The Voice of Firestone
Encyclopedia
The Voice of Firestone, is a long-running radio and television program of classical music. The show featured leading singers in selections from opera
and operetta
. Originally titled The Firestone Hour, it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network December 3, 1928 and was later also shown on television starting in 1949. The program was last broadcast in 1963.
, Robert Merrill
, Eleanor Steber
, Igor Gorin
, Nadine Conner
, Dorothy Warenskjold
, and Thomas L. Thomas
. The program was sponsored by Firestone Tire Company and aired on Monday nights at 8:30pm Eastern Standard Time
from its 1928 inception. In 1948, The Voice of Firestone was the first commercial radio program to be carried simultaneously on both AM and FM radio stations. Firestone's 25th anniversary program was broadcast November 30, 1953, and it was heard on radio until 1956.
, when there were very few television sets. First seen on the NBC television network in April 1944, it continued until January 1947 with special interest topics in a documentary film
format. The Voice of Firestone radio-TV programs were known not only for their classical music, but for their vocal support of such organizations as 4-H
and the United Nations
.
When The Voice of Firestone arrived on television in the fall of 1949, NBC simulcast the show on radio and TV, one of the first programs to use that technology. The show was considered to be very prestigious (due to the involvement of many classical musicians and Broadway musical stars), but the ratings were always small. In an era when successful programs were capable of garnering as many as half the viewers available in a given time slot, The Voice of Firestone only received three million viewers, a comparatively small number for what was rapidly becoming the nation's most influential mass medium. In 1954, NBC asked Firestone's permission to move the program to a different night or time period. Firestone refused, and the television series was picked up by ABC
. The radio series stayed with NBC and ended in 1956.
It continued to air at 8:30 on Mondays until 1959, when ABC insisted on moving the program to a later time period. Firestone refused, and the show was canceled entirely. Although the ratings were low at the time of its cancellation, the fan outcry was very loud, with some writing their congressmen
. ABC tried to appease the fans with Music for a Summer Night, a copy of the show minus Firestone, but the results were not favorable. The 30th anniversary show was telecast November 24, 1958.
In 1962, The Voice of Firestone returned, airing at 10pm on Sunday nights. The same relatively small number of viewers tuned in, and the show was canceled permanently in May 1963.
(Mrs. Harvey Firestone) was the composer of the program's opening and closing themes, the songs "If I Could Tell You
" and "In My Garden". Tenor Richard Crooks
, the longtime host of the radio broadcasts (from 1928 to 1945), recorded "If I Could Tell You" for RCA Victor. Soprano Eleanor Steber
, a frequent Firestone host following Crooks, also recorded both of Idabelle Firestone's songs.
The orchestra leaders were Hugo Mariani (1928-31), William Daly (1931-36), Alfred Wallenstein
(1936-43) and Howard Barlow (1943 on). Featured singers included Lorraine Galler, Bill Toole and Bill Metcalf.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
. Originally titled The Firestone Hour, it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network December 3, 1928 and was later also shown on television starting in 1949. The program was last broadcast in 1963.
Radio
Performers on the series included Rise StevensRisë Stevens
Risë Stevens is a retired American operatic mezzo-soprano.-Professional life:Stevens studied at New York's Juilliard School for three years. She went to Vienna, where she was trained by Marie Gutheil-Schoder and Herbert Graf. She made her début as Mignon in Prague in 1936 and stayed there until...
, Robert Merrill
Robert Merrill
Robert Merrill was an American operatic baritone.-Early life:Merrill was born Moishe Miller, later known as Morris Miller, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, to tailor Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, and his wife Lillian, née Balaban, immigrants from Warsaw, Poland.His mother...
, Eleanor Steber
Eleanor Steber
Eleanor Steber was an American operatic soprano. Steber is noted as one of the first major opera stars to have achieved the highest success with training and a career based in the United States.-Biography:...
, Igor Gorin
Igor Gorin
Igor Gorin was an Austrian baritone and music teacher.-Early life:Gorin was born Ignatz Greenberg on October 26, 1904, in the small village of Grodek in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father, Sholom Greenberg, was a rabbi and a Talmudist who taught religion in Grodek and in the neighboring...
, Nadine Conner
Nadine Conner
Nadine Conner was an American operatic soprano, radio singer and music teacher.She was born in Compton, California as Evelyn Nadine Henderson, and was the descendent of some of the earliest non-Hispanic settlers in California.Diagnosed as a teenager with pulmonary disease, her doctor suggested she...
, Dorothy Warenskjold
Dorothy Warenskjold
Dorothy Warenskjold was an American lyric soprano who had an active career in operas and concerts from the mid 1940s through the early 1960s. She made several recordings for Capital Records.-Life and career:Warenskjold studied music at Mills College in Oakland, California...
, and Thomas L. Thomas
Thomas L. Thomas
Thomas Llyfnwy Thomas was a Welsh American baritone concert singer who achieved fame for his performances both in concert halls and on television and radio, most notably on The Voice of Firestone, where he was the most frequently featured singer...
. The program was sponsored by Firestone Tire Company and aired on Monday nights at 8:30pm Eastern Standard Time
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
from its 1928 inception. In 1948, The Voice of Firestone was the first commercial radio program to be carried simultaneously on both AM and FM radio stations. Firestone's 25th anniversary program was broadcast November 30, 1953, and it was heard on radio until 1956.
Television
Firestone sponsored a related television series, The Voice of Firestone Televues, one of the first television series with programming other than news or sports coverage. It began on November 29, 1943 on New York's WNBT-TVWNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
, when there were very few television sets. First seen on the NBC television network in April 1944, it continued until January 1947 with special interest topics in a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
format. The Voice of Firestone radio-TV programs were known not only for their classical music, but for their vocal support of such organizations as 4-H
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
When The Voice of Firestone arrived on television in the fall of 1949, NBC simulcast the show on radio and TV, one of the first programs to use that technology. The show was considered to be very prestigious (due to the involvement of many classical musicians and Broadway musical stars), but the ratings were always small. In an era when successful programs were capable of garnering as many as half the viewers available in a given time slot, The Voice of Firestone only received three million viewers, a comparatively small number for what was rapidly becoming the nation's most influential mass medium. In 1954, NBC asked Firestone's permission to move the program to a different night or time period. Firestone refused, and the television series was picked up by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The radio series stayed with NBC and ended in 1956.
It continued to air at 8:30 on Mondays until 1959, when ABC insisted on moving the program to a later time period. Firestone refused, and the show was canceled entirely. Although the ratings were low at the time of its cancellation, the fan outcry was very loud, with some writing their congressmen
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. ABC tried to appease the fans with Music for a Summer Night, a copy of the show minus Firestone, but the results were not favorable. The 30th anniversary show was telecast November 24, 1958.
In 1962, The Voice of Firestone returned, airing at 10pm on Sunday nights. The same relatively small number of viewers tuned in, and the show was canceled permanently in May 1963.
Firestone family
The Firestone family's involvement in the show was very personal. Idabelle FirestoneIdabelle Smith Firestone
Idabelle Smith Firestone was an American composer and songwriter.Born in Jackson, Michigan , she was educated at Alma College, Ontario. Her father, George, held the patent to the flour milling process....
(Mrs. Harvey Firestone) was the composer of the program's opening and closing themes, the songs "If I Could Tell You
If I Could Tell You (song)
"If I Could Tell You" is a popular American song composed in 1940 by Idabelle Firestone to words by Madeleine Marshall.-Background:Idabelle Firestone was the wife of the industrialist Harvey Firestone. An accomplished songwriter, she composed "If I Could Tell You" as the opening theme for the...
" and "In My Garden". Tenor Richard Crooks
Richard Crooks
Richard Alexander Crooks was an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera.-Biography:He was born on June 26, 1900 in Trenton, New Jersey...
, the longtime host of the radio broadcasts (from 1928 to 1945), recorded "If I Could Tell You" for RCA Victor. Soprano Eleanor Steber
Eleanor Steber
Eleanor Steber was an American operatic soprano. Steber is noted as one of the first major opera stars to have achieved the highest success with training and a career based in the United States.-Biography:...
, a frequent Firestone host following Crooks, also recorded both of Idabelle Firestone's songs.
The orchestra leaders were Hugo Mariani (1928-31), William Daly (1931-36), Alfred Wallenstein
Alfred Wallenstein
Alfred Wallenstein was an American cellist and conductor, born in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 17, he joined the San Francisco Symphony as a cellist. He subsequently played cello with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra before becoming principal cello of the New...
(1936-43) and Howard Barlow (1943 on). Featured singers included Lorraine Galler, Bill Toole and Bill Metcalf.