"Music For Everyone" a 1950s Radio Music Edutaiment Series

In the years following World War II it was a common practice for house wives to stay home and care for the kids and the house while the man of the house went out to work. And what kept them entertained while doing their chores was radio and eventually television. Daytime soap operas and quiz shows were much of the format and so was music programs. One such daily half hour program was "Music for Everyone" with Steve Manion out of a Chicago, IL in the mid 1950s. Steve took what you may know already and went on from there so you could enjoy and understand so called classical music. He mixed musical fact and fun together in what he called "edutainment" — educational entertainment. Below are all of the remaining episodes preserved and enhanced in digital form. Mush of the scratches from the records he featured and and other imperfections were kept intact so you can experience these "air-check" recordings they way audiences heard them at the time.

Because Steve was not a professional musician himself, he took the layman's point of view naturally, and conveyed these down-to-earth observations in a friendly, informal manner…even to the extent of "horsing around" with some of the "sacred cows" of classical music — all within the bounds of good taste.

In the 1970s I had the privilege of knowing Steve Manion (Stephen J. Manookian) and working with him on attempts to bring his beloved long term music project to life once again and any suitable medium including television and live presentations. Now, some 30 years later after his death, through the medium of the internet I can bring you his wealth of musical knowledge and enjoyment in his memory.         –Jim Brown