''The Electric Hour'' is an American
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 of popular music. 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 ...
from September 20, 1944, to June 9, 1946.
Format
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...
starred in ''The Electric Hour'', and each episode featured a guest star who sang duets with him.
[ Genres featured included music from films, folk songs, and "ballads from many lands".][ Gail Lulay, Eddy's biographer, wrote in ''Nelson Eddy, America's Favorite Baritone: An Authorized Biographical Tribute'', "This was Nelson's dream show because it had a musical format."][
]
Site
The program initially originated from CBS Columbia Square
CBS Columbia Square (also called Columbia Studio) was the home of CBS's Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007. Located at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, the building housed the CBS Radio Network's West Coast facili ...
in Hollywood, California. Effective with the September 16, 1945, installment, it moved to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. A report in 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 ...
'' said that the change was caused by "acute studio space shortage at CBS".
Personnel
Eddy was the only regular featured performer on ''The Electric Hour''. Guests included Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
, who performed with Eddy in films.
Sponsor
The program's title came from its sponsor, a group of electric utilities across the United States. The organization had the slogan "local electric companies — all producing power for America under American business management."[ The number of participating utilities was 167 in 1945.][
]
Summer versions
In 1945, 1946, and 1947, the same sponsors presented ''The Electric Hour Summer Series'' as replacements for regular programs. Dates and featured artists, which varied from year to year, are listed below:
*July 8, 1945 - September 9, 1945 — Francia White
Francia White (1909 - October 22, 1984) was an American soprano who had an active career in concerts, operas, operettas, radio, television, and film during the late 1920s through the 1940s. She began her career as a vaudeville performer in her l ...
and Felix Knight
William Felix Knight (stage name: Felix Knight, November 1, 1908 – June 18, 1998), was an American tenor, actor, and vocal teacher, best known for his role as Tom-Tom in the 1934 Laurel and Hardy holiday musical film '' Babes in Toyland''.
...
[
*June 9, 1946 - September 22, 1946 — Anne Jamison, Bob Shanley, and the Sportsmen Quartet][
*July 13, 1947 - August 31, 1947 — ]Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...
, Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
, and Dave Barbour's orchestra[
]
References
External links
Logs
Log of episodes of ''The Electric Hour'' from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs (scroll down below ''The Old Gold Show''.Log of episodes of ''The Electric Hour'' from Old Time Radio Researchers GroupLog of episodes of ''The Electric Hour'' from radioGOLDINdex
{{DEFAULTSORT:Electric Hour, The
1944 radio programme debuts
1946 radio programme endings
1940s American radio programs
CBS Radio programs
American music radio programs