Amos 'n' Andy Illustrated

Images of the Characters, their Creators, and their World



The introduction of the "chainless chain" by Correll and Gosden in 1928 marked a revolutionary step in the distribution of radio programming -- making "Amos 'n' Andy" the first pre-recorded, nationally-distributed series in the history of American broadcasting, and laying the foundation for the broadcast syndication industry. Until May of 1929, the transcriptions were made by Chicago-based Marsh Laboratories -- a pioneer in the use of electrical recording techniques  -- with two 12" 78rpm sides required for each episode. The chainless chain began in March of 1928 with 38 subscribing stations, and by the summer of 1929, nearly 75 stations were carrying the recordings. The discs were to be returned to the Chicago Daily News Syndicate after a single broadcast, where they were destroyed to prevent unauthorized reuse. Of the 438 episodes recorded for syndication during the program's first eighteen months, less than fifty are currently known to survive. The specimen shown is one of several sold at auction in 2001 by Nauck's Vintage Records of Spring, Texas.

While "Amos 'n' Andy" was broadcast on a sustaining basis in Chicago, several chainless-chain stations sold the show to local sponsors. In Northern California, the program became a smash hit over station KFRC under the sponsorship of the Shell Company of California, which gave away these promotional stickers in early 1929 to coincide with the introduction of its new "Shell 400" brand of gasoline. Correll and Gosden developed a close friendship with KFRC station manager Harrison Holliway, and in April 1929, the performers introduced Holliway into the series itself -- electing "Brother Harrison Holliway" to the office of Mackerel in the Chicago lodge of the Mystic Knights of the Sea. A decade later, Holliway's connection to "Amos 'n' Andy" would surface on a more personal level -- as he married actress Madaline Lee, best known for her late-1930's role as Andy's dizzy secretary Genevieve Blue.



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