During a time when life was really slow and Coca-Cola was really big.
Diving into a big vat of mid-century Pop Culture this weekend. Of all things Coca-Cola, this was one of the staples of American radio. Just about every Sunday from the War Years until the 1950s,The Pause That Refreshes flooded American living rooms as various Musical directions took place with Percy Faith taking up the baton from 1947 until the mid-1950s. The phrase and ethos was calming people down and Percy Faith fit the bill to a T.
Known mostly as “the guy who gave us A Summer Place”, Percy Faith had a long and illustrious career which Coca-Cola helped by making him a household name.
The object of The Pause That Refreshes was to offer something to help calm jangled nerves, and to go with the Sunday-is-a-day-of-rest custom most Americans have since wound up abandoning.
But in the 1950s it became synonymous with quieter, slower times. Maybe an illusion and perhaps a bit of a myth, it nonetheless fit right in with Coke’s longtime slogan The Pause That Refreshes which went back to the 1920s.
Besides that, the series had a huge audience and the demographics ran the gamut, even with the Youth Market (this pre-dates Rock n’ Roll by a few years).
Those who grew up during this period may wince as it was far from pulsating rhythms and wild proclamations of Teenage Angst. Those who are new to this genre may find it fascinating, strange and loaded with sampling possibilities (I didn’t actually say that, but you get the idea) – you may even become addicted.
The program was a half-hour in length and it was broadcast by CBS Radio every Sunday. This recording is a tape of one of those broadcasts as it originally aired on August 13, 1950.
Caveat: the tape, being 75 years old has, like many of us, seen better days. Much as people lose bone-mass, tape loses its oxide or turns brittle and winds up on the floor. The opening and the first five or so minutes are victims of old age – but it straightens out after that and continues through the rest of the show. Wish I could say the same about me, but . . .
The Pause That Refreshes – 1950 – Past Daily Weekend Gallimaufry
Diving into a big vat of mid-century Pop Culture this weekend. Of all things Coca-Cola, this was one of the staples of American radio. Just about every Sunday from the War Years until the 1950s,The Pause That Refreshes flooded American living rooms as various Musical directions took place with Percy Faith taking up the baton from 1947 until the mid-1950s. The phrase and ethos was calming people down and Percy Faith fit the bill to a T.
Known mostly as “the guy who gave us A Summer Place”, Percy Faith had a long and illustrious career which Coca-Cola helped by making him a household name.
The object of The Pause That Refreshes was to offer something to help calm jangled nerves, and to go with the Sunday-is-a-day-of-rest custom most Americans have since wound up abandoning.
But in the 1950s it became synonymous with quieter, slower times. Maybe an illusion and perhaps a bit of a myth, it nonetheless fit right in with Coke’s longtime slogan The Pause That Refreshes which went back to the 1920s.
Besides that, the series had a huge audience and the demographics ran the gamut, even with the Youth Market (this pre-dates Rock n’ Roll by a few years).
Those who grew up during this period may wince as it was far from pulsating rhythms and wild proclamations of Teenage Angst. Those who are new to this genre may find it fascinating, strange and loaded with sampling possibilities (I didn’t actually say that, but you get the idea) – you may even become addicted.
The program was a half-hour in length and it was broadcast by CBS Radio every Sunday. This recording is a tape of one of those broadcasts as it originally aired on August 13, 1950.
Caveat: the tape, being 75 years old has, like many of us, seen better days. Much as people lose bone-mass, tape loses its oxide or turns brittle and winds up on the floor. The opening and the first five or so minutes are victims of old age – but it straightens out after that and continues through the rest of the show. Wish I could say the same about me, but . . .
Have a listen – marvel, enjoy and/or cringe.
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