The 1940s Radio Hour is a Play with Music by Walton Jones. Full of 1940s music, dancing and old-time sound effects the play portrays the final holiday broadcast of the Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade on the New York radio station WOV in December 1942.

Plot

Fabled WOV

WOR (AM)

WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...

, a seedy little New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 takes to the air at the beginning of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, this time to record a broadcast for the troops overseas.

The narrative concerns the harassed producer whose leading singer is often drunk, the delivery boy who wants a chance in front of the mic, the second banana who dreams of singing a ballad, and the trumpet-playing sound effects man who chooses a fighter plane over Glenn Miller.

Characters

• Clifton Feddington: The announcer and general manager (head of everything at WOV). He has ulcers from it all and is sometimes hysterical.
• Ann Collier The 'old standard' in the Radio show since its start in 1936. She sings like Dinah Shore, Doris Day, and Peggy Lee (all rolled into one). She is a secretary by day, and at looker by night who is dating Johnny.
• Johnny Cantone: Featured vocalist with the Cavalcade who is on Sinatra's bandwagon. He's an ex-boxer and a rough guy who drinks too much and has a voice like velvet.
• Ginger Brooks: A bubble-headed waitress-turned-singer. She has a pinup, Betty Grable look with lots of makeup and speaks with a Gracie Allen vacancy.
• Geneva Lee Browne: The southern Belle of WOV got her start in music at age 17 performing in local Swing ballrooms around the Atlanta area.
• Neal Tilden: Cab driver by day and singer, dancer, and choreographer at night. He is hopeful for the 'featured vocalist' slot.
• B.J. Gibson: The third of the Gibson brothers to work for the Cavalcade. He is squeaky-clean, good looking, and a preppy student at Yale.
• Connie Miller: A 17-year-old bobbysoxer from Ogden, Utah. She is perennially in love and runs an elevator by day.
• Pops Bailey: A crotchety, wizened stage doorkeeper who is a racing bookie on the company phone and reads hidden copies of Show Girl magazine.
• Lou Cohn: A big shot (at least in his own mind) who tries to impress the girls and is sometimes obnoxious. He runs the show and is the sound effects man.
• Wally Ferguson: Young hopeful from Altoona, Pennsylvania who came to NYC to work for his uncle at the drugstore to get his big show-biz break.
• Biff Baker: A young trumpet player with the Zoot Doubleman orchestra who will be leaving after the concert for Army duty.
• Stanley: Lugs cable and runs around a lot and otherwise lives in the control booth.
• Zoot Doubleman: WOV Orchestra Leader

List of Musical Numbers

• "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo
  (I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo
  " Kalamazoo" is a #1 popular song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in 1942. It was written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren and published in 1942. It was featured in the musical film Orchestra Wives and was recorded by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, featuring Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton and...
  
  " - Clifton, Chorus
• "Pepsi Cola" - Neal, B.J., Connie, Ginger (with sounds performed by Lou)
• "Hey Daddy" - Connie, The Band
• "Love Is Here to Stay" - Johnny
• "That Old Black Magic" - Ann
• "Ain't She Sweet
  Ain't She Sweet
  Ain't She Sweet was an American album featuring four tracks recorded in Hamburg in 1961 by The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan and cover versions of Beatles and British Invasion-era songs recorded by the Swallows...
  
  " - Biff, All
• "How About You?
  How About You?
  "How About You?" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. It was introduced in the 1941 film Babes on Broadway by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and has also featured in The Fisher King with Robin Williams. The music of the song appears in the film All About Eve...
  
  " - B.J., Connie
• "Blue Moon
  Blue Moon (song)
  "Blue Moon"'s first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley in 1956. His cover version of the song was included on his self-titled debut album Elvis Presley....
  
  " - Neal
• "Chiquita Banana" - All Girls
• "Rose of the Rio Grande" - Geneva, Men & The Band
• "I'll Never Smile Again
  I'll Never Smile Again
  "I'll Never Smile Again" is a 1939 song written by Ruth Lowe.The most successful and best known version of the song was recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with vocals provided by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers. This recording was released as a Victor 78, 26628A, in 1940...
  
  " - Johnny, Quintet (Neal, B.J., Ann, Ginger, Connie)
• "At Last" - Geneva, Band
• "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
  Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
  "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was a major hit for The Andrews Sisters and an iconic World War II tune. This song can be considered an early jump blues recording...
  
  " - B.J., Connie, Ginger
• "Blues in the Night
  Blues in the Night
  "Blues in the Night" is a popular song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues...
  
  " - Ginger, Men
• "Jingle Bells
  Jingle Bells
  "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
  
  " - All (except Johnny)
• "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)
  I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)
  "I Got It Bad " is a pop and jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster published in 1941...
  
  " - Geneva
• "You Go to My Head
  You Go to My Head
  "You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. The song is a unique conjunction of a sophisticated lyric and complex, lush harmonic structure by two songwriters who were not generally known for such elegance; nevertheless the song is highly...
  
  " - B.J.
• "The Five O'Clock Whistle" - Connie, The Band
• "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane...
  
  " - Ann
• "Strike Up The Band
  Strike Up the Band (song)
  "Strike Up the Band" is a 1927 song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was written for the 1927 musical Strike Up the Band, where it formed part of a satire on war and militaristic music...
  
  " - Full Company
• "I'll Be Seeing You
  I'll Be Seeing You (song)
  "I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, the song was inserted into the Broadway musical Right This Way, which closed after fifteen performances. The song is a jazz standard, and has been covered by countless musicians.The...
  
  " - Full Company
• "Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade" - Full Company