The Guitar: Gunsmoke (March 2, 1958)

“The Guitar” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 2, 1958. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A wandering drifter named Pendle arrives in Dodge City with nothing but his guitar and his mule. When two troublemakers named Short and Tyler attempt to hang him as revenge for his service in the Union Army during the Civil War, Marshal Dillon intervenes. Dillon arranges for Pendle to work at the Long Branch Saloon, where his presence begins to stir up tension with the violent pair.

Dodge City, Kansas - the Long Branch Saloon and surrounding streets

Characters: Marshal Matt Dillon, Chester, Pendle, Short, Tyler, Sam, Miss Dun

Listen for: Pendle's mysterious past as a Union Army soldier and his reluctance to play his guitar for others; the escalating conflict between Pendle and the vengeful Short and Tyler

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.