Pete Smythe (1911–2000) was the Denver radio host behind the make-believe mountain town of East Tincup and its folksy general store, one of the best-loved shows in Colorado broadcasting history.
Bandleader to broadcaster
Born in Glenrock, Wyoming, Smythe started out as a saxophone and clarinet player. In the 1930s he led a dance band and then the Pete Smythe Orchestra, and he spent 1935–36 in Hollywood with the Orville Knapp Orchestra.
Denver radio
He landed in Denver radio in 1941 at KMYR with Meet the Boys in the Band. In 1945 he moved to KLZ, working in sales and as program director. He started his General Store show at KTLN, then took it to KOA in 1951 as Smythe’s General Store, broadcasting from the imaginary town of East Tincup, with Smythe playing its storekeeper and its characters.
He semi-retired in 1969 and died at 88. The Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado inducted him into their Hall of Fame in its first class, in 1998.
Sources
Stations They Worked At
FROM THE TIMELINE
Career Moments
1941: Pete Smythe starts in Denver radio on KMYR
1941 — Bandleader Pete Smythe began his Denver radio career on KMYR with Meet the Boys in the Band.
1945: Pete Smythe joins KLZ
1945 — Pete Smythe moved to KLZ, working in sales and as program director.
1951: Smythe’s General Store opens on KOA
1951 — Pete Smythe brought the General Store show he’d started at KTLN to KOA as Smythe’s General Store, set in the make-believe mountain town of East Tincup. It became one of the best-loved shows in Colorado radio, and Smythe kept at it until he semi-retired in 1969.
KEEP EXPLORING
Go further down the dial
HELP IMPROVE THE ARCHIVE
See something that needs a correction?
Suggest a correction or add information to this person. Nothing changes publicly until it is reviewed.