Alan Freed Moondog on Wilcox Gay Recordio Disc Live Radio Aircheck 1953 Rare
$
48
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Description
Before the advent of tape recorders, people recorded live audio events on their Recordio machines, usually family gatherings or things off the radio. On very rare occasions, they recorded something really good off the radio.
This is one of those times.
On December 12, 1953, someone in the Cleveland area recorded a twelve-minute portion of Alan Freed doing the Moondog Saturday Night Rock and Roll Party on WJW. This ten-inch disc came from a small collection of similar Recordio discs with other material recorded from WJW. This was the only one with Moondog, and it's recorded at 33 RPM.
This is historically significant because of the influence Alan Freed had on early rock radio. This is classic early 1950s radio with personality! And it's the legendary Alan Freed. While there are recordings that exist today of Alan Freed, there really aren't that many, so any addition to the collection is well worth it.
Less significant here is the material on the other side, although it's still notable. Recorded on the other side is a twelve-minute portion of Chris Miller, a late night disc jockey on WJW. He plays a couple of songs, but there is a lot of talking by him, which is interesting, and he also has a sister singing group perform two Christmas songs live. The name of the group is the "Mar Sisters" or something like that, it's kind of hard to tell. But they're not bad at all. And it's fun to listen to the show considering there are minor problems during his show that bother him, including an incessantly ringing telephone in the background! Great stuff for early 1950s radio.
Visually, both side are in very good condition, hardly any wear or scratching. Acoustically both sides play great, but there are minor level inconsistencies due to recording on the Recordio machine or the broadcast itself, and there is a hiss that plays throughout.
This is broadcast history, and listening to it is like traveling back through time.
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