''Call for Music'' is an
old-time radio
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...
program in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was broadcast on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
February 13 – April 16, 1948, and on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
April 20 – June 29, 1948.
The title was adapted from the sponsor's signature radio tag, "Call for
Philip Morris."
Personnel
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...
starred in the program, which featured a guest star each week.
[Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58.] Other regulars on the show were singer/songwriter
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...
,
Harry James
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...
and his orchestra, and the Harry Zimmerman Chorus.
[ Jack Rourke was the announcer for the NBC version, and John Holbrook had that role when the program was on CBS. Directors were Jerry Lawrence. Robert Lee, and Bill Brennan; writers were Lawrence, Lee, and Robert Smith.][
]
Format
Originating in Hollywood, California
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...
, ''Call for Music'' initially highlighted top tunes of the week in each episode[ ] (much like the long-running ''Your Hit Parade
''Your Hit Parade'' was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...
'') with the musical numbers selected according to the program's own ranking criteria.[ Glenn T. Eskew described the structure of the show in his book, ''Johnny Mercer: Southern Songwriter for the World'':]A typical program began with Shore, Mercer, and James playing an arrangement of a hit song, such as "Put 'em in a Box," "Manana," or "Bride and Groom Polka." Then each artist individually sang a number. Philip Morris bracketed the show's opening and closing with its advertising image of the bellboy selling cigarettes in the lobby by having Johnny Roventini sing out in a high-pitched and perfect B flat with an annoying twang, "Call for Philip Moooooooorreeeeees." The announcer Jack Rourke read commercials at both ends and in the middle of the show that often extolled the brand as being recommended by "imminent nose and throat specialists" for fighting "cigarette hangover" and sore throats.
Eskew noted that during the program's time on the air, the focus shifted from top tunes to Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
medleys to various "popular songs of the day".[
]
Financial problems
''Call for Music'' ended after its sponsor decided to reduce the budget for the show's next season. An article in the June 19, 1948, issue of the trade publication ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' reported that Philip Morris "is set on slashing costs from $11,000 to $8,000 ... feeling that current ratings don't justify the high-priced offering."[
]
References
{{Reflist
External links
Log
''Call for Music'' log from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs
Streaming
''Call for Music'' episodes from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
1948 radio programme debuts
1948 radio programme endings
CBS Radio programs
NBC radio programs