Smokey Bear and Smokey Visits the Stars

1955 - 1959

Smokey Bear radio shows (1955 - 1959)
Smokey Visits the Stars and the Pioneers Sing radio shows (1958 - 1959)

The Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention Campaign is the longest-running public service campaign in the United States. In the 1940s, during the Second World War, the risk of damage from wildfires became greater as so many able-bodied people were serving in the armed forces away from their local communities. In an effort to educate the public about fire safety and reduce the number of fires started the U.S. Forest Service established the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention (CFFP) program in 1944. In 1942 Disney had released the full-length animated motion picture Bambi, and Walt Disney gave permission for his characters to appear in fire prevention campaigns and posters. Using the character Bambi showed that people responded well to an animal as a representative for the campaign. Disney only allowed use of his characters for one year, however, and so in 1944 the Forest Service created the character of Smokey Bear, who first appeared in a poster October 10 of that year.

Smokey Bear became personified (bear-ified?) in 1950, when a badly burned bear cub who had climbed a tree to survive the Capitan Gap wildfire in New Mexico was discovered and rescued by fire crews. The cub was named after the Forest Service icon, nursed back to health, and relocated to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. Smokey Bear became a celebrity, receiving so many fan letters (over 13,000 per week) that the United States Postal Service gave him his own Zip Code, still in use today.

in 1952 Steve Nelson and Jack Rolins wrote a song about Smokey. To match the lyrics to the song’s melodic rhythm the pair added “the” to the name Smokey Bear. “Smokey the Bear” was recorded by Eddy Arnold and this became the more commonly used name, although the name is still officially “Smokey Bear.”

In 1955 the State Forest Service and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture began sponsoring a series of radio programs for the CFFP. They were hosted by Billy Johnson, “your singing woodsman,” and featured the Sons of the Pioneers. The programs were a combination of song and public service messages about preventing wildfires.

In 1958 an additional show was produced, “Smokey Visits the Stars and the Sons of the Pioneers Sing.” These short shows featured the Sons of the Pioneers singing along with celebrity guests delivering fire-prevention public service messages.

1955 Series

Show No. 1
Tumbleweed Theme
Way Out There (Bob Nolan)
Up a Lazy River (Hoagy Carmichael / Sidney Arodin) - Billy Johnson
Echoes From The Hills (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 2
Timber Trail (Tim Spencer)
When Payday Rolls Around (Bob Nolan)
Old Spinning Wheel - B. J.
Blue Shadows On The Trail
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 3
Cimarron (Johnny Bond)
My Lazy Day - B. J.
Cool Water (Bob Nolan)
Blue Juniata (Marion Dix Sullivan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 4
Tumbling Tumbleweeds (Bob Nolan)
Open Range Ahead (Bob Nolan)
Sioux City Sue - B. J.
Trail Herding Cowboy (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 5
Chant Of The Plains (Bob Nolan)
Little Boy Of Mine - B. J.
Hillbilly Wedding In June
Cajon Stomp - Instrumental
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 6
Sierra Nevada
Farr Away Blues
Home In Wyoming - B. J.
Riders In The Sky
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 7
Wind (Bob Nolan)
Red River Valley - B. J.
The Mystery Of His Way (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 8
Hold That Critter Down (Bob Nolan)
Everlasting Hills Of Oklahoma
Trail Of The Lonesome Pine - B. J.
Ridin' Home (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 9
Love Song Of The Waterfall (Bob Nolan)
On Top Of Old Smokey - B. J. I Follow The Stream
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 10
Pecos Bill (Jack Scholl/M. K. Jerome)
Carry Me Back the Lone Prairie
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 11
Outlaws (Bob Nolan)
Blues In "A" - Instrumental
Chant Of The Wanderer (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 12
Song Of The Trail
Dear Hearts & Gentle People - B. J.
There's A Blue Sky Away Out Yonder
Ne-Hah-Nee (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

1956 Series

Show No. 1
Song Of The Bandit (Bob Nolan)
My Darlin' - B. J.
Trail Dreamin' (Bob Nolan)
Sky Ball Paint (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 2
Touch Of God's Hand (Bob Nolan)
Liza Jane - B. J.
The West Is In My Soul (Bob Nolan)
Cowboy Camp Meetin'
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 3
Biscuit Blues (Bob Nolan)
Little Old Sod Shanty - B. J.
Lord, You Made The Cowboy Happy (Bob Nolan)
Redwood Trees (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 4
Wagon Wheels (Billy Hill)
Dakota Land - B. J.
Ridin' Down The Canyon
Don Juan
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 5
Old Pioneer (Tim Spencer)
Old Blue - B. J.
Shine - Instrumental
You Ain't Heard Nothin' Till You Hear Him Roar (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 6
Over the Santa Fe Trail (Tim Spencer)
Gonna Shine - B. J.
Blue Prairie (Tim Spencer & Bob Nolan)
There's A Rainbow Over The Range
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 7
Round-Up In The Sky (Bob Nolan)
Hush, Little Baby - B. J.
Following The Sun All Day (Bob Nolan)
Whisp'rin’ Wind (Tim Spencer)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 8
Buffalo
Georgia Boy - B. J.
Lilies Grow High
Too High, Too Wide, Too Low (Tim Spencer)
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 9
Throw Another Log On The Fire
Illinois - B. J.
Yippi Yi Your Troubles Away (Glenn/Tim Spencer)
When You Come To The End Of The Day
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 10
Hills Of Ol' Wyoming
Roving Lumberjack - B. J.
Cody Of The Pony Express (Bob Nolan)
Trail To San Antone
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 11
The Cowpoke
Curtains Of Night - B. J.
Round-Up Time Is Over (Bob Nolan)
Graveyard Filler Of The West
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 12
Ridin' Home (Bob Nolan)
Buck-Eye Jim - B. J.
Cornflower - Instrumental
Silent Trails
Smokey The Bear Theme

Show No. 13
The Boss Is Hanging Out A Rainbow (Bob Nolan)
Smokey The Bear - B. J.
Cowboy Jubilee
The New Frontier (Tim Spencer)
Smokey The Bear Theme

1958 Series

Show No. 1
Smokey The Bear Theme
Love Song Of The Waterfall (Bob Nolan)
Buffalo
Tumbling Tumbleweeds (Bob Nolan)
Theme

Show No. 2
Smokey The Bear Theme
Touch Of God's Hand (Bob Nolan)
Chant Of The Wanderer (Bob Nolan)
Theme

Show No. 3
Smokey The Bear Theme
Ridin' Down The Canyon
Timber Trail
Song Of the Bandit (Bob Nolan)
Theme

Show No. 4
Smokey The Bear Theme
Cowboy Camp Meetin'
Blue Sky Way Out Yonder
Theme

Show No. 5
Smokey The Bear Theme
Redwood Trees (Bob Nolan)
Chant Of The Plains (Bob Nolan)
Silent Trails
Theme

Show No. 6
Smokey The Bear Theme
Froggie Went A-Courtin'
Whisp'rin’ Wind (Tim Spencer)
Theme

1959 Series

Show No. 1
Smokey The Bear Theme
Yippi Yi Your Troubles Away (Glenn/Tim Spencer)
Move On, You Lazy Cattle (Bob Nolan)
Shine On Harvest Moon (Nora Bayes / Jack Norworth)
Theme

Show No. 2
Smokey The Bear Theme
Ne-Ha-Nee (Bob Nolan)
Night Falls On The Priairie (Bob Nolan)
Saddle Up
Theme

Show No. 3
Smokey The Bear Theme
The Woodsman's Prayer - Recitation by Barbara Stanwick
Along The Navajo Trail
A Fiddle, A Rifle, An Ax & A Bible
Theme

Show No. 4
Smokey The Bear Theme
Texas Plains (Stuart Hamblen)
Stars of the West (Tim Spencer)
A Summer Night's Rain (Bob Nolan)
Theme

Show No. 5
Smokey The Bear Theme
Land Beyond The Sun
Cherokee Strip (Glenn/Tim Spencer)
Cowboy Jubilee
Theme

Show No. 6
Smokey The Bear Theme
Yippi, Yi, Yippi Yo
Down Along The Sleepy Rio Grande
Rollin' Dust
Theme

1958 Series

1. Willard Waterman
2. Bing Crosby
3. Clint Walker
4. Dinah Shore
5. Dale Robertson
6. Walter Brennan
7. Billy Gray
8. Hugh O'Brian
9. Roy Rogers
10. Barbara Stanwyck
11. Art Linkletter
12. Ward Bond
13. Broderick Crawford
14. Jon Provost
15. James Arness

(Additional information:
Sides 3 and 4 of 6. 1958. Transcription Disc TR-862
Side Three: Program 6-8.
3:1. Walter Brennan.
3:2. Billy Gray.
3.3. Hugh O'Brian.

Side Four: Program 9-10.
4:1. Roy Rogers.
4:2. Barbara Stanwyck.

Sides 5 and 6 of 6. 1958. Transcription Disc TR-863
Side Five: Program 11-13.
5:1. Art Linkletter.
5:2. Ward Bond.
5.3. Broderick Crawford.

Side Six: Program 14-15.
6:1. Jon Provost.
6:2. James Arness.)

1959 Series

1. Danny Thomas
2. Dick Powell
3. Lawrence Welk
4. Michael Ansara
5. Robert Cummings
6. Tennessee Ernie Ford
7. Barbara Stanwyck
8. George Burns
9. Richard Boone
10. Jack Benny
11. Jack Webb
12. Ronald Reagan
13. Raymond Burr
14. Andy Devine
15. Red Skelton
16. George Montgomery
17. James Garner
18. Ozzie Nelson