' whatsoever--in any way, shape, or form--in the 'otr community'--none. But here's how we did it--for better or worse. Here's how you can build on it yourselves--hopefully for the better. Here are the breadcrumbs--just follow the trail a bit further if you wish. No hobbled downloads. No misdirection. No posturing about our 'credentials.' No misrepresentations. No strings attached. We point you in the right direction and you're free to expand on it, extend it, use it however it best advances your efforts.

We ask one thing and one thing only--if you employ what we publish, attribute it, before we cite you on it.

We continue to provide honest research into these wonderful Golden Age Radio programs simply because we love to do it. If you feel that we've provided you with useful information or saved you some valuable time regarding this log--and you'd like to help us even further--you can help us keep going. Please consider a small donation here:

We don't pronounce our Golden Age Radio research as 'certified' anything. By the very definition, research is imperfect. We simply tell the truth. As is our continuing practice, we provide our fully provenanced research results--to the extent possible--right here on the page, for any of our peers to review--or refute--as the case may be. If you take issue with any of our findings, you're welcome to cite any better verifiable source(s) and we'll immediately review them and update our findings accordingly. As more verifiable provenances surface, we'll continue to update the following series log, as appropriate.

All rights reserved by their respective sources. Article and log copyright 2009 The Digital Deli Online--all rights reserved. Any failure to attribute the results of this copywritten work will be rigorously pursued.

[Date, title, and episode column annotations in red refer to either details we have yet to fully provenance or other unverifiable information as of this writing. Red highlights in the text of the 'Notes' columns refer to information upon which we relied in citing dates, date or time changes, or titles.]


The Story Behind The Song Radio Program Log [1930 Run -- Sample]
Date	Episode.	Title	Avail.	Notes
30-05-14	1	Title Unknown	N	30-05-14 Indiana Evening Gazette Song Story Over KQV Minne Heath, soprano, and Aden Lowther, "tenor, assisted bv the concert ensemble under the direction of Howard Weiser, will be presented at 8:30 o'clock tonight over KQV. Lowther, assisted by Sylvia Sconza, soprano, also will be heard at 7:30 o'clock in the "Story Behind the Song" dramatization.
30-05-21	2	Title Unknown	N
30-05-28	3	Title Unknown	N
30-06-04	4	You Brought a New Kind of Love	N	30-06-04 Decatur Daily Review "You Brought a New Kind of Love" is the musical selection to be used for the "Story Behind the Song" broadcast over WENR at 8:45.
30-06-11	5	Title Unknown	N	30-06-11 Evening Independent 7:10--Story Behind The Song--WJAY
30-06-18	6	Title Unknown	N
30-06-25	7	Title Unknown	N	30-06-25 Chronicle-Telegram 7:45--The Story Behind The Song--WFJC
30-07-02	8	Title Unknown	N
30-07-09	9	Title Unknown	N	30-07-09 Chronicle-Telegram 7:45--The Story Behind The Song--WFJC

The Story Behind The Song Radio Program Log [1931 Run]
Date	Episode	Title	Avail.	Notes
31-05-07	1	La Marseillaise	N	31-05-07 Lowell Sun WJZ--New York--10:00 p m—Story behind the song, Marseillaise. 31-05-07 New York Times 10:00--The Story Behind The Song, sketch--WJZ
31-05-14	--	Preempted	--	Preempted 31-05-14 Lowell Sun In place of story behind the song on, WJZ and stations at 9:00 broadcast. from banquet to 28 American mayors leaving for Paris to attend international colonial and overseas exposition. 31-05-14 New York Times 10:00 P. M.--Farewell Dinner to American Mayors Sailing for French Colonial Exposition on Ile de France. Speakers, Paul Claudel, French Ambassador; Mayor Walker and others--WJZ.
31-05-21	2	Home, Sweet Home	N	31-05-20 Lowell Sun WJZ--Story Behind the Song, "Home, Sweet Home," WJZ hookup, 9.00. 31-05-21 New York Times 10:00--The Story Behind The Song, sketch--WJZ
31-05-28	--	Preempted	--	Preempted 31-05-28 Lowell Sun WJZ--New York--10:00 p m—Sir James Hopwood Jeans dinner. 31-05-28 New York Times 10:00 P. M.--"Modern Theories of the Universe," Sir James Hopwood Jeans--WJZ.
31-06-04	--	Preempted	--	Preempted 31-06-04 New York Times 9:45 P. M.--Gandhi Testimonial Dinner, Hotel Astor. Speakers, Judge Daniel F. Cohalan, Sailendra Nath Ghose and others--WOR--(WJZ at 10:00).
31-06-11	3	Title Unknown	N	31-06-11 New York Times 10:00--The Story Behind The Song, sketch--WJZ
31-06-18	4	Title Unknown	N	31-06-18 New York Times 10:00--The Story Behind The Song--WJZ 31-06-18 Lowell Sun WJZ--The Story Behind the song-10:00 p m
31-06-25	--	Preempted	--	Preempted 31-06-25 New York Times 10:00 P. M.--Dinner to Ryder Cup Golf Teams at Columbus, Ohio. Speakers, Governor George White of Ohio and others--WJZ.
31-07-02	5	Title Unknown	N	31-07-02 New York Times 10:00--The Story Behind The Song--WJZ
31-07-09	6	Men of Harlech	N	31-07-09 New York Times 10:00--The Story Behind The Song--WJZ 31-07-09 Lowell Sun Story behind the song, "Men of Harlech," WJZ-NBC, 9:00.
31-07-16	7	Silent Night	N	31-07-16 New York Times 10:00--The Story Behind The Song--WJZ 31-07-15 Lowell Sun Story behind the song, "Silent Night," WJZ-NBC, 10:00.
31-07-23	8	Title Unknown	N	31-07-23 New York Times 10:00--The Story Behind The Song--WJZ 31-07-23 Lowell Sun Story behind the song--WJZ-NBC, 10:00.
31-07-30	--	Title Unknown	--	[Replaced by Old Stager's Memories] 31-07-30 New York Times 10:00--Old Stager's Memories--WJZ

The Story Behind The Song Radio Transcription Log [Nos. cited by radioGOLDINdex]
Date	Trans.No.	Title	Avail.	Author
--	1	The Star Spangled Banner	Y	Francis Scott Key
--	2	Blest Be The Tie That Binds	Y	Words by John Fawcett, composed by Hans G. Naegeli
--	3	La Marseillaise	Y	Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
--	4	My Old Kentucky Home	Y	Stephen Foster
--	5	There's No Place Like Home	Y	John Howard Payne
--	6	Maryland, My Maryland	Y	James R. Randall
--	7	The Sound Of A Grand Amen ~~The Sound Of A Great Amen~~	Y	Sir Arthur Sullivan and Adelaide Anne Proctor
--	8	Annie Laurie	Y	William Douglas and Alicia Scott
--	9	Saved By Grace ~~And I Shall See Him Face to Face~~	Y	Fanny Crosby
--	10	Missouri Waltz	Y	Lyrics by J. R. Shannon, music by John V. Eppel
--	11	Serenade ~~Serenady~~	Y	Franz Schubert
--	12	Hold The Fort For I Am Coming	Y	P. P. Bliss
--	13	Yankee Doodle Dandy ~~Confusion~~	Y	British Army Surgeon, Doctor Richard Shuckburgh
--	14	Sweet Adeline	Y	Henry W. Armstrong and Richard H. Gerard
--	15	The Old 124th Psalm ~~124th Psalm~~	Y	From the canon of the Genevan Psalter of Calvin
--	16	Old Black Joe	Y	Stephen Foster
--	17	Ever Of Thee ~~By James Lawson~~	Y	James Lawson
--	18	Robin Adair ~~Robin O'Dare~~	Y	Lady Caroline Keppel [or Robert Adair]
--	19	God Preserve The Emperor	Y	Richard Haydn
--	20	Old Folks At Home	Y	Stephen Foster
--	21	Rule, Britannia!	Y	James Thompson and Thomas Ames
--	22	The Battle Hymn of the Republic	Y	Julia Ward Howe
--	23	Rock Of Ages	Y	Augustus Toplady
--	24	After The Ball	Y	Charles Harris
--	25	Gentle Annie	N	Stephen Foster
--	26	Hail, Columbia!	N	Joseph Hopkinson
--	27	The Vacant Chair	N	George F. Root
--	28	Scots Wha Hae Wi' Wallace Bled	N	Robert Burns
--	29	The St. Louis Blues	N	W. C. Handy
--	30	Battle Cry Of Freedom	N	George F. Root
--	31	My Grandfather's Clock	N	Henry Clay Work
--	32	The Girl I Left Behind Me	N	anonymous
--	33	Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming	N	Stephen Foster
--	34	A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight ~~Old Town~~	N	Theodore August Metz with lyrics by Joe Hayden
--	35	Kathleen Mavourneen	N	F. N. W. Crouch
--	36	Upidee, Upida	N	anonymous
--	37	Beautiful Dreamer	N	Stephen Foster
--	38	The Wearin' Of The Green	N	anonymous
--	39	Title Unknown	N


	Home >> D D Too Home >> Radio Logs >> Story Behind The Song

The Story Behind The Song Radio Program

The Story Behind The Song Radio Program Log [1930 Run -- Sample]

The Story Behind The Song Radio Program Log [1931 Run]

The Story Behind The Song Radio Transcription Log [Nos. cited by radioGOLDINdex]