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Old-Time Radio (OTR) and the Golden Age of Radio are phrases used to refer to American radio programs mainly broadcast during the 1920s through the late 1950s. An impression of what the listening audience heard back then can be gathered from these portions of a complete broadcast day in 1939 on station WJSV, the CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C.
Vintage radio is remembered for fanfares and show openings, running gags, trademark sounds and newsworthy events, such as the headlines after The War of the Worlds was dramatized on Orson Welles' Mercury Theater on the Air. Others recall the creaking-door sound effect on Inner Sanctum Mysteries, the Dragnet theme music, the "Hi-Yo, Silver!" call of the Lone Ranger or the cackle of The Shadow: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows." In the early 1950s, music radio began to replace the many familiar comedy/drama favorites.
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