This blog post was co-written with Jan McKee, Reference Librarian, Recorded Sound Section, Library of Congress. This year, after Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family, why not burn off some of those calories and thwart those tryptophans by dancing the Turkey Trot instead of sleeping on the living room sofa? This vigorous dance was developed […]
The following post is by David Sager, Processing Technician in the Recorded Sound Section, Library of Congress. This post is in commemoration of the 84th anniversary of Buddy Bolden’s death and the never-ending discussion of his legendary lost cylinder recording. Charles “Buddy” Bolden, 1877-1931, often referred to as the “first man of jazz,” holds an […]
What follows is a guest post by Carla Arton and Harrison Behl, processing technicians in the Recorded Sound Section, Library of Congress In May 2013, the staff-led Packard Campus Institute (PCI) hosted a presentation on the National Jukebox by Gene DeAnna, Head of the Recorded Sound Section at the Library of Congress. In his presentation, Gene showcases […]
This is a guest post by Janet McKee, Recorded Sound Reference Librarian in the Library’s Recorded Sound Section. Repeatedly over the years a recording purporting to be the voice of Walt Whitman has surfaced. Sadly, it has long been the opinion of the reference staff at the Library of Congress that the recording, like […]
Earlier this month we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Francis Scott Key’s writing the “The Star Spangled Banner” in 1814. For much of our nation’s history since then, “The Star Spangled Banner” was not officially designated as the national anthem, but shared its position with a handful of other popular patriotic songs. In fact, as reported […]
Kachank? That’s the sound that signals summer’s end as returning students slam locker doors while swarming high school corridors, yelling, jostling and creating general chaos. Nevertheless, in the windy, rainy and icy days ahead, the Library of Congress National Jukebox can provide you many songs that evoke summers past and prepare you to face the coming school (or […]
Listen! What do you hear? Walking around the streets of a city, if you aren’t listening to music or talking on the phone, you can hear the city speak – snippets of conversations, traffic, planes, sirens – familiar sounds of work and play, or the “voice” of the city. Tony Schwartz, born August 19, 1923, […]
This week we will explore the wealth of ethnic recordings that are available in the Library’s National Jukebox and other online collections. The Jukebox includes some 10,000 recordings of 78-rpm discs made before 1926. To browse these recordings, visit the site’s browse all recordings page and click the headings “language” and “target audience.” Pictured at the right are Alfredo and Flora de Gobbi, a husband […]
As the perfect June weather makes it increasingly difficult to suppress thoughts of beautiful beaches, gentle breezes, and swaying palm trees, a Hawaiian getaway might seem the perfect solution. Let us offer this brief appreciation of the wide influence of Hawaiian music with links to audio from the Recorded Sound Section’s National Jukebox as background research. One of Hawai’i’s most beloved composers was […]
In 1915 when Victor records included Henry Dacre’s “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” in the above “Songs of the Past” medley (starting at 2:44), the song was likely viewed as something of a sentimental oldie. Two decades earlier, however, the bicycle craze was in full swing and the song was a […]