Christmas on the Radio

A few years back I became a big fan of Old Time Radio (OTR) and so naturally really liked listening to the Christmas episodes.

Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Fred Allen, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Red Skelton, Edgar Bergen, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles, Fibber McGee & Molly, Amos & Andy, Abbott & Costello, Martin & Lewis, Ozzie & Harriet, Phil Harris & Alice Faye, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Dinah Shore, Kate Smith, Lucille Ball are some of the names from entertainments golden age that had their own radio shows. And if the names don't ring a bell, perhaps the shows will ... Archie Andrews, Blondie, Dragnet, Father Knows Best, Great Gildersleeve, The Green Hornet, Gunsmoke, Life of Riley, Lone Ranger, Our Miss Brooks, Red Ryder, The Saint, The Shadow, Sherlock Holmes, Superman, Tarzan, & Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.

If you, or someone you know is 65+ then these shows will almost certainly bring back some Christmas memories. And if you're under 65 then perhaps like me, you'll fall in love with these pre-television era gems.

If you have newsgroup access, your best bet is starting off in alt.binaries.sound.radio.oldtime or alt.binaries.sounds.radio.oldtime (absro). Be prepared for a very large selection dating back into the 1930s.

If you don't have access to newsgroups, you can still pick up some episodes on the web.

OldTimeRadioFans.com has (on 2009.Nov.09) 6 shows available for free download. [Hint: Root around the site and you'll find more Christmas freebies]

Internet Archive has (on 2009.Nov.09) 6 shows available for free download. [Hint: A little searching and you'll also find more Christmas freebies here]

rand’s esoteric otr has (on 2009.Nov.15) 6 shows available for free download.

The Old Time Radio Fan has (on 2009.Nov.09) 20 shows available for free download.

Check out Old Time Radio Flier 23 @ Squidoo with a whooping 170+ shows (on 2009.Nov.09) available for free download.

Feel free to post links to others sources in the comments.