The American Melody Hour Explained

The American Melody Hour was an American old-time radio program. The American Melody Hour was designed as a musical variety show. The program showcased a half-hour playing and singing "the tunes of yesterday and tomorrow..." mostly sung by baritone Bob Hannon.^[1]

The program was hosted by lyric soprano Vivian Della Chiesa.^[2] Other regular performers on the program included conductor Frank Black, vocalist Frank Munn and baritone Conrad Thibault.^[3] The program was produced by daytime radio monarch Frank Hummert.^{[4] [5] [6]}

The American Melody Hour originally could be heard on the Blue Network on Wednesday nights from October 22, 1941 - April 15, 1942. The program then moved to CBS Tuesdays at 7:30 pm on April 21, 1942. In 1947, the program moved to Wednesdays at 8 where it ended its run on July 7, 1948. The program was sponsored by Bayer aspirin during its entire six-year run.^[7]

External links

• Four episodes of The American Melody Hour available for download at Radio Echoes

Notes and References

1. News: The Biggest Show in Town: American Melody Hour!. The Milwaukee Sentinel. March 31, 1946. September 25, 2015.
2. Book: Rayno, Don. 2012. Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967. Rowman & Littlefield. 437. 978-0-8108-8204-1. September 25, 2015.
3. Book: Terrace, Vincent. 1998. Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland. 24. 978-1-4766-0528-9. September 25, 2015.
4. Book: Cox, Jim. 1999. The Great Radio Soap Operas. McFarland. 20. 978-1-4766-0414-5. September 25, 2015.
5. Book: Cox, Jim. 2005. Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas. Scarecrow Press. 213. 978-0-81-086523-5. September 25, 2015.
6. Book: Cox, Jim. 2009. The A to Z of American Radio Soap Operas. Scarecrow Press. 213. 978-0-8108-6349-1. September 25, 2015.
7. Book: Dunning, John. 1998. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. registration. the american melody hour.. Oxford University Press. 27. 978-0-1950-7678-3. September 25, 2015.