Radio Digest (June 1932-Mar 1933)

Record Details:

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Stars 23 By Donald Novis The Sweet Singer of California I DON'T believe I'm exaggerating when I say that I had to sing. Some people arrive as musicians because they've had a musical objective in mind through the years. I guess I've gotten into radio largely through the encouragement of my family, my friends and my teachers. If I had had my way about it, I am sure that I would now be a teacher of physical education. Perhaps I'd even be coaching some high school or junior college team out in California, my home state. Be that as it may, I'm here and I hope to remain as a singer for years to come. So many people have asked me how I got bitten with the radio bug and how I happened to win the National Atwater Kent radio auditions over the NBC in 1928 that I'll set it down here briefly. Perhaps I ought to go back to Hastings, England, where I first saw the light of day on March 30, 1907. That is a bit important because it has a bearing on my present singing career. My father was Welsh. He came of a long line of singing people. The Welsh airs were as thoroughly ingrained in his make-up as the thick brogue of old Wales was stamped early in life upon his speech. He often said he could not remember when he first learned to sing. Welsh people don't learn to sing, I guess. They just do it as naturally as breathing or eating. So, with this tradition behind him, my father just had to sing, too. By day he was a cobbler and on Sundays he raised his rich baritone in the choir of that quaint little English church which you will see today if you visit the historic spot where William the Conqueror defeated Harold II in 1066 in the southernmost section of the "tight little Isle." Of course I don't remember anything about Hastings or my sojourn there. My very first recollections are bound up with my family's crossing to Canada. I never shall forget those earliest impressions, the big ship, the towering waves and the wide deck where my father took me walking. That was an awesome experience, and not easily forgotten. (Continued on page 46) Donald Novis