Top of page

Category: Recorded Sound

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

The Mystery Chef

Posted by: Karen Fishman

This blog post was written by Matt Barton, curator of the Recorded Sound Section. When The Mystery Chef and his eponymous radio program first appeared on NBC’s Boston affiliate WBZ in May of 1930, they were an almost immediate hit, and were soon being heard nationally over the network. The Great Depression was hitting hard …

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

Margaret Rupli, NBC War Correspondent

Posted by: Karen Fishman

This blog post was written by Matt Barton, curator of the Recorded Sound Section. Margaret Rupli (also known as Margaret Rupli Woodward, 1910 – 2012), a native of Washington, DC, had a long and distinguished career in public service. Her career as a war correspondent for NBC radio was much shorter, lasting only from January …

Arch Oboler and His Bathyspheres

Posted by: Matthew Barton

  “Arch Oboler, a restlessly intelligent man…utilized two of radio’s great strengths: the first in the mind’s innate obedience, its willingness to try to see whatever someone suggests it see, no matter how absurd: the second is the fact that fear and horror are blinding emotions that knock our adult pins from beneath us and …

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

The Women Who Founded an Industry

Posted by: Bryan Cornell

With the end of Women’s History Month approaching, the Library’s Recorded Sound Section would be remiss if we failed to mention the remarkable accomplishments of Barbara (Cohen) Holdridge and Marianne (Roney) Mantell, founders of Caedmon Records.   These two Hunter College graduates with degrees in Greek wanted careers in publishing, but weren’t particularly excited about …

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

All Going Out and Nothing Coming In

Posted by: Karen Fishman

Today’s post is by David Sager, Research Assistant in the Recorded Sound Research Center. In observance of Black History Month, we’re highlighting a little known song by the great Bert Williams, found in the Library’s National Jukebox. Although opportunities for African American performers during the early days of the recording industry were scant, they certainly …

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

Jimmy Dorsey and NBC Bandstand

Posted by: Karen Fishman

This post was written by Matt Barton, curator of the Recorded Sound Section. The Big Band era and the Golden Age of Old Time Radio were long past in the summer of 1956, when NBC Bandstand hit the airwaves. Live performances by the great dance orchestras had been a staple of network radio in the 1930s …

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

James Farley and Early Radio Recordings

Posted by: Karen Fishman

Today’s post is by Harrison Behl, Reference Librarian at the Recorded Sound Research Center. Shortly after the formation of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division in 1978, one of our first reference librarians, James Smart, compiled a listing of the radio broadcast recordings the Library had acquired to that point. Covering the years …