Wow! Who Do I Think I am? Part 29

Niles Trammell

Colonel Leander Newton Trammell’s grandson, Niles Trammell, born in Marietta, became president of one of the most popular companies, and maybe one of the most powerful and influential, NBC. He was the president when National Broadcasting Corp extended their airwaves for television. But many would say he made his mark when, before he was president, when he signed up the radio program Amos & Andy's creators and writers Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll (notice that the cast members mentioned Marietta, Georgia, often – I don’t know for certain but I think it was in the originator contract, probably written by Niles Trammell, Marietta native.

Amos & Andy was on the radio from 1928 to 1955 and on TV from 1951 to 1953. Ironically CBS carried the TV show, not NBC.

Happy Anniversary Lone Ranger!!

Above is the first page of MAD comicbook’s second takeoff on the Lone Ranger, illustrated by Jack Davis (Georgian corn-fed).

"Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.... The Lone Ranger Rides Again!" – that was the opening, as the Lone Ranger and his faithful Indian companion Tonto set up camp outside town to discuss what evil lurks in town, and how they were going to straighten things out. A pair of do-gooders!

This past Sunday on the CBS News Sunday Morning Show they said “next Wednesday will be the Lone Ranger’s 75th anniversary of the first time they aired on radio.

Well, today is Wednesday.

In my grammar school days I remember daily meeting my old late friend Larry Holcombe where our back yards met – we each had toy guns and a stick or a broomstick which any fool could see was not a stick or broomstick, but a beautiful horse.

We each also had a Lone Ranger badge that we got by sending something off to Marietta (I’m sure this is misspelled) Bread Company. We also each wore a Lone Ranger black mask. We were the Lone Ranger Twins.

We galloped the open range looking for evil bad guys and always found them, and made them pay for their sins of swindling the gold mine workers by shooting them dead.

The opened range was the back yards of his family, my family, his uncle and aunt the Whites, the Hands, and the Baxters. We would have extended the range to the McEntyres and the Jones, but his mother wouldn't let him cross the street.

We were too young and too irresponsible to have watches on our wrists but somehow our built-in clocks knew when it was time to come in the house, curl up on the floor with cookies and milk and listen to The Long Ranger on radio.

Tell me, what do you think of when you here William Tell’s Overture? If you say anything other than The Lone Ranger you either had your nose in a book when you were growing up or you are a pretentious snob. Those are fighting words stranger.

"Hi-yo Silver, away!"

Piano Red and WAOK

Do Not Forsake Me Ole My Darling…

Or

is it “Get Along Little Doggie….”?

It is both of them! Both of those tunes are playing in my head. It is like my own personal in-house Battle of the Bands.

I heard on the news this morning that Governor Sonny Perdue made a blunder on a radio station that was having callers asked him questions. I won’t repeat it because I might misquote it and that wouldn’t be fair and I’m sure too lazy to research to the exact words.

The radio station was WAOK. WAOK was, and I suppose still is, a mostly black radio station. When I was a teenager it was owned and operated by blacks and all the announcers were black.

(harp music) I remember as a teenager when you wanted to hear some good rhythm and blues, WAOK was the station to listen to. Their DJs had more freedom than their white counterparts.

Parents disapproved of this station and would have to use a politically incorrect word to tell what they called it.

One DJ on WAOK I remember is Piano Red. He did most his announcing from a piano stool. He would play a real record and then play with his piano and maybe carry on a romance with an imaginary friend, singing a lullaby to her and getting too darn mushy about what they did last night… then, he would let out a yep, “All right!!!” and go into a commercial and then play a record, then continue his romance with whomever as he played the piano.

It was kind of like “The Country Gentleman” on TV in the 50s who had a love affair with a TV camera – only different.

Years later when Underground Atlanta opened we saw Piano Red in person playing in a bar. He was short, stocky, redheaded, and covered with freckles. I can see why he had an imaginary lover.

But he was a good blues singer. A couple years ago, while looking for something else on Amazon.Com I stumbled across Piano Reds CDs. I ordered one… it is one of the best blues CDs I have. All right now!

Amos & Andy and Niles Trammell

Leander N. Trammell had nine children. One was William Trammell. William married Betsy Niles. They had three children. The only one to reach adulthood was Niles Trammell.

Niles grew up in Marietta and ran around with the elite, such as Lucious Clay, Rip Blair, and the Brumby family boys.

Later, how he got there, I do not know, but he was an executive wtih NBC Radio Network in Chicago. He was the person that signed up Amos & Andy to NBC Radio. I don't know if picking a successful show helped his career or not, but probably so, not long after that Niles was president of NBC.

Niles Trammell was president of NBC when the time came in history to include the new invention televison to their broadcasting.

Now, back to Amos & Andy. I have heard the show when they were on radio and probably saw all the Amos & Andy sitcoms. Many times one of the cast, either Amos, Andy, or George Stephens (King Fish) would remember something when they were younger back in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta was mentioned through out all their shows.

I am wondering if the remembering of Marietta was there because that is where Niles Trammell was born and grew up at? Did he get to make any creative suggestions?