The Hays County Historical Commission will screen its newest documentary, Vox Pop: The Story of Parks Johnson, at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, at the Old Kyle City Hall, 101 Burleson Street in Kyle. The public is invited to the event, which will be free of charge. (Courtesy photo)
Parks Johnson pioneered the man-on-the-street and audience-participation style of radio programming that became so popular across the nation in the 1930s. Johnson began his VOX POP (which means “voice of the people”) at Houston’s KTRH radio station in 1932. Three years later, the program was picked up by the national NBC radio network, taking the Johnsons to New York City.
Using early recordings of the show as well as photographs, the documentary traces the history of VOX POP, including some original recordings of the program. Nine interviews were completed around the country with people associated with the show or with early radio; four of the interviews took place at the Library of American Broadcasting in Maryland. Excerpts from a rescued 1958 interview with Parks and his wife Louise is also featured in the program.
After his success in radio, Johnson moved to Wimberley where he and his wife Louise spent the next 20 years working with the Wimberley community. Their son, Bill Johnson, and his wife, M.F., still reside at the family’s Sabino Ranch; Bill is among those who were interviewed for the documentary.
Directed by Richard Kidd, the film was produced by HCHC chairperson Kate Johnson, who said she was first drawn to the project because she was fascinated by Bill Johnson’s treasure chest of his father’s memorabilia. Bill has many of his father’s recordings, clippings, notebooks and photos, along with his own memories of growing up in New York during the Vox Pop days.
In addition to using the information Bill Johnson provided, Kidd and Kate Johnson conducted research for the documentary at the Library of American Broadcasting at the University of Maryland, which houses more than 200 LP recordings of Vox Pop and serves as its historian. They also traveled to Vermont, where they interviewed family friend and former Wimberley resident, Louise Denham.
DVD copies of the program will be available for purchase at the screening, and refreshments will also be provided.
