2003 SEPTEMBER 20 #263
Big Jon Arthur and the "No School Today" Cast - Cincinnati Dancing Pig
Big Jon and Sparkie" was the name of a radio show in the 1950's.
The title characters were the co-hosts of the show broadcast on Saturday morning network radio about 8:00am. The show began the same every week with the Jon shouting proudly, "No School Today".It was the model for the "Howdy Doody Show" which would dominate Saturday morning television only a few years after "Big Jon and Sparkie". It was mainly an entertainment show, but it also attempted to teach some basic information as well. That was a very radical concept for that time 20 years before Sesame Street.
Sparkie was actually the sped up recorded voice of Jon Arthur. A technique exploited by Dave Seville a few years later with his hit records of "Alvin and the Chipmunks".
- Tod Smith
TT-1:52 / 1.7MB / 128kbps 24khz
Vocalion Records VL 3714
(Image courtesy of The TOD)