Old Radio

  March 14, 1937: For the first time Fred Allen and Jack Benny performed their radio comedy show together on the big stage of The Battle of the Century that aired from the Hotel Pierre's ballroom and heard by 2nd largest audience in the history of radio. Jack Benny and Fred Allen began their long-running feud gag show called the "Battle of the Century" on this day. With Jell-O as its main sponsor, the show was performed directly from New York City's The Hotel Pierre. While Benny was singing the Jello-O commercial, he was interrupted by Allen. The two started an argument and ended up recalling their Vaudeville days. That episode ended with Benny and Allen singing a duet .

March 13: Happy Birthday, Sammy Kaye Let's swing and sway with Sammy Kaye . The winsome sax player, clarinetist and bandleader was born on this day, 1910. Sammy Kaye  won over audiences with such feature and "so you want to lead a band," which let audience members hop on stage and do just that. He was one of the most famous bandleaders of the golden era of radio. Kaye hosted NBC's Sunday Serenade and Sammy Kaye 's Chrysler Showroom . The latter was a fifteen-minute program that ran in the latter half of 1949. This show was all about Sammy and the boys playing popular songs of the day, including requests. Examples are "Snuggled On Your Shoulder," "Five Foot Two," "Kiss Me Sweet," and "Candy Kisses." A happy birthday to Sammy Kaye !

March 12: Happy Birthday,  Gordon MacRae Broadway fixture Gordon MacRae made a name for himself with appearances in Oklahoma! and Carousel. Just before he'd attained that level of stardom, though, he hosted several installments of radio's Texaco Star Theatre in 1948. Episode titles during his reign include "When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along," "June Is Busting Out All Over," and "Top hat, White Tie and Tails." He also hosted the very popular The Railroad Hour in which he and his fellow cast members performed abridged versions of Broadway productions. Do you remember his guest appearances on: The Big Show , Guest Star Radio , Martin & Lewis , The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy , and The Railroad Hour show? Take a listen!