{"id":54364,"date":"2022-10-18T06:52:55","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T10:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=54364"},"modified":"2022-10-18T06:52:55","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T10:52:55","slug":"seeking-recordings-of-voa-broadcaster-billy-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/seeking-recordings-of-voa-broadcaster-billy-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeking recordings of VOA broadcaster Billy Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I received the following inquiry from Neal Lavon via the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive<\/a> contact form. Check out Neal’s request below and if you have any information or leads that might help him, please comment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neal writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am working on a project about a Voice of America broadcaster from 1952-54 named Billy Brown. He was a 16 year-old kid who launched a Pen Pals club by speaking on a Voice of America broadcast to the Near East, particularly Pakistan.<\/p>\n

The announcements were so successful they generated hundreds of responses and led to him getting a 15-minute weekly radio program on VOA in English that was later translated into Urdu. The programs were broadcast on Friday nights at 1530 GMT on 17750, 16.90; 15130, 19.30. The relay were TAN 17780 16.87 15230 19.70, and Colombo 15120 19.84. At least, I think those are the frequencies; it comes as close as I can get it.<\/p>\n

So far, I have not been able to find any surviving tapes of this broadcast at the National Archives or the Library of Congress. The family does not have any tapes. So I am wondering, hope against hope, if somehow, somewhere, someone in the region or someone else might have a copy of this. I would greatly appreciate it.<\/p>\n

Neal Lavon, Takoma Park, Maryland, former VOA Staffer.<\/p>\n

This would have been in the very<\/em> early days of home recording so I imagine it might be difficult to find audio from Billy Brown’s broadcasts. If you have any leads, please comment.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I received the following inquiry from Neal Lavon via the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contact form. Check out Neal’s request below and if you have any information or leads that might help him, please comment. Neal writes: I am working on a project about a Voice of America broadcaster from 1952-54 named Billy Brown. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,305,288,746],"tags":[9983,1957,10,182],"class_list":["post-54364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-recordings","tag-billy-brown","tag-the-shortwave-radio-audio-archive","tag-voa","tag-voice-of-america"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-e8Q","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8795,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/shortwave-radio-recordings-voice-of-america-circa-1968\/","url_meta":{"origin":54364,"position":0},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Voice of America, circa 1968","author":"Thomas","date":"February 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to David Firth, who is kindly sharing shortwave radio recordings he made on reel-to-reel recording equipment in the late 1960s. Firth is uncovering and digitizing these off air recordings as time allows and, thanks to his generosity, we will be posting these recordings on the Shortwave Radio Audio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willis Conover, The Voice of America (Source: Wikimedia Commons)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/614px-Willis_Conover_1969.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/614px-Willis_Conover_1969.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/614px-Willis_Conover_1969.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14836,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/shortwave-radio-recordings-voa-on-the-10th-anniversary-of-apollo-11-moon-landing\/","url_meta":{"origin":54364,"position":1},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: VOA on the 10th anniversary of Apollo 11 moon landing","author":"Thomas","date":"September 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post and SRAA contributor, Tom\u00a0Laskowski,\u00a0who shares this recording of the Voice of America; recorded on July 20, 1979 at 0500 UTC on the 31 meter band. Tom notes: \"The first 4:30 is from a VOA newscast that aired before the main part of the program. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Apollo_11_lunar_module-001","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Apollo_11_lunar_module-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Apollo_11_lunar_module-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Apollo_11_lunar_module-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38581,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/from-the-shortwave-radio-audio-archive-voa-on-the-10th-anniversary-of-moon-landing\/","url_meta":{"origin":54364,"position":2},"title":"From the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive: VOA and BBC on the anniversary of moon landing","author":"Thomas","date":"July 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"There are a hundreds of fascinating off-air radio recordings in our Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. One of our frequent contributors, Tom Laskowski, has digitally converted numerous magnetic tape recordings from his personal collection to share with the archive. Tom made the following recording of the Voice of America on July\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/800px-Apollo_11_Lunar_Module_Eagle_in_landing_configuration_in_lunar_orbit_from_the_Command_and_Service_Module_Columbia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/800px-Apollo_11_Lunar_Module_Eagle_in_landing_configuration_in_lunar_orbit_from_the_Command_and_Service_Module_Columbia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/800px-Apollo_11_Lunar_Module_Eagle_in_landing_configuration_in_lunar_orbit_from_the_Command_and_Service_Module_Columbia.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/800px-Apollo_11_Lunar_Module_Eagle_in_landing_configuration_in_lunar_orbit_from_the_Command_and_Service_Module_Columbia.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11996,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/seeking-a-recording-of-the-voa-greece-station-id\/","url_meta":{"origin":54364,"position":3},"title":"Seeking a recording of the VOA Greece Station ID","author":"Thomas","date":"January 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My friend, Gary Wise (W8EEY), recently wrote with an inquiry; I'm hoping an SWLing Post reader can help... Gary writes: \"As you might know I was the Station Manager of the VOA Greece Transmitting Station when it closed down in 2006. I\u2019ve been contacted by one of the Greek employees.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"GreeceMap","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/GreeceMap.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/GreeceMap.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/GreeceMap.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14591,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/the-unt-willis-conover-archive-is-now-online\/","url_meta":{"origin":54364,"position":4},"title":"The UNT Willis Conover Archive is now online","author":"Thomas","date":"September 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Regular\u00a0SWLing Post readers know that I\u2019m a huge fan of the late\u00a0Willis Conover. I just learned, via the Arts Journal blog, about an amazing collection of Conover\u00a0audio archives that are now being shared online: \"The music program at the University of North Texas has graduated hundreds of jazz artists who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willis Conover, The Voice of America (Source: Wikimedia Commons)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/614px-Willis_Conover_1969.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/614px-Willis_Conover_1969.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/614px-Willis_Conover_1969.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48687,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/a-shortwave-audio-archive-tribute-to-apollo-11-astronaut-michael-collins\/","url_meta":{"origin":54364,"position":5},"title":"A shortwave audio archive tribute to Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins","author":"Thomas","date":"April 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Today we learned that Michael Collins, the American astronaut who flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the moon, has passed away at the age of 90. For those of us who've always looked to the sky and dreamed of exploring our amazing universe, Michael Collins was a hero.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/E0E7h6bXIAQ-Vas-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/E0E7h6bXIAQ-Vas-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/E0E7h6bXIAQ-Vas-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/E0E7h6bXIAQ-Vas-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54364"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54365,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54364\/revisions\/54365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}