Premier Collections: 
Amos 'n' Andy, Volume 4
Liner notes written by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

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Their first meeting took place in Durham, North Carolina in 1919, as a young man from Peoria, Illinois named Charles Correll was introduced to his future partner, Freeman Gosden from Richmond, Virginia. Both men were employed by the Joe Bren Producing Company, which specialized in helping amateur talent present shows for clubs, fraternal organizations and church groups. Gosden and Correll quickly discovered that they had an unbeatable chemistry together, and so their partnership soon extended beyond their regular working hours to include stints on stage as both song-and-patter men and “blackface” artists — “blackface” being a popular form of entertainment at the time. Their first radio appearance was in 1921 and, moving to Chicago four years later, they secured work over WLS as end men for Bren’s weekly minstrel broadcasts and over WEBH as song-and-patter artists -- where their whopping salary consisted solely of a free Blue Plate Dinner special. In the fall of 1925, the duo was hired by WGN, the Chicago Tribune’s radio station, to perform on the air for the princely sum of $250.00 a week.

WGN’s station manager, Ben McCanna, liked Gosden and Correll but felt that their song-and-patter routines were in danger of getting stale. He suggested that they consider an idea he was tinkering with: a radio adaptation of "The Gumps", one of the Tribune’s popular comic strips. Freeman and Charlie didn’t have a good deal of familiarity with the family strip - both men were unmarried and had no children - and, instead, offered one of their own ideas: a radio serial about two black men, transported from the South, who came to the “big city” to seek their fame and fortune. Taking another popular strip, "Mutt and Jeff", as inspiration, the two men felt comfortable enough with their experience in dialect humor to effectively portray what eventually became known as "Sam ‘n’ Henry". WGN balked at the idea at first, but soon reconsidered, throwing Gosden and Correll on the air on January 12, 1926. Six weeks later, the show was a phenomenon, attracting such a large following in the Chicago area that the duo was soon making stage appearances in person as their fictional characters.

WGN had a powerful transmitter, capable of broadcasting over great distances throughout the United States, but Gosden and Correll were even more ambitious: they wanted to expand the audience for "Sam ‘n’ Henry" by recording the programs in advance and sending the discs to other radio stations -- an innovation the two men dubbed a “chainless chain.” What would eventually become standard practice in radio syndication did not sit well with the powers-that-be at WGN, however; the management maintained not only that they owned "Sam ‘n’ Henry," but also that there would be no further talk of that “chainless chain” nonsense. So, before their WGN contract expired, Freeman and Charlie talked with WGN’s rival WMAQ about a possible move. Owned by the Chicago Daily News, the team found WMAQ much more receptive to the concept; the fact that WMAQ would be getting Gosden and Correll by basically stealing them from WGN probably didn’t hurt matters, either. Given WGN's legal position, the two men couldn’t take the "Sam ‘n’ Henry" name with them...so they settled on a more alliterative title instead: "Amos ‘n’ Andy."

"Amos ‘n’ Andy" premiered over WMAQ on March 19, 1928 and quickly surpassed the popularity of "Sam ‘n’ Henry". Again, the program’s concept revolved around two black Southerners who left farm jobs in Georgia for positions in Chicago, only to discover that the tall grass they left in the Peach State was a whole lot greener than that of their new locale. Amos (Gosden), the smaller and younger of the two, was an excitable and enthusiastic character with an admirable work ethic and a fierce streak of loyalty to his friends. Andy (Correll), much larger and slower, frequently preferred taking the shortcuts down life’s highway of steady employment -- but he, too, was loyal when the chips were down...as they often were. In the early days of the serial, the men bought a dilapidated taxi cab and started their own business: The Fresh-Air Taxi Company, Incorpulated. In addition to the leads, "Amos ‘n’ Andy" also featured a colorful array of supporting characters, most of whom belonged to a fraternal organization known as “The Mystic Knights of the Sea.” The most memorable of these was George Stevens who, as lodge president, had dubbed himself the Kingfish. The Kingfish was even more averse to work than Andy; he was, in fact, a con artist who occupied his time fleecing his innocent friends in a never-ending series of shady get-rich-quick schemes. (The Kingfish’s charisma and gift of gab were such that the real-life governor of Louisiana, Huey Long, soon adopted the colorful nickname as his own.)

The success of "Amos ‘n’ Andy" over WMAQ soon attracted the attention of the National Broadcasting Company. Though experiencing some financial problems at the time, NBC was looking for prestigious and successful programs to air nationally and was anxious to sign Gosden and Correll to a long-term contract. Once signed, the Lord & Thomas advertising agency sold the program's sponsorship one of their biggest clients, Pepsodent toothpaste, and "Amos ‘n’ Andy" went national over NBC Blue on August 19, 1929...beginning a run that would continue on network radio, in one form or another, for the next thirty years.

Throughout much of its radio history, "Amos 'n' Andy" was broadcast in a five-day-a-week quarter-hour serial format. However, in the fall of 1943, due to a slow decline in the ratings, Gosden and Correll revamped the show into a half-hour weekly situation comedy. Concerned about the quality of the new version (and also in maintaining the quality of his performances) Correll had most of the programs of the new series recorded on 16" transcription discs for his personal library. In the 1970s, Correll had the programs professionally transferred from discs to top quality 1/2" tape -- but explicitly requested that the commercials for Rinso, by then the show’s sponsor, be edited out at the same time. Thus, though the programs in this new Premier Collection may be commercial-free, they're all taken right from Charlie Correll’s own transcription collection. The audio fidelity of these shows is astounding - in fact, they sound far better than when they were first heard over NBC in 1943 and 1944 - and have been painstakingly restored for your enjoyment.

In addition to nineteen original broadcasts from 1945 and 1946, this collection concludes with a real rarity: "The Mystic Knights of the Sea Minstrel Show," a mid-1930s attempt to present the characters of "Amos 'n' Andy" in a weekly primetime spot. The effort was very short-lived, primarily because Gosden and Correll disliked the notion of presenting their characters in the context of a minstrel show, "minstrelsy" being the sort of dated and 19th century concept that the team knew their black listeners might quickly grow to resent. Taken from a worn aircheck found in Charles Correll's library, it is one of only two examples of the series known to exist and, though the audio quality is rather rough, we think that the historic value of the program alone allows it to merit inclusion here.

Here is the complete content of this exciting new Premier Collection:

Lecture Bureau Show
Mrs. Bolton, the chairwoman of the Jersey City Women’s Club, mistakes the lodge hall for a lecture bureau and offers $50.00 to the Kingfish to secure a speaker for their dinner. Paging Andy Brown! The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “Brother Bill.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ruby Dandridge, Lou Lubin, James Baskett, Ernest Whitman, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, March 16, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Prentice Clothing Show
Andy manages to secure a position as a salesman for a reputable clothing store chain based in Chicago. With the guarantee of steady work and a good salary, the Kingfish decides to appoint himself as Andy’s manager. The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “Night Train to Memphis.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, March 23, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Easter Show
Sapphire has managed to squirrel away ten dollars to purchase a new hat for Easter. Her husband isn’t at all thrilled by this prospect, so he joins forces with Andy to “design” a hat to demonstrate the folly of spending money on such frivolous things. The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “Little David, Play on Your Harp.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Lou Lubin, James Baskett, Ruby Dandridge, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, March 30, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Andy Moves In with the Kingfish
Andy gives his landlord grief about the condition of his room, after which he is unceremoniously shown the way to the street. A search for alternate lodging leads to the Kingfish’s doorstep…and Sapphire is none too crazy about Andy being a boarder. With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernest Whitman, Ernestine Wade, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, April 6, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Dummy Show
Sapphire is pestering the Kingfish about buying a car, so the Kingfish sets his sights on Andy’s newly-acquired bankroll. Our two heroes decide to pool their resources and buy the car - an automobile that apparently has a dead body in the trunk! The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “I’m Beginning to See the Light.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, April 20, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Marriage Show
Sapphire complains to the Kingfish that the magic and romance has gone out of their twenty-year marriage and, what’s more, that if she had it to do over again she wouldn’t marry him at all. The Kingfish devises a scheme to make her think that their union was illegitimate to begin with…but finds that it works only too well! The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “Choo-Choo Polka.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, April 27, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Baby Picture Show
With guest star Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel plays Andy’s landlady, who’s insisting that Andy come across with the rent. Amos gives Andy and the Kingfish the idea of entering a “Beautiful Baby” photo contest, where the top prize is $500.00. The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “The Little White Horse and the Mare.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Lou Lubin, James Baskett, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, May 4, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Movie Show
Andy and the Kingfish have been to the movies, and among the features they’ve watched is the 1944 film noir classic “Double Indemnity.” The Kingfish soon becomes convinced that Sapphire is planning to do away with him by aping the movie’s plot! The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “Bye and Bye When the Morning Comes.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Elinor Harriot, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, May 11, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Bouillon Show
Its Andy’s birthday and he feels low when no one gets him a card or a present. His spirits brighten when a letter from his nephew Jimmy reveals that he’s due to receive a shipment of German bouillon! The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “Sentimental Journey.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, May 18, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Canteen Show
In the midst of a dating slump due to a lack of finances, Andy decides to pose as a sailor in order to be able to get free admission to the Harlem Canteen. The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “Candy.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ruby Dandridge, Will Wright, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, May 25, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Escort Show
With guest star Hattie McDaniel
Kingfish’s latest venture is “The Romance Escort Service,” which matches up single women with single men. Former landlady Hattie McDaniel just so happens to be looking for male companionship…and winds up paired with Andy! The Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet sing “Little David, Play on Your Harp.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ruby Dandridge, Lou Lubin, James Baskett, Ernestine Wade and announcer Harlow Wilcox.
Friday, June 1, 1945 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Nerves Show
The Kingfish has been jumpy and irritable lately, much to the consternation of Sapphire and his friends. A suggestion from Amos leads the Kingfish to a neurologist…who prescribes a job for his patient! The Delta Rhythm Boys sing “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Joseph Kearns, Lou Lubin, Hattie McDaniel, Eddie Green, and announcer Carlton KaDell.
Tuesday, March 19, 1946 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Bald Head Show
The Kingfish makes some ill-advised remarks about Sapphire’s new dress, which prompts Sadie Simpson to remind him that he hasn’t much room to talk, what with his “skin toupee” and all. The Delta Rhythm Boys sing “Personality.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Hattie McDaniel, Vince Barnett, Lou Lubin, James Baskett, Will Wright and announcer Carlton KaDell.
Tuesday, March 26, 1946 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Model Husband Show
The Kingfish discovers a letter in his pocket that Sapphire asked him to mail a week ago. A glance at the contents reveals that, unless the Kingfish straightens up his act, his mother-in-law will be by for a visit! The Delta Rhythm Boys sing “There’ll Be Some Changes Made.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Hattie McDaniel, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, Ernestine Wade, and announcer Carlton KaDell.
Tuesday, April 2, 1946 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Best Dressed Man
The Kingfish wants Andy to lend him $20.00 to pay his electric bill, but Andy needs the money for a new suit. The Kingfish convinces him to have a suit made of some material he had planned to use to cover the lodge hall’s pool table! The Delta Rhythm Boys sing “Mister Bee Bee.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Hattie McDaniel, Lou Lubin, Eddie Green, James Baskett, and announcer Carlton KaDell.
Tuesday, April 9, 1946 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Travel Bureau Show
After working only two days as a porter at a travel bureau, the Kingfish is ready to hang it up. His boss convinces him to stay on, though, promoting him to “Harlem representative” in the hopes that he can sell trips to the members of the Mystic Knights of the Sea. The Delta Rhythm Boys sing “Let’s Get Away From It All.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Hattie McDaniel, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Carlton KaDell.
Tuesday, April 16, 1946 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Flashback Show
The Kingfish gets the unfortunate news that Sapphire’s mother is en route for a visit. This prompts him to reminisce about the early days of his and Sapphire’s courtship…and how things were pretty sour with his mother-in-law even back then! The Delta Rhythm Boys sing “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Hattie McDaniel, James Baskett, Lou Lubin, and announcer Carlton KaDell.
Tuesday, April 23, 1946 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Eyeglasses Show
Andy gets a suspended fine in traffic court on the condition that he renews his driver’s license and gets it stamped for eyeglasses use. The Kingfish hits upon the scheme of selling him a pair of glasses discovered in the “Lost and Found” box at the lodge hall. The Delta Rhythm Boys sing “Looking at the World Thru Rose Colored Glasses.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Will Wright, Hattie McDaniel, Lou Lubin, James Baskett, and announcer Carlton KaDell.
Tuesday, April 30, 1946 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

Fur Coat Show
Andy’s latest conquest is Heliotrope Johnson, whom Andy is planning to take to a big society do. Since Heliotrope needs a fur coat for the party, the Kingfish decides to rent Sapphire’s mink to Andy. The Delta Rhythm Boys sing “Gimme a Little Kiss.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Hattie McDaniel, Lou Lubin, James Baskett, and announcer Carlton KaDell.
Tuesday, May 7, 1946 – 30:00 – NBC, sponsored by Rinso

The Mystic Knights of the Sea Minstrel Show
In this rare 1936 audition show, Amos, Andy, Lightnin’, the Kingfish and the rest of the lodge hall regulars joke and sing. Songs include ”Sing, Baby, Sing,” “Mandy,” and “Dinah.” With Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, guest Frank Parker, and announcer Bill Hay.
Friday, December 4, 1936 – 15:00 – NBC, sponsored by Pepsodent

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