The Rochester show

[BT]

Those uncirculated tapes are a great find! Laura (or anyone else that's heard them) can you say a bit about this Rochester spin-off show? What's it like? Do you know anything about the history of it?

[LLeff]

Those uncirculated tapes are a great find! Laura (or anyone else that's heard them) can you say a bit about this Rochester spin-off show? What's it like? Do you know anything about the history of it?

What I know is pretty much limited to the shows themselves. I'm a little torn about revealing all about them vs. saying "Just get them and hear them." But listening to them made me think about how I would have structured a Rochester spin-off. I'd say they're sort of a cross between "Amos n Andy" and "I Love Lucy". Multiple storylines about trying to make fast cash and goofy schemes. Jack is mentioned liberally, but never appears in them. Rochester is much more independent of his boss than one generally considers his character in the Benny show. If you love Rochester, I highly recommend getting these shows to hear him in a different setting.

[Munango-Keewati]

Can we look forward to any more uncirculated shows in the near future?

Any chance of making these available in mp3 format as well?

[LLeff]

Can we look forward to any more uncirculated shows in the near future?

Possibly...you never can predict these things, you know.

Any chance of making these available in mp3 format as well?

I have chosen not to do that for a few reasons:

1) Too many people are already selling pirated Benny discs on Ebay. Supplying this material in mp3 means that it can be easily copied onto those discs and become just more fodder for illegal dealers.

2) If anyone wants it in mp3, they can do the conversion themselves.

3) I've had a lot of requests for shows in regular CD format, as many people have CD players in their cars that can't handle mp3 format. So I think this is a nice opportunity to provide material that a lot of people will be able to take on the road.

[Brad from Georgia]

I've obtained the shows from the IJBFC, and they are quite funny...of course, you have to bear in mind that America at mid-twentieth century was much more tolerant of a certain kind of ethnic humor than it is today. Still, Eddie Anderson transcends stereotypes--a talented performer and a comedian whose sense of timing may have been second only to Jack Benny's.