This blog post is by David Sager, Research Assistant in the Recorded Sound Research Center. This post celebrates the Centennial of the signing of the Armistice and makes use of recordings in the Library of Congress’s National Jukebox and images found in the Library’s Recorded Sound Research Center. These mementos are a stirring reminder of the […]
Today’s post is by David Sager, Research Assistant in the Recorded Sound Research Center This blog relies on recordings from the Library of Congress’s National Jukebox, a resource with over 10,000 early recordings which is well worth exploring. You can also hear thousands more rare recordings, including radio broadcasts from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s […]
Today’s guest post was written by David Sager, Reference Assistant in the Recorded Sound Section, Library of Congress. In recognition of the harvest moon today, this blog entry is dedicated to one of the most popular and enduring songs of the early 20th century and a lamented lost recording of that era. Back during the […]
Today’s post is by Cary O’Dell, Boards Assistant to the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. Twenty-five new titles were selected by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden for induction to the National Recording Registry. The 25 new sound recordings have been recognized for their cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society […]
Today’s post is by David Sager, Reference Assistant in the Recorded Sound Section, Library of Congress. A momentous happening occurred on February 26, 1917 at the Victor Talking Machine Company, although no one quite suspected so at the time. Among the artists to be recorded that day—consisting of operatic baritone Reinald Werrenrath and tenor Lambert […]
The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson, an Administrative Assistant at the Packard Campus. Friday, September 9 (7:30 p.m.)—SOLD OUT!!! The Malpass Brothers Live in Concert Christopher and Taylor Malpass’s smooth vocal blend and skillful musicianship layer infectiously into the deep respect they pay to legends who have paved the way. The Malpass […]
The following is a guest post by Audio Preservation Specialist Brad McCoy. Collections tend to take pride of place in any discussion of moving images and sound recordings at the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation. It’s understandable — we like talking about the more than 5 million items in our collective care. But we’re […]
Today’s entry is a guest post by Jan McKee, Reference Librarian, Recorded Sound Research Center. I have always wondered about the Edison tone tests. Is it really possible that an audience could not tell the difference between an Edison Diamond Disc being played on a phonograph and the live performer singing while standing next to […]
Folklorist Norm Cohen has astutely observed that “[f]olklore thrives where danger threatens” (The Long Steel Rail, cited below, p. 169). The annals of commercially recorded traditional and popular song provide abundant support for this conclusion. In fact, by the early twentieth century — especially the decades of the teens and twenties — nearly every imaginable disaster or mishap was memorialized in song. Natural disasters are […]
This blog post was co-written with Jan McKee, Reference Librarian, Recorded Sound Section, Library of Congress It wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day without some sentimental Irish ballads to listen to with our green beer, and the name that is most synonymous with Irish ballads is John McCormack. John McCormack (1884-1945) was an Irish born American […]