The Monitor Beacon - A sound from my childhood that I would hear on the radio in the 50s and 60s

[MichaelHansenFUN]

i remember the bloopers only...

[altfactor]

It's amazing that this sound is over 55 years old, but still sounds up-to-the-minute today!

[coopecb1]

@radiojunkie2006 It's on my cell phone, too. It's excellent at cutting through the background noise. It also helps that the sound was burned into my neurons at an early age.

[musicmandon1]

I remember the sound all right, leading into the news. I didn't much listen to the shows. after the news I'd go back to the local country station, which was an independent and a light bulb at that, but it played the country hits of the day, which was the late '60s and early '70s.

[rocksmeller99]

I remember hearing it on the road with my parents on weekends

[luviananna]

Yep, Winter weekend mornings on WNBC back in the 60's. Henry Morgan, Bill Cullen Miss Monitor. Better times.

[frastephen]

Monitor is a very happy memory from my childhood. I can remember listening to it especially during family vacations as we drove along. Radio was never the same ...

[wb5oxq]

In 1958 we moved to Jackson, MS and I don't remember hearing those programs anymore. Radio sure is not like that anymore. Now back in Waco, I like to listen to the old radio shows once more on my Sirius satellite radio though!

[wb5oxq]

I spent the first 11 years of my life in Waco, TX and until I was in the second grade there were no TV stations located here and my father would not buy a TV set until there were local stations so we spend most evenings listening to the radio. We had a Philco console in the family room and after the evening meal we would turn on the radio and listen to all kinds of variety , comedy shows and some scary mysterys too. Monitor was on weekends several times a day. I remember Don McNiel mornings .

[Juliaflo]

Wa-Hoo. I grew up listening to the Monitor Beacon.

(Now, don't figure out my age, but have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year),.

[murgymark]

I totally understand this....and believe me i share the same feelings as you

[tippymugs]

I listened to this many an hour over the car radio as my father and I traveled around Mississippi.

[dewey44]

I loved Monitor! I listened to it all weekend. There is no place in radio today for intelligent programs. Here in Chicago, AM radio is all sports blather and very lame interview programs. And one very, very lousy news station. And the FM band is even worse!

[altfactor]

For the most part, "Monitor" aired on weekends.

There was a brief time in the late 1950's when "Monitor" aired on weekday evenings, but for most of it's run, it was broadcast in five blocks (three blocks of three-hours each---one in the morning, the second in the afternoon and the last in the evening---on Saturdays; as well as a four-hour block Sunday afternoons and a three-hour block Sunday evenings) for a total of sixteen hours every weekend.

"Weekends Are Different-So Is 'Monitor'".

[Route625]

I was just a kid when I used to hear the Monitor Beacon. It was really odd, but the noise scared the daylights out of me. I always used to turn the station as quickly as I could. I have no idea why.

[gli7utubeo]

Yep, when I was a kid, I'd stay up late at night with my AM radio listening to Monitor on far away stations. Thanks.

[Lafayette320]

Thanks for this. I remember it from the now former NBC Owned radio station in Cleveland, Oh., WKYC Radio 11. I miss network radio.

[dandydonaldo]

I remember Monitor. It ran on KSD-AM in St. Louis, which is now KTRS.

[hdwell]

Yes, I remember the sounds of Monitor as I was a child too. Seems like that show was broadcast a good part of the weekend on NBC radio. Was a pretty good show. Thanks for sharing.