The Kraft Music Hall had its beginnings as The Kraft Program (aka The Kraft-Phenix Program and The Paul Whiteman Revue) on June 26, 1933. The two hour weekly series was first heard only in New York City over station WEAF, but before year's end it was reduced to one hour and aired over the NBC Red network sponsored by cheese and salad dressing products of The Kraft-Phenix Corporation (later known as The Kraft Foods Company, and more recently as Krafico). The initial programs starred Paul Whiteman and his orchestra; Deems Taylor as host, and Al Jolson, who provided both songs and a dialog partner for Taylor. Other regulars on these shows included Jack Fulton, Peggy Healy, Helen Jepson,

The King's Men, Ramona, The Rhythm Boys, and The Vass Family. The announcers were Ford Bond, Roger Krupp, and Don Wilson. Al Jolson left the Music Hall in 1934, and a short time later comedian Lou Holtz came aboard to fill the void created by Jolson's departure.

Bing Crosby (who had been a singer with The Rhythm Boys) was made a regular cast member on December 5, 1935; Whiteman left on December 26, 1935 to begin a new radio series; and Crosby took over as the singing host of the new Kraft Music Hall.

On January 2, 1936 this newly revamped show moved its base of operations to the NBC studios in Hollywood and the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra replaced Whiteman for the 1936-37 season. After that, John Scott Trotter took over as orchestra leader and remained until 1946. The Crosby era of The Kraft Music Hall saw almost every notable radio and screen personality appear before the Kraft microphone as a guest star one or more times. Others who were considered regular or semi-regular members of the cast included Eugenie Baird, Victor Borge, Connee Boswell, Bob Burns, The Chari-oteers, Jerry Colonna, Trudy Erwin, Pat Friday, Judy Garland, Charles Henderson's Choral Group, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peggy Lee, Jerry Lester, Mary Martin, Frank Morgan, George Murphy, The Music Maids, Lina Romay, Grete Stueckgold, The Paul Taylor Chorus, Charlie and Jack Teagarden and Joe Venuti with many of the above subbing for Bing during his annual summer hiatus. Ken Carpenter, Ed Herlihy, and Joe Parker handled the announcing chores.

On January 7, 1943 The Kraft Music Hall was cut to a weekly half hour show; this revision was in keeping with a trend towards shorter programs. In late 1944 Crosby demanded, and got, a change in the Hall's format which eliminated everything non-musical; from that time on, all guests were either singers or musicians. This turn of events met with disapproval by the critics and a loss in the Hooper Ratings, which plummeted from a 25.8 to a 17.5. Crosby's displeasure with the show continued into 1945. Near the end of the year he abandoned the series, but returned on February 7, 1946 in order to avoid a breach of contract law suit filed by Kraft. However, his tenure as head of the Hall came to an end thirteen weeks later on May 2, 1946, largely due to a dispute between Kraft and Crosby over the latter's demand for a pre-recorded show with no studio audience. There then followed a parade of guest hosts which included such personalities as Eddie Duchin, Eddie Foy, Hank Ladd, and Everett Horton until Al Jolson returned to permanently take over that post on October 2, 1947. Joining Al on yet another new Kraft Music Hall was pianist and humorist Oscar Levant, Lou Bring's orchestra, vocalist Milena Miller, and announcer Ken Carpenter. The series returned to a variety show format, and with it, a rise in the Hooper ratings; hitting a high of 21.4.

By the start of 1949 the all important ratings were again on a downslide and on May 26, 1949 The Kraft Music Hall left the air, but The Summer Music Hall continued until fall. Nelson Eddy and Dorothy Kirsten co-hosted the last gasp effort and Robert Armbruster led the orchestra.