Harry and Smiles performed in local productions, including the Richmond Civic Minstrel Shows in May 1933 and July 1934.  Many offers came to him from Hollywood and elsewhere, but Harry was happy being at home in Indiana.  Later that year, he resumed his popular Barbasol program, but only because the company arranged to have him broadcast it live from Cincinnati.  It was an easy, once weekly commute that allowed him to live in Richmond.  He stayed with Barbasol for a total of seven years.

From 1937 to 1942, Harry appeared for Coca-Cola, but not on a nationwide, live broadcast.  Hundreds of small radio stations, which were not linked to the national networks, used transcriptions for their programming.  Transcriptions were programs recorded onto 16-inch discs, which were then distributed to these small stations and transmitted to the public by local announcers.  Because this show, Refreshment Time with Singin’ Sam, was a 15 minute, 5 day a week commitment, the transcription format suited him very well.  Every other week Harry flew to New York, and in two days he recorded 10 shows, which left him 12 days to live his rural life in Richmond.

By now it was a bit less rural, though, because he had built a large house on a farm closer to town.  This house, located on Henley Road and called Trouper Hill, was fashioned after the house in which he lived as a youngster in Kentucky. 

Late Career

In 1942 the head of the American Federation of Musicians, James C. Petrillo, banned the use of transcriptions, insisting that all radio shows be performed live.  Harry refused to move to New York, so he severed his agreement with Coca-Cola.  For a brief time during the war, he appeared again for Barbasol, this time broadcasting from Indianapolis.

In 1945 after the musicians' strike was settled, Harry formed Transcription Sales Company and produced his own series of 260 fifteen-minute programs that could be syndicated indefinitely.  Appropriately titled Reminiscin’ with Singin’ Sam, it followed the familiar pattern of four songs ranging from Stephen Foster classics to Tin Pan Alley hits and often including one song of more contemporary release. 

He planned to retire and move to Sarasota, Florida, where he and Smiles already spent a great deal of time.  In 1948, while visiting Richmond he suffered a heart attack, and on June 12 he died.  His grave in Earlham Cemetery in Richmond is marked with a large stone engraved with his on-air greeting, “Howdy folks.  This is your old friend Singin’ Sam”

Harry Frankel was an unpretentious man of simple tastes who enjoyed golf, hunting, fishing, woodworking, and farming.  He had the talent and opportunity to become a major star in New York or Hollywood, but he preferred living in this small town in Indiana to the fast pace and false people of the entertainment capitals.