Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands

AFRS / Blue Network

AFRS / Blue Network · 1943–1945

177 EpisodesFortnightlyPGSince 1943

The run

Network: AFRS / Blue Network
Years active: 1943–1945
Surviving broadcasts: 177
Genre: music

Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands began in 1941 and by 1942 was broadcasting six nights a week from military bases and war-production plants, with Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Harry James and Count Basie among the bands carried. The AFRS transcription discs re-cut for overseas distribution are the surviving source for most of the run. Public domain; streamed from the Internet Archive.

1945 · 41944 · 41943 · 31941 · 1

Source collection

Internet Archive audio collections

Rights

Public domain — no renewed US copyright

Cataloguing

Air dates and notes from the Archive item record

Every broadcast below carries its own provenance sheet — transfer quality, file source and rights.Archive record: afrs-victory-parade-of-spotlight-bands-41-12-20-tommy-dorsey-first-song

The shape of the run

What survives, year by year

12 dated broadcasts across 5 years on the air, with 1 year where nothing is known to survive. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.

JFMAMJJASOND

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

Clean transferListenableRough but complete No surviving recording

Episodes

Start here

Listen to the run in order

Restored broadcasts from 1941, in original transmission order.

1. AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 41-11-22 Glenn Miller First Song · 22 Nov 1941
2. AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 43-03-30 Joe Reichman · 30 Mar 1943
3. AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 43-08-17 Louis Armstrong · 17 Aug 1943

AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 41-11-22 Glenn Miller First Song
22 Nov 1941 · 29 min
American Armed Forces Radio No 78 Victory Parades of Spotlight Bands - Part 1 In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor. Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defe
AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 43-03-30 Joe Reichman
30 Mar 1943 · 15 min
American Armed Forces Radio No 78 Victory Parades of Spotlight Bands - Part 1 In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor. Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defe
AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 43-08-17 Louis Armstrong
17 Aug 1943 · 15 min
American Armed Forces Radio No 78 Victory Parades of Spotlight Bands - Part 1 In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor. Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defe
AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 43-10-28 Jan Savitt
28 Oct 1943 · 18 min
American Armed Forces Radio No 78 Victory Parades of Spotlight Bands - Part 1 In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor. Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defe
AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 44-02-01 Ted Fio Rito
1 Feb 1944 · 15 min
American Armed Forces Radio No 79 Victory Parades of Spotlight Bands - Part 2 In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor. Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defe
AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 44-05-06 Ted Fio Rito
6 May 1944 · 16 min
American Armed Forces Radio No 79 Victory Parades of Spotlight Bands - Part 2 In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor. Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defe
AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 44-07-12 Abe Lyman
12 Jul 1944 · 14 min
American Armed Forces Radio No 79 Victory Parades of Spotlight Bands - Part 2 In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor. Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defe
AFRS - Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands 44-10-23 Gene Krupa
23 Oct 1944 · 14 min
American Armed Forces Radio No 79 Victory Parades of Spotlight Bands - Part 2 In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor. Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defe

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