Command Performance, Usa!: A Discography

By Harry Mackenzie

First transmitted to our troops in 1942, the word soon spread that Command Performance, USA was a great show. When someone suggested that well-known stars be requested to perform, Glenn Wheaton, creator of the idea, said, Request, hell Command them to appear And so, the show featureed such greats as Dinah Shore, Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby. This work provides information on all the first-run shows and, as a bonus, includes a similar listing for Mail Call and GI Journal, shows that followed the leader's style, but did not attain its popularity. For radio historians, communications students, and radio/WWII buffs.

A wealth of talent was crammed into each 30-minute show. Troops were asked to write to Los Angeles, where the show originated, with the names of the stars they wanted to hear. The requests grew to include sounds, such as traffic noises from a soldier's hometown square. The show was produced by the Radio Section of the Bureau of Public Relations under the War Department. The first program was heard on the evening of March 1, 1942. The last live show (415 performances later) was heard on December 20, 1949. This work documents these first-run performances.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0313298289
• ISBN13: 9780313298288
• Release Date: February 1996
• Publisher: Greenwood
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"