The ''Pop Chronicles'' are two

radio documentary A radio documentary is a spoken word radio format devoted to non-fiction narrative. It is broadcast on radio as well as distributed through media such as tape, CD, and podcast. A radio documentary, or feature, covers a topic in depth from one or ...

series which together "may constitute the most complete audio history of 1940s–60s

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

." They originally aired starting in 1969 and concluded about 1974. Both were produced by John Gilliland.

The ''Pop Chronicles'' of the 1950s and 1960s

Inspired by the Monterey Pop Festival, the ''Pop Chronicles'' of the 1950s and 1960s originally was produced at

KRLA 1110 KRDC (1110 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles as a full-time simulcast of ESPN Radio affiliate KSPN. The station is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company and is th ...

and first aired on February 9, 1969. John Gilliland narrated the series along with

Sie Holliday Sie Holliday (pronounced "sigh holiday") was the radio name of Shirley Schneider (November 10, 1930 – June 23, 2006). She was a Los Angeles radio personality at KRLA 1962–76 (where she was one of the narrators of the Pop Chronicles) and KMPC 1 ...

and

Thom Beck Thom Beck (died October 15, 1986) was a founding member of The Credibility Gap while at KRLA 1110 radio, where he also narrated part of the ''Pop Chronicles''. He was kept on as a journalist at KRLA 1110 when Lew Irwin was brought in create the n ...

(pictured). Also performing interviews were Dick LaPalm,

Lew Irwin Lew Irwin has been a Los Angeles-based journalist for more than 50 years. He was the original anchor/reporter at KABC-TV from 1957–1962 and the news director of Los Angeles radio stations KPOL, KRLA, KDAY, and KNX-FM. While at KRLA in the late 1 ...

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

, Mike Masterson, and Richard Perry. The show's brief recurring theme song "The Chronicles of Pop" was written and performed by Len Chandler. The engineer and associate producer of the series was Chester Coleman.

originally broadcast an hour a week of the Pop Chronicles, which were later syndicatedAlt URL
/ref> by "Hot Air" and broadcast on Armed Forces Radio. The photo above indicates that it was broadcast on KABC-FM sometime before that station became

KLOS Klos or KLOS may refer to: * Klos (surname) * Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania ** Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër * Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania * Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central ...

. The

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

Music Library made the ''Pop Chronicles'' available online since June 2010.

''The Pop Chronicles of the 1940s''

The ''Pop Chronicles of the 1940s'' was produced by John Gilliland and broadcast on KSFO (AM) while he worked there beginning in 1972 for a total of 24 episodes. To promote the show, KSFO "had a 40's month celebration with a dance remote and a jitterbug contest at Union Square." Allan M. Newman of KSFO said of the show that Gilliland, "interviewed damn near everybody involved during those years. such as

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and care ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

, Patty Andrews, Tex Beneke, etc. ... I think John has put together a true collector's item."Alt URL
/ref> In 1972 Gilliland had produced and syndicated 12 episodes which covered the first half of the 1940s. He then asked his listeners to write to their stations if they wanted to hear the rest of the series. He would produce another 12 episodes to cover the rest of the 1940s. This series was syndicated by Doug AndrewsAlt URL
/ref> and broadcast on AFRTS. In 1973

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

used the show to sell a nine-album set of music from the show, so the show could be offered for free to radio stations. But in 1974,

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

negotiated for the rights to the show. In 1994, Gilliland released an edited version as the four cassette audiobook ''Pop Chronicles the 40's: The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40's''. This was later rereleased as ''The Big Band Chronicles''. After his death, Gilliand's sister donated the ''Pop Chronicles'' tapes to the

Music Library where they form the John Gilliland Collection.

References

Print sources

* (The pages in this book are not numbered, but Gilliland's essay is located between the E and F entries.)

Notes

External links

*
The Pop Chronicles of the 1950s and 1960s
an
The Pop Chronicles of the 1940s
at RadioEchoes. * * {{Cite web , url=http://www.library.unt.edu/music/gilliland/indexint.html , title = Index to Interviews at the John Gilliland Collection , publisher= The

Music Library , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607042351/http://www.library.unt.edu/music/gilliland/indexint.html , archive-date=June 3, 2009 , url-status=live
The Man on the Beat: John Gilliland and The Pop Chronicles
2008

Association for Recorded Sound Collections The Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings. Established in 1966, members include record collectors, discographers, and audio engineers, together ...

conference presentation by Andrew Justice and Jonathan Thorn
audio

slides
. 1969 radio programme debuts 1960s American radio programs 1970s American radio programs American music radio programs Pop music Radio documentaries about music Rockumentaries