The AM Forum

WLOB broadcasting H.G. Wells War Of The Worlds.
Lights out in the house, fire in the wood stove, listening in on the radio even now.
Could this be an invading vanguard from the planet Mars?

2X2L calling CQ...  2X2L calling CQ

And only a day late.

Don, is that what you'd call a 2x2 callsign?  ;D

I chuckled at that one as well Don!

The one broadcast which I'd really like to have is the production done by WKBW Buffalo.
First played back in the late 60s/early 70s this featuring local air personalities reporting on the Martians invading Buffalo. Before KB changed their format, this program was often broadcast on Halloween. Still searching for an mp3 copy.

Ah, the magic of the theater of the mind.

Herman Munster, where are you  ;D  ;D

http://wkbwradio.com/warintro.htm (http://wkbwradio.com/warintro.htm)

Located at the bottom of the page. Click on (Enjoy the 1971 version)

The intro was overwhelming.  Since I never heard this before I'm not sure if this is the one?

Is the announcer on speed ;D ;D

Been listening a while, it must be the one. Later today, I'll make an mp3 of it. Don't know if it could be emailed but I may be able to upload the audio to YouTube and then it could be downloaded from there.

Hi Terry,

Here are the versions with the summary from Wikipedia.

Buffalo, New York radio station WKBW broadcast a modernized version of the 1938 War of the Worlds radio drama. There were 3 variants to this broadcast:

1968 - The original and longest of the broadcasts. Sandy Beach was the disc jockey in the open.
1971 - Jackson Armstrong was the DJ at the beginning of this broadcast. This version was edited down to 63 minutes from the 1:18 original.
1973 - Shane "The Cosmic Cowboy" was the opening DJ and the rest of the broadcast identical to the 1971 version.
1975 - By far the weakest of the versions. Amateurish editing done to eliminate on-air talent no longer with the station.
All of the cast members were actual news reporters for the radio station. Initially, a script was written for the news reporters to act out. Upon hearing the rehearsals, though, it was evident that the news reporters were not adept at scripted radio acting.

In place of a script, Jeff Kaye wrote an outline based on the events that were to occur. The news reporters were then asked to describe the events as they would covering an actual news story. The results were much more realistic for its time, and this was the process used for the actual broadcast.

Despite an exhaustive advertising campaign by WKBW for this show, several people were still convinced upon listening to it that the events unfolding in the show were genuine. Although the public concern over the legitimacy of the broadcast was not as great as in 1938, creator Jeff Kaye and director Dan Kriegler feared that they were going to lose their jobs as a result of the broadcast. Jeff Kaye claims he actually submitted his resignation, certain that he was going to be fired the next day. However, no one involved in the broadcast was fired and the resignation was not accepted.

It is claimed that, because of the broadcast, FCC regulations involving radio dramas that mimic live broadcasts were altered to make airing these types of radio dramas more difficult in the future.

The 1968 original broadcast is considered notable amongst enthusiasts of both radio drama and the War of the Worlds franchise for the following reasons:

Originality. Up until this point, most radio renditions of the 1938 broadcast were simply script re-readings with different actors or had minor variations to account for significantly different geographical locations. The WKBW version disregarded the script entirely to modernize the story and reporting techniques for its time.

Shock Value. It was a generally-conceived notion before the broadcast that a mass hoax, even one as unintentional as the original broadcast, could never be duplicated again by a lone radio broadcast. The rise of television as a preferred news medium was a factor in this notion that radio could no longer produce such a drastic response from its audience. The fact that the WKBW broadcast could unintentionally re-create that response on a smaller scale surprised many people and garnered a lot of post-broadcast attention on the radio station. In this way, it was a successful marketing gimmick.

cool here's the audio from 1968.

http://war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/war_words_buffalo_1968_1.mp3 (http://war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/war_words_buffalo_1968_1.mp3)

Turns out that this is just a clip.

Try http://www.buffalobroadcasters.com/hist_kbwow.asp

    Yeah, all that crap don't hold a candle to the original run-through back
     in '38...  

     I listened to it (a 12 year old kid) with the family and as I recall it was
     clearly stated  that it was a RADIO DRAMA so we took it in that context.
     Next day in Sunday School I had no clue what all the buzz was about...

     I guess the general public back then were like the Sheeple of today.
      :o ;D ;D ;D

Does anyone remember Dick Biondi from WKBW? I remember him as a teen before I joined the army in 1959. The question I'm really asking is on his lead in otherwise know as a bumper in the trade. We all know of Wolf Man Jack and his howling intro. I swear I heard Dick Biondi do that or a similar howl at the start and finish of his show. I always looked forward to that and it was way before I heard of Wolf Man Jack.

I lived near Danville, Pa and I would pedal my bike over to my girlfriends house and we would sit on the back swing and listen to the show. That was a 14 mile round trip. Don't think I could pedal a mile now :'( :'( :'(   BTW her name was Mary Ellen Lutz. I put that in there to prove to myself that I can remember some of them ;D ;D ;D


Ralph, did they have one tube radios in those days ;D ;D ;D

You don't mean George Lorenz, aka "The Hound Dog" Terry?

http://www.hounddoglorenz.com/index.php


Ralph, he had a crystal set wound on a Quaker Oats container.  ;)

(http://www.weiwong.com/images/2010/04/hammond-8.jpg)

I think your right Bruce. That means I've been wrong for wrong for almost 53 years. :'( :'( :'( :'( Finally, the load if off my shoulders. ;D ;D ;D  I can breathe again ;D ;D ;D

I remember him from WLS, Chicago back in the late 50s or early 60s.  In those days all the kids listened to WLS, which ran the original top 40 format.  By the mid 60s, local daytimers were attempting to imitate WLS, and at night after the local station had run down at sundown, the audience would re-tune to 890. They were always a 50 kw clear channel blowtorch that covered over half of N America with a solid full quieting carrier. They had remarkable coverage even through the summer static.

Now, they are a mere shadow of the former station. Stupid politico-talk format, and their night-time  coverage is severely limited because of all the post-sunset on their channel scattered over the country.

Sometime in the mid 60s Biondi was fired from WLS.  I always heard it was because of some risqué remarks or comments he made over the air.

   Terry,

    YES but the family radio we had then was an RCA console with SW
    bands that I listened to 75 meters after school, before dad got home
    from work...  

     I was just getting the "bug" and my Elmer, Vern, W3CHR (SK) put
     together a single tube regen using a 30 triode with baldies, two
     number 6 dry cells and a 45 volt pack...  That's what I learned to
     copy 13 wpm to get my class B ticket late the following year...

     After dinner we listened to Lowell Thomas (sponsored by Blue Sonoco,
     remember that? 6 for a dollar!) read the latest news, etc...

     Speaking of that gas, dad used to fill the tank (20+ gal) on his 1930
     4 door deluxe Cheby sedan with dual spares in the wheel wells for slightly
     over $4.50.  

Ah, yes.  WKBW  1520 Buffalo.

Dan Nevereth, Tom Shannon, Pierre Puck, Chicken Man, the list goes on and on.

Used to listen to them from the South Shore of Long Island growing up.

You left out Maharishi Leets Mehelhteb

I have never listened to any of the re-makes, but I have heard the original numerous times.  I think I even had a copy on a vinyl LP at one time, and may still have it.

One thing they never thought about in that story was that the Martians would have had needed a craft that travelled at near the  speed of light.  The gas flares were seen on Mars and within just a matter of minutes the craft landed in NJ.  The NASA space probes have taken well over a year to make the trip each way, and one of the problems with a human Mars mission is the lengthy travel time required just to get there and then to get back, not counting the time spent on the actual mission with feet on the planet.

Dick Biondi?
At around 80 YO, he's still doing a show on 94.7 WLS-FM in Chicago.
He's like a Dick Clark of radio.