TV Radio Mirror (Jan - Jun 1959)

When WCBS' Freeman and Hayes joke it up/ it's "Crazy Rhythm"— w^hen they make v^ith old-time favorites . . . it's "Sweet and Lovely' 60M • • • BUT NOT FORGOTTEN 14 THE BITTER-SWEET ballads, the grandiose show tunes — they just don't play them anymore, says Mrs. American Radio Listener, sadly shaking her head as another rock 'n' roUer blares from the speaker. But listeners tuned to WCBS Radio's Freeman And Hayes Show, heard daily from 10: 05 to 11, and one hour longer on Saturdays, aren't shaking their heads. They're toe-tapping and reminiscing, instead. For, besides the delightful duo's dizzy antics, crazy contests and hilarious jokes, they have added a touch of nostalgia — an accent on the wonderful music of yesteryear which has helped make the show one of the most popular daytime programs on radio. "Nostalgia is a very big selling point with listeners," says Richard Hayes. And Stan Freeman adds, "We have found, also, that radio is more than just background music for the housewives to do their work to — they really listen, especially when we do an old favorite." ... A while back, when they both were rehearsing for an appearance on the Woolworth Hour, Stan and Richard got to talking show business. Somewhere along the way, they said to each other, "Wouldn't it be nice if you had a radio show?" Little did they know then that, a year later, they would be starring as a team on their own radio program. Strangely enough, although they work so well together, the two young artists had only known each other casually, and had, until last October, traveled widely divergent paths in show business. According to Stan Freeman's grandma, he began his career as a classical pianist at the tender age of three, for that was when the little tyke first began climbing up on a stool and picking out tunes on her piano. From that moment on, it was smooth sailing — and playing — ^for the young pianist. Up until his Army career, however, Stan stuck strictly to the classics. It was while he was playing with the Glenn Miller Army Band that the musician was first introduced to pops and jazz. . . . Since then he has put his versatile talent to use for such leading orchestras as Andre Kostelanetz and Percy Faith, and in night-club, radio, and TV acts. . . . Bachelor Stan recently purchased a three-story brownstone house in Manhattan and stocked it, from ceiling to floor, with his "nostalgia" hobby — collections of old-time records, movies, books and pictures — all having to do with show business. Richard Hayes didn't begin his music career at quite such an early age, but he did become a professional singer, when very young. While he was attending Boys High School in Brooklyn, the young vocalist did a fifteenminute daily radio show on a Long Island station. A stint as a featured singer with the Teddy Phillips orchestra led to his appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, and, as a result of this, he walked away with top prize and a recording contract with Mercury Records. His first disc, "The Old Master Painter," sold over a million. . . . After a two-year hitch with the Army, Richard came back to the U.S. to find that he would have to begin his career all over again. Shortly after meeting a beautiful dark-haired girl named Monique, things began looking brighter for the young singer. Since then he has not only spiraled to the top in his career, he has also found happiness with the girl who is now his wife, and their son Jonathan Andrew, not quite a year old.