Railroad Hour - Single Episodes
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
THE RAILROAD HOUR Background of The Railroad Hour The series was sponsored by the Association of American Railroads. It featured highly condensed versions of popular musicals and operettas from old favorites, like Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta , to more contemporary hits such as Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair . Since the show was produced for NBC's "Night of Music", it should come as no surprise that the plotline sometimes came second to the music. One reviewer noted that "The complicated and multi-layered plot of Showboat , for instance, becomes nothing more than the misbegotten romance of a riverboat gambler and a romantic young lady" (RadioArchive.com). Gordon MacRae always sang the romantic lead accompanied by his leading lady du jour . Among his most popular co-stars were "MGM and Warner Brothers vocalist Lucille Norman, Metropolitan Opera stars Dorothy Kirsten and Nadine Conner, Dorothy Warenskjold of the San Francisco Opera Company, and guest artists like Jane Powell, Jeanette MacDonald, and Kenny Baker" (RadioArchive.com) The vocals were augmented by the Norman Luboff choir, and the music was led by renowned conductor/arranger Carmen Dragon. The libretti were edited by the highly experienced team of Jean Holloway, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. From the Old Time Radio Researchers Group. See "Notes" Section below for more information on the OTRR.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.