Variety & Music

Welcome to the glitz! The glamour! The sheer, sparkling entertainment bonanza that was the variety and music programming of radio's golden age.

With the flip of a dial, you could be transported into a world of pure razzle-dazzle spectacle hosted by the most legendary showmen and cultural icons of the era. The Chase & Sanborn Hour brought you debonair raconteur Edgar Bergen and his sarcastic wooden sidekick Charlie McCarthy. Texaco Star Theater had you doubled over with its cavalcade of Hollywood A-listers like Mae West and W.C. Fields.

And at the center of it all were the maestros, the real radio royalty whose music radiated straight into the living rooms of millions. Benny Goodman's hot swing. The velvet vocals of Bing Crosby. The All-American orchestral grandeur of Meredith Willson. These were the indelible sounds and personalities that defined entire eras and provided the joyful sonic backdrop to so many lives.

These variety showcases celebrated entertainment as an all-encompassing revue, seamlessly blending comedic skits, big band numbers, and virtuoso novelty acts into one mesmerizing package.

It was pure, uncut talent on parade - the best of the best from Hollywood, Broadway, and the hottest jazz joints. To tune in each week was to experience the ultimate in showbiz magic. And even now, all these decades later, you can still get front row seats to these fabled extravaganzas here on RUSC. So sit back and prepare to be dazzled!