NRR Project: 'Wabash Cannon Ball' (1936)

 

NRR Project: ‘Wabash Cannon Ball’

Roy Acuff and His Crazy Tennesseans

Recorded Oct. 21, 1936

2:48

“Wabash Cannon Ball” is a folk song with origins in the 19^th century. It describes an imaginary train, dotted with hoboes, moving serenely across the landscape. The upbeat, rollicking tune is easy to sing and remember – but it became an American standard thanks to Roy Acuff.

Acuff was a singer and a fiddler, and with his backing band of Crazy Tennesseans, he crafted a major hit with this 1936 recording. At the time, country music was still considered a backwoods, primitive affair, fit only for hillbillies and the lower classes. Acuff, soon to be dubbed “The King of Country Music,” was a consummate showman, and this and other of his hits became country-music standards.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Nest time: the complete recordings of Robert Johnson.

NRR Project: 'La Chicharronera' (1936)

 

NRR Project: ‘La Chicharronera’

Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida

Recorded Oct. 21, 1936

2:40

I could not do better than Hector Saldana’s excellent essay on this piece, which you can read here.

This music, called conjunto, was a hybridization of European instruments and musical forms, and Mexican rhythm and content. These lively songs were popular with the working poor. In south Texas, artists sprung up and crafted this music in all kinds of social situations, developing a repertoire that would looked on later as a golden age of musical creativity.

Narcisco Martinez, known as the Hurricane of the Valley, was a master of the button accordion. His accompanist, Santiago Almeida, wielded a guitar-like instrument called a bajo sexto. Together they created a propulsive, tuneful sound that would expand and develop rapidly in the decades to come.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Nest time: Wabash Cannonball.

NRR Project: 'Gang Busters' (1935)

 

NRR Project: ‘Gang Busters’

Broadcast of July 20, 1935

30 min.

“Gang Busters was the noisiest show on the air,” writes the great old-time radio historian John Dunning in his definitive On the Air. It definitely started out with a bang – a literal bang, followed by breaking glass, machine-gun fire, a police siren, and the marching tread of prisoners. Gang Busters was serious about crime. (Thus the phrase “come on like gangbusters.”)

The show was the creation, and professional rebirth, of its producer Phillips H. Lord. He began his career in radio as Seth Parker in 1929. In it, he portrayed a gentle and wise New Englander dispensing piety and gentle humor, mixing hymn-singing and cracker-barrel philosophy. At first immensely popular, a set of scandals later sabotaged Lord’s career and the show.

Lord planned his comeback. He sought to tell stories of the FBI, and in 1935 started his true-crime series under the title of G-Men. In this, he had the early cooperation of J. Edgar Hoover, head of the organization. Beginning with the story of the killing of John Dillinger, G-Men ran on for a year, until excessive FBI interference led Lord to change the show’s name to Gang Busters, and its focus on true crimes reported from across the nation.

The most important angle of the show was its avowed authenticity. These weren’t made-up stories, they were “authentic police case histories.” The show’s narrator would interview a law officer “by proxy” (meaning an actor portrayed the officer) about the crime, and the show would segue into the tale of the law-breakers.

The criminals were easy to identify – they used slang and contractions. (All law officers portrayed were well-spoken and grammatically correct.) Out of their sleazy minds would hatch a scheme to get rich quick by felonious means, and quickly they would set to work. Soon also would the law get wind of their activities, and move swiftly and decisively to arrest them.

Justice was always served on Gang Busters. Additionally, the show would broadcast special alerts at the end of the show – bulletins identifying criminal suspects, and calling for listeners to keep an eye out for them (several criminal were evidently apprehended due to the efforts of listeners).

Lord was back in business. The show ran for a healthy 22 years, and influenced all the crime shows that followed it.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Nest time: La Chicharronera.

NRR Project: Met Opera, 'Tristan und Isolde' (1935)

 

NRR Project: ‘Tristan und Isolde’

Metropolitan Opera, New York

Broadcast of March 9, 1935

Featuring Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior

3 hours, 16 min.

The Metropolitan Opera in New York was founded in 1883. It has been broadcasting live over the radio since Christmas Day, 1931.

This kind of advocacy is important. When I was young, I tuned into the Met because it was free; we didn’t have money for cultural pursuits. Gradually, I got turned on to opera, and became a huge fan. I still listen in.

At the time, it was a bold move – “giving away” a performance over the air. However, the Met sought to reverse the downturn in audience attendance caused by the Great Depression, and the promotional value of these broadcasts was immense. Initially, only selected acts were broadcast. Starting March 11, 1933, complete operas were broadcast, and after some more time, the weekly broadcasts during the opera season settled down to Saturday morning on the schedule.

Amazingly, this tradition continues today, nearly a century after its inception. Saturday mornings are still the province of this program, which is now heard on all manner of networks and individual affiliate. For 20 weeks a year, you can experience the best in opera, both the standard repertoire and new works.

Of course, a key part of the appeal of the Met’s Saturday matinee broadcasts is that they are live. There is nothing as exciting as live performances; as a listener there’s the feeling that anything can happen. (I have been listening to them for 40-odd years, and haven’t encountered any disasters or foul-ups yet.) The consistent high quality of the broadcasts, which includes expert commentary, interviews, and special features, means that people across the country and now indeed around the world can enjoy and learn more about this art form.

Opera is often derided for being too elitist, or too difficult. Yet a long-running series like the Met’s is proof that there is an audience for it out there. One hundred and fifty ago, the opera was for the masses – everyone could enjoy it on the level of which they were capable, and did. It’s simply music, drama, dance, and art mixed together into a fanciful and moving multidisplinary experience. When it’s done right, it’s overwhelmingly entertaining.

This broadcast, all three-plus hours of it, is a remarkable listen – even in mono, singers and orchestra come through in a clear and balanced way. Whether you will like this performance depend really on whether you like Wagner, which I don’t. I can still appreciate, however, the glorious singing of soprano Kirsten Flagstad as Isolde and the great heldentenor Lauritz Melchoir as Tristan.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Nest time: Gang Busters.

NRR project: Sounds of the ivory-billed woodpecker

 

NRR Project: Sounds of the ivory-billed woodpecker

Recorded 1935

The sounds of this historic recording issue from the wilds of the Singer Tract in rural Louisiana. There, in 1935, scientists recorded the calls of the ivory-billed woodpecker for the first and possibly the last time, as the bird is now widely considered to be extinct. Go to Cary O’Dell’s excellent essay at the National Recording Registry to find out more about the bird itself and the expedition that captured it.

It is a melancholy recording, when considered in context. The ratio of humans to wild animals has increased exponentially over the past 200 years, as industrialization and population growth have wiped out animal habitats. The list of extinct species is long, and getting longer by the day. Sometimes it seems as though mankind will exterminate the natural world around it before destroying itself.

At any rate, it is humbling to listen to a sound that will never be heard again. It is haunting to hear the bird cry out, perhaps to no response.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Flagstad and Melchior sing Tristan and Isolde.

NRR Project: 'I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart' (1935)

 

NRR Project: ‘I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart’

Words and music: Patsy Montana

Performed by Patsy Montana and the Prairie Ramblers

Recorded Aug. 16, 1935

3:10

I cannot do better than the analysis provided by Stephanie Vander Wel and Suzy Bogguss at the National Recording Registry concerning this tune – they are comprehensive.

Patsy Montana was the stage name of Rubye Blevins, a genuine country girl who grew up singing and playing the violin. Gradually she adopted the persona of Patsy Montana, singing, yodeling, and playing guitar. Her repertoire was limited, as country music was male-centric at the time. So, she wrote her own song.

It seems to be an adaptation of a song called “Texas Plains,” as well as phrases from “You’ve Got to Be a Football Hero.” Despite its derivativeness, the song was a big hit and became the first country song by a female to sell more than a million copies.

Montana’s voice is clear and feisty, carrying the yearnings of the song and throwing them into sharp relief. ‘Montana’s would-be cowgirl wants to rope and ride, strum her guitar and yodel. This was no shrinking violet but a real woman with a will of her own. It was delightfully subversive of the passive role assigned to women in the period.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: sounds of the ivory-billed woodpecker.

NRR Project: Huey Long and 'Every Man a King' (1934)

 

NRR Project: ‘Every Man a King’ speech

Given by Huey Long Feb. 23, 1934

The power of radio to inflame public opinion was never more ably demonstrated than by Huey Long. A politician from Louisiana, he had a dictatorial disposition, but he also believed in government support for the poor. This unique combination of elements ruled his thinking and his speech over the course of his truncated career.

On ascending to the governorship of Louisiana in 1928, and thence to the position of senator in 1932, he consistently pushed his “Share the Wealth” policy. He felt that it was unfair for the rich to hold all the wealth while poor people suffered. He advocated a minimum yearly wage for all, and intended to tax the “super-rich” to do it.

As you might guess, this made him popular with the common folk. Referred to as “The Kingfish,” after a conniving character on the Amos & Andy radio show, he used a folksy approach to ingratiate himself with the listener, presenting his concepts as evident, citing the Bible for example of the forgiveness of debts, and positing a nation in which everyone would have enough to eat and clothes to wear.

In the depths of the Depression, this kind of talk resonated. It might be thought that Long would be a fan of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s social programs, but Long declared these efforts insufficient, and began thinking about running for President as an independent candidate.

The “Every Man a King” speech was one that he gave often, rendered here on a half-hour broadcast via NBC. The whole nation could hear his thoughts and debate his ideas. Many in the establishment saw him as a dangerous populist, a destabilizing force.

In 1935, Long was assassinated. His coalition of followers soon fell apart, and Roosevelt was reelected. “Share the Wealth” was destined to be an unexplored concept.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.