Dave Meredith Collection of Radio Shows
Collection Overview
Abstract
Audio reels of music and comedy radio shows, largely from the 1970s.
Dates
- Broadcast: Majority of material found within 1973 - 1976
Extent
257 Recordings
1 Boxes
Scope and Contents
Audiotape reels of comedy and music radio shows largely from the mid-1970s, including content from the National Lampoon Radio Hour, King Biscuit Flower Hour, and On Tour radio programs, with limited content from the BBC Rock Radio Hour, Radio London, and Premiere Comedy Networks. Notable are the full run of the National Lampoon Radio Hour and extensive selection of live performances by many 1970s rock bands and artists, as well as a 1970s-era interview of the Who's Pete Townshend on Radio London. Many of the reels in this collection were likely distributed to radio stations for airplay in the 1970s, though some may be first-generation copies of those original reels.
Biographical / Historical
National Lampoon Radio hour was a comedy radio show in November of 1973, and ran until late December of 1974, and was a spinoff of the National Lampoon magazine. It originally ran for an hour but was changed to a half-hour show after the first season. Many of the cast members of the show, including John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, and Michael O'Donoghue, went on to work on Saturday Night Live.
King Biscuit Flower Hour was an American syndicated radio show hosted by Bill Minkin that ran from February 18, 1973 to December 25, 2005. It was dedicated to modern rock and new wave in its early years, but transitioned to classic rock later on in the 1990's. The name comes from an amalgamation the influential blues radio show King Biscuit Time and the old hippie phrase "Flower Power," it played live concerts and new wave music when most FM stations would not. A fire in 1982 destroyed many of the original recordings, and a King Biscuit Flower Hour Record Label released some compilation recordings in the 1990s.
On Tour was a syndicated radio show in the 1970's featuring live recordings of artists performing around the world.
The BBC Rock Hour was an American syndicated show that played primarily popular rock n' roll bands from 1963 to 2010.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for use. One copy of most radio shows has been digitized and streaming versions are available in the MLBSSA listening center. Items that have no digital copies available are noted in the finding aid. Please contact MLBSSA for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged in five series: I. National Lampoon Radio Hour; II. King Biscuit Flower Hour; III. On Tour; IV. Other Radio Shows; V. Digital copies.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Dave Meredith, 2019.
- Title
- Guide to the Dave Meredith Collection of Radio Shows
- Author
- David R. Lewis and Dee Elliott
- Date
- 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2022: Updated with information about digital access and added dates for On Tour series.