''Johnny Mercer's Music Shop'' 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 earl ...

program that featured popular songs. It was broadcast on NBC from June 22, 1943, until September 14, 1943, as a summer replacement for ''

The Pepsodent Show ''The Pepsodent Show'' is an American radio comedy program broadcast from 1938 to 1948, during the Golden Age of Radio. The program starred Bob Hope and Jerry Colonna, alongside Blanche Stewart, Elvia Allman, and a continuously rotating suppor ...

''. A similar program with a slightly different title was broadcast in 1944. Mercer was a guest on ''The Pepsodent Shows season finale, providing a transition to the premiere of his own program the following week. The show originated from WEAF and was sponsored by

Pepsodent Pepsodent is an American brand of toothpaste with the minty flavor that is derived from sassafras. The brand was purchased by Unilever in 1942 and is still owned by the company outside of the United States and Canada. In 2003, Unilever sold the ...

toothpaste. Singers

Ella Mae Morse Ella Mae Morse (September 12, 1924 – October 16, 1999) was an American singer of popular music whose 1940s and 1950s recordings mixing jazz, blues, and country styles influenced the development of rock and roll. Her 1942 recording of " Cow-Co ...

and

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

were regulars on the program, with musical support from

The Pied Pipers The Pied Pipers are an American popular singing group originally formed in the late 1930s. They had several chart hits throughout the 1940s, both under their own name and in association with Tommy Dorsey, with Johnny Mercer and with Frank Sin ...

and

Paul Weston Paul Weston (né Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the Fathe ...

and his orchestra. Although the program's cast was white, episodes sometimes presented a black image. For example, the first episode included both the song "'' Louisville Lou (That Vampin' Lady)''", which is about a black stripper, and a minstrel show skit. A review 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 advertis ...

'' praised the program's musical performances but noted that its comedy components needed to be improved to better match Mercer's personality, which the ''Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century'' commented was "so suited to the medium."

Critical response

A review in the trade publication ''

'' indicated that the program's main flaw was in Mercer's attempts at comedy; otherwise, he "aptly and unaffectedly handled the triple role of star, emsee and vocalist." It complimented the performances of Morse, Stafford, and The Pied Pipers.

''The Chesterfield Music Shop'' (1944)

As the title implies,

Chesterfield cigarettes Chesterfield is a brand of cigarette, named after Chesterfield County, Virginia. The brand is owned by conglomerate Altria and produced by its subsidiary Philip Morris USA. History Chesterfields, originally a blend of Turkish tobacco, Turkish an ...

sponsored this 15-minute program, which ran from June 12, 1944, until December 8, 1944 on NBC. Members of the cast were the same as those in the 1943 program, except for the addition of

Wendell Niles Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was an announcer during the American golden age of radio and later in television. Early years Niles was born in Livingston, Montana and grew up there. He attended New York University and ...

as announcer. In addition to the NBC broadcasts, the show was also carried by the

Armed Forces Radio Service The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the United States Armed Forces provides to soldiers stationed or assigned overseas, and is headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland. AFN comprises two sub ...

for transmission to United States military personnel.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Logs

Log of selected episodes of ''Johnny Mercer's Music Shop'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group

Script

Script of ''Johnny Mercer's Chesterfield Music Shop'' (June 12, 1944)

Streaming

Episodes of ''Johnny Mercer's Music Shop'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
1943 radio programme debuts 1943 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs NBC radio programs American music radio programs Johnny Mercer