Since the Newstalgia Pop Chronicles are not exclusively about popular music in our culture but rather popular culture in general and how we responded to it at the time, I thought I would post an example of who was a pop culture icon and just what it was we listened to in the way of mainstream media as a society in the 1950's. Dave Garroway is probably best known as the first host of the Today Show. He was without question one of the most popular figures in the early days of television - a daily fixture every weekday morning. But during the "last gasp" of network radio during those years, Garroway was also a regular fixture on weekend radio. Hosting the program, Sundays With Garroway and later hosting (at least partly) the adventuresome Monitor series NBC Radio had devised. Since technology was rapidly changing, radio was able to take advantage of it's "go anywhere - do anything" status, and Garroway filled that expectation nicely. With a combination of self-deprecating humor and an insatiable curiosity, Garroway was able to interview a vast range of personalities and news makers and present them in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere as you will hear when you hit the play button.

Here is a complete Sunday With Garroway program, originally aired on May 2, 1954 - an ironic date as there are two news breaks discussing the battle of Dien Bien Phu which was taking place as they were on the air.

Since the program is two hours - hour 1 is the top player and hour 2 is the bottom player.

Plenty of time to travel to 1954 and be back by breakfast.