''The Palmolive Hour'' was an American radio concert-variety program, sponsored by

Palmolive Soap Palmolive may refer to: * Colgate-Palmolive The Colgate-Palmolive Company, commonly known as Colgate-Palmolive, is an American multinational corporation, multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhatta ...

and broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from December 1927, to July 29, 1931. The Palmolive Musical Stock Company (aka the Palmolivers) offered a mix of jazz, show tunes and opera selections.

Format and performers

The program usually opened with a duet by Frank Munn and soprano Virginia Rea. To call attention to the sponsor's product, they did not appear on the program under their own names but instead were introduced each week as Paul Oliver and Olive Palmer. Contralto Elizabeth Lennox was featured in duets with Rea.

Gus Haenschen Walter Gustave Haenschen (November 3, 1889 – March 27, 1980) was a pianist, arranger and composer of music and an orchestra conductor, primarily on U.S. network radio programs. Early years Haenschen was born in St. Louis to parents whose re ...

led the orchestra, with Frank Black at the piano. Other regular members of the cast were Wilfred Glenn,

Lewis James Lewis Lyman James (July 27, 1892 – February 19, 1959) was a vocalist and among the most active of recording artists in the United States from 1917 through much of the 1930s. He was a member of The Shannon Four, The Revelers, and The Criterion ...

, James Melton, Elliot Shaw, and the Revelers Quartet.

Guest appearances

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, Illustrated Songs, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. Sh ...

was a guest on the program, and other broadcasts featured such guests as

Vaughn De Leath Vaughn De Leath (September 26, 1894 – May 28, 1943) was an American female singer who gained popularity in the 1920s, earning the sobriquets "The Original Radio Girl" and the "First Lady of Radio." Although very popular in the 1920s, De Leath is ...

Gene Tunney James Joseph Tunney (May 25, 1897 – November 7, 1978) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1915 to 1928. He held the world heavyweight title from 1926 to 1928, and the American light heavyweight title twice between 1922 and 1923 ...

, the

Duncan Sisters The Duncan Sisters (Rosetta and Vivian Duncan) were an American vaudeville duo who became popular in the 1920s with their act ''Topsy and Eva''. Biography Early career Rosetta (November 23, 1894Sources differ on their birth dates. These are tak ...

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American pop singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop sta ...

(aka Ukulele Ike), Cecil Lean, Cleo Mayfield,

The Revelers The Revelers were an American quintet (four close harmony singers and a pianist) popular in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Revelers' recordings of "Dinah", " Old Man River", "Valencia", "Baby Face", " Blue Room", "The Birth of the Blues", ...

and international operatic sopranos

Claudia Muzio Claudia Muzio (7 February 1889 – 24 May 1936) was an Italian operatic lyric soprano who enjoyed an international career during the early 20th century. Early years Claudina Emilia Maria Muzzio was born in Pavia, the daughter of Carlo Muzio, an ...

, of the Metropolitan Opera Company, and Edith Mason, of the Chicago Civic Opera Company. The announcers were Phillips Carlin and Alois Havrilla. When the series came to an end during mid-summer 1931, only a few months lapsed before many associated with ''The Palmolive Hour'' were reunited on a new series that fall. Munn, Rea, Lennox, The Revelers and Haenschen all continued in the similar format of ''

The American Album of Familiar Music ''The American Album of Familiar Music'' is a radio program of popular music broadcast from October 11, 1931, to June 20, 1954, first on NBC, then on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and finally on local stations. Directed by James Haupt, the s ...

''. Munn stayed with that series until his retirement in 1945.

References

External links

''Echo'' (Fall 2003): "Music and Advertising in Early Radio" by Timothy D. Taylor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmolive Hour, The 1920s American radio programs 1930s American radio programs American music radio programs NBC radio programs 1927 radio programme debuts 1931 radio programme endings

Format and performers

Guest appearances

See also

References

External links