Paul Harvey was "appointment listening" ... around 12:45 p.m. every day on WHHY, with the Rest of the Story around 5:12 p.m. for many years. Later on, WACV carried his shows. And now, that voice is gone for good.
I wrote a piece for the Tallassee newspaper, as I do every few weeks, but since it has to do with radio, it's posted here (for anyone interested). R.I.P., Mr. Aurandt.
GOOD DAY, PAUL HARVEY
Michael Bird - Bird's Eye View - March 2, 2009
The world of radio broadcasting lost a giant this past weekend.
Paul Harvey Aurandt, who began his radio career in 1933 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
and ended it in February 2009 in Chicago, Illinois, passed away at the age
of 90.
And he is irreplaceable.
His inimitable style and passionate flag-waving for all things uniquely
American made him stand out in a crowded field of 20th century broadcasters.
I wondered about how Paul Harvey would cover the recent weekend of wacky
weather, that began with tornadoes and ended with snowdrifts. I'm sure he
would take a pause, stretch those syllables eloquently and elegantly across
the phrases, before finding a rock-solid bottom complete with just the right
words that pack the significant punch. And then, take yet another dramatic
pause for emphasis.
There are words credited to Harvey: guesstimate and skyjack are but a
couple. I always enjoyed how, when referring to the United States in a
story, he would say, "US - U.S.", as if to drive home his point that the
U.S. was indeed all of us.
The man could sell products. How many millions of people purchased Wells
Lamont gloves or Bose Acoustic Wave sound systems because of his pitches
filled with praises?
The "News and Comment" show began in 1951 on the ABC Radio Network, still
its home today. "The Rest of the Story," his well-known biography program
about little-known facts on famous subjects, began in 1976 and has probably
become his more recognizable audio signature to the world.
There are radio listeners who, even in our ever-changing workplaces and
homes of the 21st century, set aside those five or fifteen minutes at the
appointed time each day to listen to Paul Harvey deliver his take on the
news. No matter what was happening in the world, the security of hearing
those resonant tones from his golden throat made the events that happened
seem, somehow, easier to digest.
My friend and co-worker Greg Budell, morning disc jockey on Q96.1 and host
of "The Greg Show" on 1170 WACV in Montgomery, worked with Harvey at the
legendary WLS in Chicago back in the early 1970s. WLS was owned then, as
now, by ABC Radio Networks. Greg has told the story of how Paul Harvey
arrived at the radio station earlier than anyone else in the mornings.
Dressed in a suit and tie with a requisite flower in his lapel pin, Harvey
would practice his script in the hallway outside the studio before going on
the air, making sure his delivery matched the stories he would be reading to
millions of listeners. How many of today's newscasters would dress up to be
on the radio? Yet, Mr. Harvey approached his job with respect and
dedication. In fact, he approached his life and listeners the same way.
If you never heard his version of the Christmas story, find it and listen to
it. Every year, it still brings tears to my eyes, and I have heard every
word many times before. He was that good.
People write all the time about the passing of legends. We think of our
media personalities in the short term; rich and famous today, in court or
rehab tomorrow. There was one gentleman on the air, and it was Paul Harvey.
There will not be another; nor, should we desire there to be. For
somewhere, perhaps even in our imaginations, across the galaxy, the AM and
FM signals of yesteryear are being beamed in transmission as we speak.
Voices heard from a distant planet to ears not yet known. And they, too,
will be transfixed as we have been for 75 years by the cadences of his
speech patterns, and the sharing of his love of God, country, and family
with a most appreciative audience.
And now you know . . . the end of the story. God bless you, Paul Harvey.
Good day!
I wrote a piece for the Tallassee newspaper, as I do every few weeks, but since it has to do with radio, it's posted here (for anyone interested). R.I.P., Mr. Aurandt.
GOOD DAY, PAUL HARVEY
Michael Bird - Bird's Eye View - March 2, 2009
The world of radio broadcasting lost a giant this past weekend.
Paul Harvey Aurandt, who began his radio career in 1933 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
and ended it in February 2009 in Chicago, Illinois, passed away at the age
of 90.
And he is irreplaceable.
His inimitable style and passionate flag-waving for all things uniquely
American made him stand out in a crowded field of 20th century broadcasters.
I wondered about how Paul Harvey would cover the recent weekend of wacky
weather, that began with tornadoes and ended with snowdrifts. I'm sure he
would take a pause, stretch those syllables eloquently and elegantly across
the phrases, before finding a rock-solid bottom complete with just the right
words that pack the significant punch. And then, take yet another dramatic
pause for emphasis.
There are words credited to Harvey: guesstimate and skyjack are but a
couple. I always enjoyed how, when referring to the United States in a
story, he would say, "US - U.S.", as if to drive home his point that the
U.S. was indeed all of us.
The man could sell products. How many millions of people purchased Wells
Lamont gloves or Bose Acoustic Wave sound systems because of his pitches
filled with praises?
The "News and Comment" show began in 1951 on the ABC Radio Network, still
its home today. "The Rest of the Story," his well-known biography program
about little-known facts on famous subjects, began in 1976 and has probably
become his more recognizable audio signature to the world.
There are radio listeners who, even in our ever-changing workplaces and
homes of the 21st century, set aside those five or fifteen minutes at the
appointed time each day to listen to Paul Harvey deliver his take on the
news. No matter what was happening in the world, the security of hearing
those resonant tones from his golden throat made the events that happened
seem, somehow, easier to digest.
My friend and co-worker Greg Budell, morning disc jockey on Q96.1 and host
of "The Greg Show" on 1170 WACV in Montgomery, worked with Harvey at the
legendary WLS in Chicago back in the early 1970s. WLS was owned then, as
now, by ABC Radio Networks. Greg has told the story of how Paul Harvey
arrived at the radio station earlier than anyone else in the mornings.
Dressed in a suit and tie with a requisite flower in his lapel pin, Harvey
would practice his script in the hallway outside the studio before going on
the air, making sure his delivery matched the stories he would be reading to
millions of listeners. How many of today's newscasters would dress up to be
on the radio? Yet, Mr. Harvey approached his job with respect and
dedication. In fact, he approached his life and listeners the same way.
If you never heard his version of the Christmas story, find it and listen to
it. Every year, it still brings tears to my eyes, and I have heard every
word many times before. He was that good.
People write all the time about the passing of legends. We think of our
media personalities in the short term; rich and famous today, in court or
rehab tomorrow. There was one gentleman on the air, and it was Paul Harvey.
There will not be another; nor, should we desire there to be. For
somewhere, perhaps even in our imaginations, across the galaxy, the AM and
FM signals of yesteryear are being beamed in transmission as we speak.
Voices heard from a distant planet to ears not yet known. And they, too,
will be transfixed as we have been for 75 years by the cadences of his
speech patterns, and the sharing of his love of God, country, and family
with a most appreciative audience.
And now you know . . . the end of the story. God bless you, Paul Harvey.
Good day!
