Pete Kelley Blues (1951) arrived on radio almost two years after Jack Webb reached stardom in Dragnet. All the Webb trademarks were here: the quips, the snappy comebacks, the short-tempered realism. Much of the show's appeal was in the music: Webb was a lifelong fan of hot jazz. This is one of Webb's best shows and the basis of his 1955 film of the same name. NBC SUSTAINING Wednesdays 8:00 - 8:30 pm STARS: Jack Webb ANNOUNCER: George Fenneman CREATER: Richard Breen WRITERS: James Moser, Jo Eisnger THE BAND: Dick Cathcart (cornet); Marty Matlock (clarinet); Elmer Schneider (trombone); Ray Schneider (piano); Bill Newman (guitar); Marty Carb (bass); Nick Fatool (drums)
Write a review Downloaded 2,321 timesReviews Average Rating:
Reviewer:HTimes - - November 24, 2008 Subject: The best of the best I'm a tad in the wrong age bracket to be a fan of OTR, having been born long after these shows stopped airing. But through the magic of the Internet, I became acquainted with them. Started downloading, then buying compilation CDs, and haven't looked back since.
In the over ten years I've been listening and collecting OTR, I've assembled some favorites, typically the usual suspects THE SHADOW, LIGHTS OUT, MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER etc.
But I think right at the top would have to be PETE KELLEY'S BLUES.
Jack Webb starred and crafted several masterpieces for radio. Among them the acclaimed DRAGNET. But the hardboiled radio show PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE was Jack Webb at his finest, where his rapid fire delivery was born. And PETE KELLEY'S BLUES took everything that worked about the noir-soaked, hyperbole filled PAT NOVAK (including the same cast), put it to a blues-tinged jazz riff... and made poetry out of it.
Unfortunately only six episodes are known to exist. Fortunately at least six episodes exist.
![[help]](/images/question.gif "[help]")
)![[5.0 out of 5 stars]](/images/star.png "[5.0 out of 5 stars]")