 Radio's own show, Behind the Mic. With a switch of a dial, radio brings you tragedy, comedy, entertainment, information, education, a whole world at your command. Ah, but there are stories behind radio. Stories behind your favorite program and favorite personalities and radio people you never hear of. Stories as amusing, dramatic, and as interesting as any make-believe stories you hear on the air. And that's what we give you. The human interests, the glamour, the tragedy, the comedy, and information that are behind the mic. And now, presenting a man whose name has been a symbol of the best in radio since the beginning of broadcasting, Graham McNamee. Thank you, Gilbert Martin. And good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the radio audience. This afternoon behind the mic brings you a story behind a broadcast by Ida Bailey Allen. The sound effect of the week. America's best-known woman amateur radio operator, Dorothy Hall. A salute to an old favorite, one of radio's first dramatic programs, great moments in history. More mistakes made by your favorite radio people on the air. And finally, a dramatization of how a successful orchestra is organized with Jimmy Dorsey as narrator. You'd expect that America's number one home economist, Ida Bailey Allen, who conducts that popular program, Ida Bailey Allen's Homemakers, and whose name is familiar to millions of women, would have interesting stories behind her broadcasts. She has many interesting stories. And here she is to tell us one of them. Mrs. Ida Bailey Allen. Mrs. Allen, suppose you tell us that story about the lady from Oklahoma. Well, Graham, on one of my programs, I did a broadcast on sensible diets. How do we eat and, you know, yet lose weight? Well, right after the broadcast, I received a telephone call from a lady in Oklahoma. She said she was desperate. And she told me... Mrs. Allen. Yes, my dear, but how? Well, it's a long story, Mrs. Allen. But you must listen to it. Please do. All right, go ahead. Well, my husband used to own a cigar store when I first married him. I kept the books in order and helped in the shop. We didn't make much money, and things were pretty hard because we had four children to take care of. To make a long story short, Mrs. Allen, we owned the land the shop was on and oil was discovered right in our... became rich practically overnight. Well, you certainly were very lucky. And what did you do? Well, Graham, I became interested in her case, and since I knew she could easily afford it, I suggested that she tell her husband she wanted to take a vacation and see New York, and that she'd be away for about four weeks. Well, sure enough, she did come to New York, and I put her through a whole new regime. Uh, my dear, first of all, here's your diet list, and I want you to stick to it. But Mrs. Allen, this looks like an awful lot to eat. Do you think I can take off weight that way? Oh, don't worry, you stick to this diet, and you'll not only have plenty to eat, but you'll lose lots of weight in the next four weeks. But it's so tight on me, I can... I can hardly breathe. Madam, this is our very latest in Foundation garment. You get so used to it, my dear, that you won't want to do without it. Very well. If you say so. Well, ma'am, now, how do you like your new coiffure? My what? Your coiffure? You're, uh, what do you call, hairdo? Let me look. Oh, my goodness, is that me? Of a good figure. Well, my dear, that's what they're wearing, and you've just got to be right up to the minute. Oh, I wonder what John'll say when I get home next week. Who do you sell? Well, don't... Don't you like it? Like it? Why, you're a knockout. I've never seen you look. Boy, oh boy, what a girl. Wait till the kids see you, they'll love it. She wrote me about the reception she got from her husband, and I hear from her every once in a while, Graham, and that's one home that isn't going to break up. She's become an A-number-one hostess, and she's very happy. That's a mighty interesting story. Thank you, Ida Bailey Allen. Thank you. The sound effect of the week. From time to time behind the mic presents some unusual sound effect which was used on a program of the past week and tells exactly how it was done. The sound effect this week is a very simple one. One used on so many different programs that we thought you'd like to know exactly how it is done. On the radio serial The O'Neill's this past week, the sound of wagon wheels going over a country road was used. It sounds like this. This effect was made by actually using two wheels held stationary by an axle while a large circular container filled with gravel is rotated by a motor. Underneath the wheels and touching them which has the effect of turning wheels. What makes this effect so interesting is that unlike a real-life situation in which wagon wheels roll over a road, it is the road which moves, not the wagon. The speed at which the wagon is supposed to move is regulated by the speed at which the container revolves. If you revolve the container filled with gravel faster, the wagon seems to move faster. If you revolve it slowly, the wagon seems to move more slowly. Such as most listeners know it, are some 65,000-amateur radio operators men and women, boys and girls with their own transmitters talking to each other, exchanging gossip, and doing considerably more. Here is one of the best known of these amateurs, Dorothy Hall. To tell us some of the fascinating stories behind amateur radio, Mrs. Dorothy Hall. Dorothy, most people seem to have a misconception about what amateur operators are. They aren't, well, for instance, people not good enough to be professionals in radio, are they? No, Graham. Many of the amateurs are people who make their living from radio, but who like to have their own private stations and their own homes. They spend hour after hour when their regular work is through, chatting with other amateurs and exchanging information. Well, you talk with people at quite a distance, don't you? That's one of the thrills of having your own transmitter. With the exception of when I was a baby, I've never been out of the New York area. But up until the time the war started, I used to talk regularly with a Chinaman on Banker Island, with amateurs in Australia, and a great many other foreigners. By the way, and at one time or another, I've talked with people in 126 countries. Of course, now with a war on, amateurs are forbidden to communicate with other amateurs outside of the United States and its possessions. Well, how long do you stay on the air yourself? Sometimes 22 to 23 hours at a stretch. Wow. But you're listening and transmitting sometimes leads to more than just casual conversation, doesn't it, Dorothy? Yes, Graham. What was your most dramatic experience in amateur radio? One of them was this. On May 24, 1939, I was on the air and was listening when I heard... XC1A, XC1A calling CQ, New York. XC1A calling CQ, New York. XC1A, this is W2IXY coming back. W2IXY? This is XC1A. Mexico's greatest flyer, Francisco Sarabia, is on an on-stop flight from Mexico City to Floyd Bennett Field. He is trying to break Amelia Earhart's record of 14 hours. He thinks he can do it in about 10. The Mexican government has asked me to contact amateurs in cities along the line of Sarabia's flight so they can let us know how he is progressing when he flies overhead. If you are near Floyd Bennett Field, I wonder if you could let me know when he arrives at the airport. I'll keep a look out for Sarabia and I'll send a friend over to Floyd Bennett Field. He'll let me know when Sarabia arrives and I'll let you know immediately. Fine. The markings on his plane are XBAKM. The plane is cream-colored with red stripes. XC1A, this is W2IXY again. A friend of mine has just phoned me from Floyd Bennett Field. Sarabi arrived at 5.45 p.m. Good, good. That means he may be flying in 10 hours and 48 minutes. Would you please do me a favor? Yes. Will you get in touch with Sarabia and ask him to speak through your transmitter to my station and his talk will be broadcast to all of Mexico? It's too bad, Mr. Sarabia, that you couldn't talk yesterday to Mexico. They are so eager to hear from you. Yes, that is true, but I was still deafened from the roar of the plane. I couldn't have heard them speaking to me in return. Are you ready now? Yes. We're tuned in. Go ahead. Mr. Sarabia, are you leaving soon for a return trip to Mexico? I'm leaving tomorrow from the Hoover Airport in Washington. W3FII, this is W2IXY coming back. I'm in Washington, D.C. I know you've been handling the Sarabia transmission and I have a message for you that you'd better send to Mexico. I've just come from the airport and... This is W2IXY calling XC1A, Mexico City. W2IXY calling Mexico City. XC1A coming back. What is it? I've just heard from an amateur in Washington and I've checked it by calling Floyd Bennett Field in taking off for his return trip. Mr. Sarabia crashed in the Potomac River. He has been drowned. And it was through your station that Mexico first heard of the death of their greatest flier? Yes, Graham. It was. I learned about that disaster from the amateur in Washington before Floyd Bennett Field even knew about the tragedy. They had to verify my information by calling Hoover Airport. Well, you've given us a swell picture of the importance of amateur radio and I want to thank you on behalf of Behind the Mic and its listeners. Audities in Radio. Presenting odd little true Behind the Mic stories that help make radio sometimes amusing, sometimes exasperating, but always interesting to the people in it. This week's Audity. Again, we present examples of fluffs or mistakes made on the air by your favorite announcers or radio people. Beth Johnson, star of Hilltop House, while doing a commercial for a former sponsor, was supposed to say, do you want to look like a wax model in a window? But she said this instead. Do you want to look like a max waddle? A couple of weeks ago, Ed Hurley, announcing the Alec Templeton program, was to say, this number is designed to put you in a musical mood, but it came out like this one. This number is designed to put you in a musical mood. One of this afternoon's guests, orchestra leader Jimmy Dossy, in introducing a stout opera star on a musical program said, this is the first time I've ever had the privilege of introducing an opera steer. An announcer who should have said, it is now eight o'clock, Eastern Daylight Saving Time, did it in this most quaint manner. It is now eight o'clock, Eastern Standard Time. Oh, nuts, I mean Eastern Daylight Saving Time. Our own announcer, Gilbert Martin, in signing off behind the mic, was supposed to say, original music composed and conducted by Ernie Watson. What he said was this, music condosed and compacted by Ernie Watson. And finally, Milton J. Cross, in introducing the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini said, as usual, the orchestra will be conducted by Arturo Toscarini. Behind the Mic salutes a program you loved. We in radio believe that radio has a tradition of which it well may be proud. A tradition of good programs which linger fondly in our memory. And so each week we bring you a star or a part of a program you used to hear, a program you loved. This afternoon we salute one of radio's first dramatic programs, and possibly its very first. Great Moments in History, written by Henry Fisk Carlton, which was heard from 1926 to 1929. The title of Great Moments is self-explanatory. This being three days before Lincoln's birthday, we have selected a portion of a script entitled Abraham Lincoln, which was presented on February 8, 1927. We're going to bring you that part of the story dealing with the famous William Scott episode exactly as it was done on that program. Great Moments in History. The scene is General Meade's headquarters, Lincoln talking to Meade. Oh, Meade, this is the horrible part of the business. These court martial findings. Now this one, Meade, I don't like it. I don't like it at all. William Scott to sleep on post. Meade, why must you have the boy shot? It was a critical post, Mr. President, at a critical time. Hadn't reached a discipline, I might have caused the loss of a regiment. I know, I know. May I talk to the boy? Certainly, Mr. President. Orderly, go to the guardhouse. Bring William Scott. Mr. President, I trust you will forgive me, but I do hope you understand our point. It was a clear case. If we had found otherwise, army discipline wouldn't be worth a continental. I understand, Meade. You have done your duty. Now I must do mine. You don't know how hard it is to let a human being die if you feel that a stroke of your pain will save him. Do the boy have any excuse? Yes. He was doing double guard after a hard march and volunteered for the post of a sick friend. Volunteered? Sick friend? Double guard? Well, Meade, I... Yes, come in. Here he is, Mr. President. I'll leave you. Come here, my boy. You are William Scott? Yes, sir. You know who I am? Yes, sir. You've been court-martialed for sleeping on guard? Yes, sir. It's a very serious offense. I couldn't keep awake, sir. We'd march 20 miles an hour. You were doing double guard. Why did you volunteer for double duty? My friend was sick. I thought I could keep awake. He and I came from the same place, sir. Where's that? Vermont. My mother's got a farm down there. I've got her picture here, sir. See? Does she know about this? Oh, please don't, sir. My boy, you're not going to be shot. Not going to be shot? I believe you when you tell me you couldn't keep awake. I'm going to trust you and send you back to your regiment. But I've been put to a great deal of trouble in your account. How are you going to pay my bill? Oh, sir, we'll sell a farm, and I could raise my friends. It helped me 600, maybe 1,000. My bill is a very large one. Your friends cannot pay it, nor your bounty, nor the farm, nor all your comrades. There's only one man in the world who can pay it. And his name is William Scott. If from this day, William Scott does his duty, so that when he comes to die, he can look me in the face as he does now and say, I have kept my promise. I have done my duty as a soldier. Then my bill will be paid. Will you make this promise and try to keep it, William Scott? Oh, yes. Yes, Mr. Lincoln. Then go, my boy. You are free. In the Lincoln sketch, the role of Abraham Lincoln was played by Charles Webster, that of William Scott by Frank Butler, and General Mead was J. Justin. Letters from listeners. Each week, we invite the listeners of Behind the Mic to write us questions about radio, and almost every week, the questions we consider to be of most general interest we have answered on the air. This afternoon's questions will be answered by Behind the Mic in the person of our announcer, Gilbert Martin. Mr. Al Clipper of San Francisco, California, asks, Our late noble and rey noble brothers, and with which one of the nobles is Yvette singing? Well, for Mr. Clipper's information, Layton and rey noble are not brothers. In fact, they're not related at all. But Yvette is singing with both. She appears with Layton noble at a leading New York hotel and with rey noble in a New York theater. Now, in addition, she sings each Thursday night with Xavier Cougat's orchestra on the air. Ms. Judith Green of Boys, A.I. Idaho says, Last week on Behind the Mic, you had a sound effect of an auto starting and stopping. How was that effect produced? The effect of an auto starting and stopping was done simply by playing recordings of such sounds on the turntable. I'm sure Ms. Green will be interested to know that in making such recordings, automobiles are actually started and stopped and the sounds recorded. Now, in the sound of an automobile crash, two automobiles are sometimes actually crashed and then the sound recorded. Thank you, Gilbert Martin. When you hear a top-notch radio band, has it ever occurred to you how that band was originally organized, and that those men into a unit? Well, here's one of Radio's outstanding orchestra leaders to tell you how this is done. He is here through the courtesy of 20 grand cigarettes. We introduce a star of your happy birthday program, Jimmy Dorsey. Hi, Jimmy. Hi, Jim. Jimmy, tell us how a prospective band leader gets a band together. Let's say a man who has never led an orchestra before, but has been a star instrumentalist and wants to have his own band. This isn't exactly how I got my band together, but in general, it's how a band is very often organized. Now, you say the leader is a star instrumentalist. Yeah, supposing we say a man who's made his reputation as a saxophone player. Well, first he has in mind certain men he'd like to get in his band. Let's call our leader Joe Smith. Joe approaches some musician and says, Now, look, George, I'm going to form a new band. I need a trombone player and I've got you in mind. Would you like to come with me? Well, I'd be glad to. I always figured to have a band of your own. You might just as well be a leader and make the real jack instead of just being featured. Well... I'm sorry, Joe, but I've already signed up to play with Joe Vennuti. But Pedro Snider's band's broken up and he had a drummer who was terrific. Phil Gilbert's the name. Why don't you go after him? He'd be glad to go with you. Sure, Joe, I'd be tickled to play clarinet for you. When do we start rehearsing? Hey, wait a minute. I've got to get my band together. Now, look, I need a good trumpet player. Do you know where I can get one? Sure. I know just a kid for you. You know, there's a boy playing in a little place called the Hidden Cave. This kid's terrific. Get hold of him. Through friends in the business, through personal contact and sometimes by picking up unknowns, our leader gets his band together. Now, the next thing he's got to do is get a good arranger. Practically all the best bands depend on arrangements for a great deal of their appeal. So he approaches an orchestra leader whose style of music he likes. Say, Billy, I think your arrangements are great. Who does them for you? Well, I have done by quite a few, fellas, but, well, George Pfeiffer does most of them. Is he exclusive to you? No, he works for other bands. How do you mind if I ask him to do arrangements for me, too? Not at all. Go right ahead. After the leader has his band and his arrangements, he rehearses for about two weeks at Nola's studio. At the end of that time, he finds that some of the musicians don't work well with the rest. Okay, fellas, that's all until tomorrow. Phil, can I speak to you a minute? Look, Phil, we've been working out for a couple of weeks now, and frankly, I don't think you fit in with our sax section. You got a little too much vibrato and your tone's a little harsh. You know, I'm sorry, but... After the band has been welled into a unit and rehearsed in its arrangements, the next thing to do is to get an engagement. This is very important. And the band leader's manager has been working on it all the time. Well, Joe, I got a little spot for you out at Atlantic City. It's a hotel right on a boardwalk. Has it got a wire? Wire. What do you want? Of course it hasn't got a wire. You expect a broadcast when you first start now? It'll give you a chance to break in your music and play before an audience, smooth out the rough edges. How's about the dough? Well, isn't much at first, but it's a start. Every orchestra leader wants to play in a spot where his music will be broadcast, as it's through radio and recordings that a leader's music obtains popularity. Well, at the end of four weeks, we find that Joe's engagement ends. Now, look, how's about getting me a spot where I can broadcast? I'm working on something, but, well, it hasn't come through yet. In the meantime, though, I've booked some one-night stands for you, night clubs and public dance halls. One-night stands? Yeah, I'll take them. So I can keep the band together. If I can work, I'll lose some of them. So Joe charters a bus and does a series of one-night stands, sometimes traveling 500 miles or more between engagements. His manager may stay in New York or travel with him and book dates by phone, but at last, after maybe many months of one-nighters... Well, I got it, Joe, I got it. A spot with a wire? Yeah, the Village Barnyard. They got a wire there from one of the small New York stations. Well, now we're getting someplace. Meanwhile, as soon as the band starts working at the Village Barnyard, the manager gets to work sending messages to various hotel managers and owners out of town. He asks them to listen to his new band and he also sends pictures of the orchestra to show that they have hair. He'll even wire transportation and expenses to some of the hotel managers so that they can personally come in and see the band work. Yes, the band is booked at a good hotel in, let's say, Cincinnati. This spot has a radio wire, too. Only it's a big radio wire. It may be even a network. The band leader is now starting to develop a little reputation. At last, his manager comes to him and... Joe, Joe, I've got it. Not New York. Yeah, New York. Six weeks at one of the good hotels. Starting on the 18th. This is Joe's real break. He may not make much money out of this engagement, but he's being heard by a public which can make him popular. Meanwhile, his manager lines up a recording contract for him. When he and his band are in New York, from now on they'll make recordings. If the orchestra clicks, their engagement in New York may be extended. Then, if the band has started to attain real popularity, they'll go out on the road and play college dances, ballroom dances all over the country. Milligan, Nebraska included. Jimmy, how thick is a big radio wire? Well, anyway, by this time I suppose, Jimmy, you're really in the big dough, aren't you? Oh, yeah, Graham. May amount to 60% or more of the gross. That is, sometimes, when you're lucky. You mean two or three thousand bucks for a night? Sure. Well, of course, now the men in the band are really getting most of the sugar, aren't they, Jimmy? And I'm losing my hair. Then when the road tour is over, the band may be booked at a spot like the Hotel Pennsylvania called Waldorf Astoria Kitchen. From then on, the band goes to radio and theater engagements and whatever fate has in store for it. Well, thank you, Jimmy Dorsey. Thanks. I'm going to remember about that big, thick radio wire. Thanks for giving us an interesting information and for showing us how a successful orchestra is created. And really, Jimmy, congratulations on the way you're packing them in down at the Hotel Pennsylvania. Thank you. This week, Behind the Mic brings you a salute to one of radio's really great programs, the Ever Ready Hour, in which we will recreate this program's most famous broadcast. How difficult it can be to become a successful radio singer, as told by a well-known singing star, and more of the glamour, the comedy, and the tragedy that are found behind the mic. This is Graham McNamee saying good afternoon all. Behind the Mic is written by Mort Lewis, original music composed and conducted by Ernie Watson. This is the National Broadcasting Company. Thank you.