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Farewell to My Music and My Word

Janos Gereben on September 17, 2013
An old quiz show that lived on... until now
An old quiz show that lived on... until now

For three decades, San Francisco's KALW-FM has carried My Word and My Music, two wonderful BBC programs every Friday night — a habit-forming time slot.

Alas, as of the end of this month, the BBC is ending U.S. distribution of the two shows, but KALW has a special feature for the fans: interviews by the late Alan Farley — who oversaw the local broadcasts lovingly for many years — with some of the show's regulars: Dennis Norden, Ian Wallace, Anne-Scott James, and John Amis.

A comment on the site referring to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation staying with the programs gives a link which doesn't work, nor does a search on the ABC site produce results.

U.S. distributor WFMT has a note, which if still in effect, indicates that rebroadcasting shows is something very doable, although apparently it will all come to an end in a couple of weeks:

Some stations pair the two series; others broadcast separately. These programs cost $15.75 each, weekly. However, stations carrying both series may benefit from the one hour ($21) rate, i.e. a $10.50 discount if you broadcast both.

John Abbott writes from London:

I'm not sure people realize how old the shows are. My Music started in 1967 and ended in 1994. John Amis died just last month, Denis Norden is now in his 90s. The shows are rarely heard here anymore, even on the Radio 4 Extra channel which specializes in reruns.