Since 1938 was a Mid-Term election year, President Roosevelt embarked on a 28 day tour of the U.S., bringing his message of the accomplishments of his second term and a few words about The New Deal and the Recovery taking place in the country. The NRA had undergone a challenge in the Supreme Court and many of the programs initiated during FDR's first term were in jeopardy. So in an effort to bolster support and to campaign for incumbents, FDR did a series of whistle-stop appearances.

This one, on July 7, 1938 was from an appearance in Covington, Kentucky and was broadcast nationwide to a capacity audience.

Here is the complete address.

Despite the breathless news a day earlier, and the quick admonition that it wasn't really official, the news finally broke 24 hours later that yes, in fact that Germans had surrendered and the War in Europe was really-really over.

So news of this May 8th in 1945 was given completely over to reports and reactions - speeches and proclamations and reminders there was still a war in the Pacific going on. So as much as there was cause for celebration, it was not as riotous as would be imagined.

Here is a 1 hour extraction from that day - from roughly 11:00 am - 12:00noon Eastern War Time, as reported on CBS Radio, anchored by Robert Trout with reports from correspondents throughout the European front. Also included are some addresses, including one by General Patton, one of his rare public speeches.

All this on May 8th 1945.

Another set of BBC sessions tonight - this time from The Who. It's part of a 2-CD set issued some time back by Universal, so I don't imagine there is anything any of the Who fans won't already have.

But if you haven't, here are five tracks covering the period 1965-1967. All great stuff.

Here's the breakdown:

1. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (session of May 24, 1965)
2. Substitute - (session of March 15, 1966)
3, Disguises - (session of September 13, 1966)
4. I'm A Boy - (session of September 13, 1966)
5. I Can See For Miles (session of October 10, 1967)

Crank it up and get ready for the week.

News on this May 7th in 1945 was confusing at best. In what began at 9:45 EWT (Eastern War Time) on Monday May 7th as flashed bulletins that Germany had unconditionally surrendered sent a wave of excitement throughout Europe and the U.S., was reversed less than an hour later with reports from Allied Headquarters that no "Official" surrender announcement had been made. And there would be no more news regarding the surrender until further notice (which turned out to be the next day).

The culprit, it was later learned, was someone at Associated Press who had witnessed the surrender signing, got the scoop on the rest of the world and, as you would say if it happened today, the whole thing went viral.

This broadcast, part of those first few hours of May 7th 1945, starts at 11:00 am in New York. Roughly twenty minutes in comes (during a Jimmy Fidler's Hollywood Program) a bulletin cautioning people getting ready to celebrate that it wasn't quite a done-deal yet and the brakes were quickly put on declaring it VE Day.

Listening back to this broadcast, it's clear something was potentially amiss, as there was no word from The White House regarding the surrender and there was a wait for confirmation from Supreme Allied Headquarters which, as it came to pass, hadn't come yet.

But everyone was still excited, and this half-hour glimpse into that May 7th from 1945, via WOR in New York, gives some indication.

Back over to the French Radio Transcriptions this week for a performance from the 1949 Besancon Festival featuring legendary Belgian conductor Andrè Cluytens leading an orchestra he was closely associated with for most of his professional career, Orchestre de la Sociètè des Concerts du Conservatoire, or Paris Conservatory for the shortened version, or simply PCO for collectors.

A wonderful orchestra with a rich, distinctive (some call it heady and pungent) sound, Cluytens made some memorable recordings with this organization, many which are still in print via CD reissue.

This weekend it's a performance of Paul Dukas La Peri, a work he has recorded commercially with this orchestra, but this live performance, I don't think, has seen the light of day.

So with probability, you may be getting to hear it here first.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Jumping back over to Basin Street in New York City, from a broadcast aired over CBS Radio on April 16, 1956. Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra with vocals by Dan Grissom.

Need I say more?

I didn't think so . . . .

The controversy surrounding the Pentagon Papers, and their release to the public was unprecedented in history. Putting it in contemporary perspective, it most closely rivaled that of Wikileaks and the release of sensitive and potentially embarrassing government documents to the public.

The Pentagon Papers basically exposed (or confirmed) a vast series of coverups, deceits and falsehoods during the Vietnam War. The papers were damning to our Foreign Policy, our Military complex and the White House.

Key to the release of those papers was a former Pentagon Official, Daniel Ellsberg, who presented them to The New York Times, where excerpts were published. The resulting storm brought under fire and repercussions, not only Ellsberg and The New York Times, but the whole question of censorship and National Security and the Public's right to know, especially where it concerned the lives of so many of its citizens.

In the end, The Supreme Court sided with Ellsberg and The New York Times. and this broadcast, aired shortly after the decision was given, attempts to cover those bases.

Here is the special program, originally aired on June 30, 1971 from NBC News "The Supreme Court And The Pentagon Papers"

Recovering from last weeks high-voltage Mott The Hoople Concert from 1974, here is something a bit more laid-back. Little Feat, a live concert from Ultrasonic Studios, recorded on September 19, 1974.

If you listen to both concerts back to back (this one and Mott), you'll get some idea of just how diverse the playing field was, even in the 1970's. And, with most fans at the time, had both Little Feat and Mott The Hoople albums in their collections. Musical taste was pretty broad back then and radio wasn't nearly as restricted in what it played. Even though the writing was on the wall for radio even in the early 70's, it was still possible to get a wide range of music to sample and form opinions on.

Little Feat were one of the very popular bands in concert in the 70's. Even though they weren't considered a "hit-making" operation, they recorded a lot of memorable material and they had a strong popularity with what was, at the time, referred to as the FM Underground audience. With several changes in personnel and some direction shifts, they're still together and still recording and touring. They've carried on the legacy of one of America's premier eclectic bands and it's good to know they're still very much with us.

But for now, here they are in 1974, at their early high point. If you haven't heard them before, now's a good time to check them out.

This first week in May of 1954 saw the beginning of the infamous Army-McCarthy Hearings regarding Communist infiltrators within the Military. This broadcast, from May 5th, wraps up the days proceedings from May 4th, which was Day Nine in the seemingly never-ending hearings.

This was one of the first gavel-to-gavel live Senate hearings to be broadcast on radio and television. The first was the legendary Kefauver Crime Committee Hearings, and the audience for those hearings went through the roof.

Likewise with the Army-McCarthy Hearings, some four years later. These hearings were epitomized by the now-famous showdown between Chief Counsel Welsh and Sen. Joe McCarthy several weeks later that ended in the quote "Have you no shame, Senator?".

These days, with C-Span, we take hearings like this for granted. But in 1954 it was a first glimpse for many into the inner-workings of Capitol Hill.

So here is Day 9 as reported by George Herman and Griffing Bancroft of CBS Radio with excerpts from the days proceedings (for those who missed it live).

Since our sister site Late Night Music Club ran a taste of French Psych last night, I thought I would chime in and add to the mayhem with a contribution from Swiss Yè-Yè sensation Arlette Zola and an introductory excursion she made into the realm of mind-melting Psychedelia with her 1967 single Mathèmathiques Èlèmentaires.

Needless to say, this genre of French Pop was hugely popular throughout Europe in the 60's and some of it did make it to our shores via the inimitable Francoise Hardy. But Hardy was just one of a veritable tidal wave of young French Women singers who hit the studios and turned pop on its ear but sadly, we got to hear very little of it at the time.

Lucky for everyone that's changed and you get it to hear what you missed the first time around - just as if you never heard it before.

You can never say you've heard it all - but you can try. Starting with Arlette Zola.