War of the Worlds-WKBW Style

[semoochie]

My brother-in-law just dubbed off a very clean copy of the 1938 radio show and on the end of it is a segment of WKBW's version from 1969. What I heard sounded very much like a Top 40 station in "news mode". It sounded pretty realistic, based on what you would expect to hear on the radio at the time and having the martians attacking in downtown Buffalo was a nice touch. I understand they received about 4000 phone calls and made the newspapers all over the country! Of the 1938 version: Orson Welles was interviewed about 30 years later and said that despite the initial short-lived panic, most people didn't believe it and in fact, thought it was funny! That's the first time I've ever heard anyone say that the believers were in the minority.

 

[Bob1370]

> My brother-in-law just dubbed off a very clean copy of the
> 1938 radio show and on the end of it is a segment of WKBW's
> version from 1969. What I heard sounded very much like a
> Top 40 station in "news mode".

'KB remade the show in 1971, with Jeff Kaye and Jack Armstrong in the leading roles. It's that version which you can hear in full on the reelradio.com website...and which I've heard may be replayed on 'KB this coming Halloween (since some of the people who performed on it, including Jack Armstrong, are on staff there now).

 

[raymond_shaw]

> > My brother-in-law just dubbed off a very clean copy of the
>
> > 1938 radio show and on the end of it is a segment of
> WKBW's
> > version from 1969. What I heard sounded very much like a
> > Top 40 station in "news mode".
>
> 'KB remade the show in 1971, with Jeff Kaye and Jack
> Armstrong in the leading roles. It's that version which you
> can hear in full on the reelradio.com website...and which
> I've heard may be replayed on 'KB this coming Halloween
> (since some of the people who performed on it, including
> Jack Armstrong, are on staff there now).
>
Nothing against Jack Armstrong, but I like the original version better(1968?) when Sandy Beach was the 7-midnight personality. At the start of the broadcast, Sandy comments that he thought that Stan Roberts(then the KB morning personality) was generous giving out 45 rpms to trick or treaters at his house - until he looked at one of the records and it said on the label "For Promotional Use Only."

 

[Desi_Bell]

I was a part-timer on the air at my first station in Providence on the night the show ran in '68. I started getting calls from listeners wondering what was going on in Buffalo. It was the first time I had ever heard of KB...A lasting first impression.

According to Jeff Kaye, someone is working on a documentary about WOW:HG Wells, Orson Welles-and KB/Jeff Kaye, who has been interviewed 3 times for this show, which I imagine will surface around Halloween time. Jeff thinks it's for Discovery, but he wasn't 100% sure when I talked with him.

 

[lchase]

> My brother-in-law just dubbed off a very clean copy of the
> 1938 radio show and on the end of it is a segment of WKBW's
> version from 1969. What I heard sounded very much like a
> Top 40 station in "news mode". It sounded pretty realistic,
> based on what you would expect to hear on the radio at the
> time and having the martians attacking in downtown Buffalo
> was a nice touch. I understand they received about 4000
> phone calls and made the newspapers all over the country!
> Of the 1938 version: Orson Welles was interviewed about 30
> years later and said that despite the initial short-lived
> panic, most people didn't believe it and in fact, thought it
> was funny! That's the first time I've ever heard anyone say
> that the believers were in the minority.
>
Acquired a CD of the entire '68 broadcast a couple of weeks ago - very well-done by the KB crew, and GREAT fun....

 

[semoochie]

> > My brother-in-law just dubbed off a very clean copy of the
>
> > 1938 radio show and on the end of it is a segment of
> WKBW's
> > version from 1969. What I heard sounded very much like a
> > Top 40 station in "news mode". It sounded pretty
> realistic,
> > based on what you would expect to hear on the radio at the
>
> > time and having the martians attacking in downtown Buffalo
>
> > was a nice touch. I understand they received about 4000
> > phone calls and made the newspapers all over the country!
>
> > Of the 1938 version: Orson Welles was interviewed about 30
>
> > years later and said that despite the initial short-lived
> > panic, most people didn't believe it and in fact, thought
> it
> > was funny! That's the first time I've ever heard anyone
> say
> > that the believers were in the minority.
> >
> Acquired a CD of the entire '68 broadcast a couple of weeks
> ago - very well-done by the KB crew, and GREAT fun....
>
I figured it was '68, which would be an even 30 years but the announcer on the CD said '69 so that's what I reported. He also mentioned it being the time of Woodstock.