Monday, May 30, 2016

ATCs: A Face for the Radio

"A Face for the Radio. Don McNeill—The Breakfast Club"
by Bonnie Stevens
You may not know the face, but you definitely recognize the voice! So it goes with radio.

From Jack Benny at Old Time Radio to Jim Ladd of Sirius radio, Don McNeill's The Breakfast Club to music DJs like Casey Kasem and Wolfman Jack, Tom and Ray Magliozzi aka "Click and Clack," the hosts of NPR's Car Talk, to Dr. Demento and John Tesh, as you read the names, the voices are in your head and often spur various memories from both past and present.

The theme for the May FiberAntics ATC [Artist Trading Card] swap was "A Voice for the Radio." As you peruse this month's Artist Trading Cards, I'd like to share snippets from a note that accompanied the cards from one of our talented ATC artists... and take you for a delightful little stroll down Memory Lane.

"Jack Benny" by Dawn Spagna.
Put on your dancing shoes. Here we go:

"... when I was [a very little girl], my Aunt lived with us as both my father and uncle were serving in the Army.

Early in the morning, while my mother was busy in the kitchen, my aunt sat at the dining room table, dunking her toast in her coffee, smoking a cigarette, and listening to The Breakfast Club on the round-topped brown radio.

One regular feature of the show was when Don McNeill had everyone stand up and march around the breakfast table. 
"Radio Personalities: Casey Kasem" The voice of Shaggy, Scooby Doo's best friend.
by Debbie Joyner
My aunt encouraged me to get up and dance around the dining room table also, and we both laughed and sang along with the music. It was a happy way to start the day.
"Wolfman Jack" by Veronica Hofman-Ortega
Our radio sat on the kitchen counter and had hot pot holders lying on the top. Therefore, when anyone asked, "What's on the radio tonight?" the answer was usually "Pot holders!"
"Dr. Demento" by Diane Pineschi
For this month's theme, I had fun looking up radio personalities. Since my youth was spent before we ever got a television set, the radio was the standard form of entertainment in our household. I even remember when we got our first radio with FM—a huge floor model cabinet with doors in the front to reveal the dials and radio bands of AM and FM.
"Car Talk" by Cathy Dillon
I huddled in front of it listening to Jack Benny, and Fibber McGee & Molly, until my mother told me it was bedtime.
"A Face for the Radio: John Tesh" by Karen Downer
Then she could listen to her beloved classical music on FM radio.

Other Chicago radio personalities that I remember are Roy Leonard and Bob Collins. Thanks, Veronica, for this month's [ATC] theme. I have reminisced and enjoyed the memories."
"A Face Born for Radio: Jim Ladd" by Marilyn League
Thank you, Bonnie, for your lovely and heart-warming story! I hope everyone has similar memories that bring a smile to their face.

If my blog readers would like to share a story or memory about the "Faces" or "Voices" from the radio, please leave it in the Comments below. We'd love to *listen* to them!
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