The telling of stories is a staple for man and has been since the beginning of human history. The ability to tell a great story was a prized attribute which gave the teller much respect and awe from the listeners who eagerly lapped up every word. The images they formed in their minds is personal, different from the person next to them.
As time progressed, the stories told to the entire village around a roaring fire gave way to families gathered around the radio after dinner. The early radio days (the 1930s) were quite spectacular for story lovers everywhere. They took their cue from the Golden Age of Pulp Fiction magazines which were avidly lapped up stories in various genres such as, science fiction and fantasy, mysteries, sea and air adventures, tales from the orient, westerns and even horror stories.
The progression of a single story teller to radio was like comparing stone tools to a multi-functional machine. In the radio days you often had multiple characters involved in the presentation along with several people creating realistic sound effects from all sorts of materials. It was a match made in heaven and the receiving audience eagerly awaited the next story.
By the 1930s and 40s vinyl records made its way to the entertainment scene and was another outlet for story telling. In the 1950s actors such as the legendary Jimmy Stewart were recording stories on vinyl records, his most famous being the voice in the "Winnie-The-Pooh" series. Danny Kaye, another beloved actor, tells "6 Stories from Far Away Places." Music would soon find a home on records and cornered the market up until the 1980s.
The advent of the television was a natural progression from the successful radio shows and soon became the way stories were told. The visual presentation of a story that one could turn on at their convenience would prove to be one of the most popular forms of entertainment of all time.
There is however something intrinsically nostalgic about those radio days of old and is experiencing a comeback in the form of audio books. They have become so popular in the last decade that there is an award ceremony called "The Audies." The Audies are to audio books like the Oscars are to movies. The awards are bestowed annually to out-standing fiction or non fiction in all genres and are followed by a sumptuous gala banquet.
Some nominated and recipients of the prestigious Audie Awards are: Harper Lee for his novel, "To Kill a Mocking Bird," John Steinbeck for his novel, "The Grapes of Wrath" and L. Ron Hubbard for his novel, "A Matter of Matter." These and many more novels turned audio book stories are a breath of fresh air and can be enjoyed anywhere; on a morning commute, a long road trip or just a quiet moment to wind down from a long day.
Because of the rise in audio books popularity, theaters, such as the "Golden Age Theater" in Holly wood, has taken pulp fiction audio books and created theater performances that have been wildly successful.
What was old is new again!
Fred Duckworth is a passionate advocate of lifelong learning through audiobooks on cd collections from http://www.goldenagestories.com/. Galaxy Press Publishing, publisher of "The Golden Age Stories" and all genres of pulp fiction stories and novels, offers a convenient subscription service, so you never have to miss an issue. It's a pulp fiction lover's dream!
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