''The Ford Sunday Evening Hour'' is an American concert radio series sponsored by the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

. The hour-long program was broadcast from 1934 to 1946,Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 235-236. with a hiatus from 1942 to 1945. Later known as ''The Ford Symphony Hour'', the program presented selections of classical music, hymns, popular ballads and well-known arias. The series featured a rotation of different conductors, including Victor Kolar,

Fritz Reiner Frederick Martin "Fritz" Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose t ...

Wilfred Pelletier Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadians, Canadian conducting, conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphon ...

and

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

. Soloists included soprano

Kirsten Flagstad Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casaz ...

, tenor Thomas Hayward,

Helen Jepson Helen Jepson (November 28, 1904 – September 16, 1997) was an American lyric soprano. Early years Jepson was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1904, (Two sources give her birthday as November 28, 1906.) DeLong, Thomas A. (199 ...

, contralto

Gladys Swarthout Gladys Swarthout (December 25, 1900 in Deepwater, Missouri – July 7, 1969 in Florence, Italy) was an American mezzo-soprano opera singer and actress. Career While studying at the Bush Conservatory of Music in Chicago, a group of friends arran ...

, tenor

Richard Tauber Richard Tauber (16 May 1891 – 8 January 1948) was an Austrian tenor and film actor. Early life Richard Tauber was born in Linz, Austria, to Elisabeth Seifferth (née Denemy), a widow and an actress who played soubrette roles at the local theat ...

, baritone

John Charles Thomas John Charles Thomas (September 6, 1891December 13, 1960) was an American opera, operetta and concert baritone. Biography John Charles Thomas was born on September 6, 1891 in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a Methodist minister of ...

(a 1936-37 regular) and

Lawrence Tibbett Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 – July 15, 1960) was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone, he sang leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

. For the first two seasons, programs originated from Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Michigan. Demand for seats was so great, however, that Detroit's Masonic Temple Auditorium, which had more than twice as many seats, was used beginning in the fall of 1936.

Background

William Reddick became producer of the program in 1936.

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

was closely involved in the program, from choosing the theme (''The Children's Prayer'' from ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

'') to hiring the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

. On CBS, the series began October 7, 1934, on Sunday evenings at 9pm, continuing until March 1, 1942. It returned Sundays at 8pm on ABC September 30, 1945, airing until June 23, 1946. During the weekly intermission, William John Cameron (former editor of the Dearborn Independent and directly responsible for the publication in the 1920s of the anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion), of the Ford Motor Company, delivered brief talks on a variety of topics from sports to economics. These talks were collected into several books published by Ford. Announcers included Ron Gamble and Truman Bradley.

Replacements

During the summer months, it was replaced by ''The Ford Summer Hour'', featuring Donald Voorhees,

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 195 ...

James Melton James Melton (January 2, 1904 – April 21, 1961), a popular singer in the 1920s and early 1930s, later began a career as an operatic singer when tenor voices went out of style in popular music around 1932–35. His singing talent was similar to ...

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

Jane Pickens Jane Pickens Hoving (10 August 1907 – 21 February 1992)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 216-217. was an American singer on ...

. One week after ''The Ford Sunday Evening Hour'' came to an end, the Ford Motor Company launched ''The Ford Festival of American Music'' which offered the full spectrum of popular music, from swing to show tunes, along with folk and classical selections. Leigh Harline conducted the orchestra, and

Alfred Drake Alfred Drake (October 7, 1914 – July 25, 1992) was an American actor and singer. Biography Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Broo ...

was the host of the show, produced by George Zachary. It aired from June 30 to September 22, 1946.

Re-enactment

On July 28, 1963, the National High School Symphony Orchestra of

Interlochen, Michigan Interlochen ( ') is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

, performed a re-enactment of the program to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Henry Ford's birth and the 60th anniversary of Ford Motor Company.

References

Columbia Record LP CS 8578 More Radio's Great Old Themes

External links

"Farewell, Ford," ''Time'', February 2, 1942.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford Sunday Evening Hour, The American classical music radio programs 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs Ford Motor Company 1934 radio programme debuts 1942 radio programme endings 1945 radio programme debuts 1946 radio programme endings CBS Radio programs ABC radio programs

Background

Replacements

Re-enactment

See also

References

External links