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.

NRR Project: 'You're the Top' (1934)

 

NRR Project: ‘You’re the Top’

Words and music: Cole Porter

Performed by Cole Porter

Recorded Oct. 26, 1934

What can you say about a genius? To possess the gifts that make it possible to write things that  are impossible to forget is unexplainable, incapable of being reproduced.

In terms of songwriting, there are only a few songsmiths who handled their music and their lyrics entirely by themselves: Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser, Stephen Sondheim. Cole Porter is in that distinguished company.

Porter’s story is not that of the struggling young immigrant, as was the case with many of his contemporaries. He was born to wealth and position in the Midwest, and went to Yale. However, instead of law school he pursued music, writing songs prolifically. He continued to live in affluence throughout his life. Such was his financial condition that he could relentlessly practice his craft.

As he worked on shows and created songs, he also married, despite the fact that he was gay. At the time, homosexuality was considered, at best, a mortal sin. Fortunately, he found a friend and companion in his wife, and they lived happily together for decades even as they found romantic satisfaction with others.

“You’re the Top” is a “list” song, much in the same vein as his “I Get a Kick Out of You.” Here the beloved is compared to a long recitation of superlatives, including Mickey Mouse, Garbo’s salary, and the Mona Lisa. It’s a bright and bubbly tune that does what great songwriting of the time was so good at: making a singable, memorable statement about love. It has the giddy forward rush of the burst of enthusiasm that comes with romantic passion.

This recording is of just Porter at the piano, playing his song. One can easily imagine him entertaining guests at a cosmopolitan cocktail party, high above the urban jungle. Here is the realm of bright thoughts brightly expressed.

Porter just got better and better, culminating in musicals such as Kiss Me, Kate and Silk Stockings. His many decades of songwriting gave singers and lovers exciting new, witty ways to share their feelings.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Huey Long speaks.

 

 

 

NRR Project: 'Tumbling Tumbleweeds' (1934)

 

NRR Project: ‘Tumbling Tumbleweeds’

Words and music: Bob Nolan

Performed by the Sons of the Pioneers

Released Aug. 8, 1934

What is “Western” music? Seemingly, the answer is simple: songs originating in lives of the people who founded the American West, most specifically cowboys. Musical anthropologists such as John Lomax collected and codified these songs around the turn of the last century. These songs are authentic artifacts of life on the range. Often sung with only a guitar or accordion as accompaniment, they evoked the loneliness and grandeur of the cowboy’s life.

New Western music, however, could be made up by professional songwriters. One such was Bob Nolan, who with Leonard Slye and Tim Spencer made up the nucleus of the Sons of the Pioneers. Nolan could write ballads that sounded like the real thing, with lyrics that romanticized the Western experience.

This kind of music was made popular by the introduction of the singing cowboy in early sound films. The cliché of the warbling vaquero who could fight the bad guys and then serenade a beautiful lady led to the steady production of original songs that sounded like the cowboy originals. “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” is a beautiful song, gently mournful and pathetic. The singer compares himself to the rolling landmarks of the West, claiming to be only happy when he is as free to roam as they are. One can easily imagine it sung around a campfire.

Nolan’s and Spencer’s music writing were solid, and the group’s close and intricate harmonies were captivating. Soon they and other “cowboy bands” gained popularity in the early 1930’s. The fusion of Western tunes with big band and jazz numbers led to the birth of Western swing. The Sons of the Pioneers would appear in films, on the radio and TV, and via recordings for decades down to the present day.

Oh, and Leonard Slye? He changed his name and became Roy Rogers.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: You’re the Top.

NRR Project: New Music Quarterly series (1934-1949)

 

NRR Project: New Music Quarterly series

Recorded 1934-1949

Of course, anyone wanting a complete and thorough accounting of this entry should refer to Joel Sachs’ excellent essay on the project, to be found here.

Basically, the first avant-garde American composers were looking for ways to share their music. No one was paying attention to their work. The New Music Quarterly was exactly that – a publication that printed the scores of new works, for study and performance.

But the Quarterly’s leaders wanted more. They did their best to record new music, get it on disc, distribute it, and sell it. The results were sporadic and uneven – no memorable recording resulted – but it did allow composers to get their music heard, to get a feel for how it came off in performance. In that sense, the series was very helpful to a generation of experimental artists.

Needless to say, the audience for this kind of work was miniscule. Over four dozen recordings were made over the series’ 16-year history. The story of the New Musci Quarterly series is that of technical problems grappled with, chronic cashlessness faced, and systems of support routinely collapsing. America is unkind to original thinkers unless profit can be derived from their musings.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Tumbling Tumbleweeds.

 

NRR Project: 'Mal Hombre' (1934)

 

NRR Project: ‘Mal Hombre’

Performed by Lydia Mendoza

Recorded 1934

3:32

I could not do better to inform the reader about Lydia Mendoza than to point them to the excellent explanatory essay by Yolanda Broyles-Gonzalez at the NationalRecording Registry. For the sake of the entry, I will include my own thoughts.

Mendoza was part of a musical family that lived and traveled through the United States and Mexico, performing for poor, Spanish-speaking audiences in all kinds of venues – bars, street corners, open fields. They had a body of music, composed from different influences, that would come to be known as Tejano music.

Mendoza lived in a society almost completely cut off from the mainstream. She never learned English – she didn’t have to. She moved inside of a culture whole and entire of itself, a Hispanic culture that, still today, lives on a completely different level that is unknown to the Caucasian majority.

Lydia, a performer since the age of 12, recorded this at the age of 16. “Mal Hombre,” a dark and dire portrait of an unfaithful, manipulative lover, became her signature song. Almost single-handedly, over the course of 50 albums featuring more than 200 songs, she set down the music and poetry of the Mexican-American underclass.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: the New Music Quarterly recordings.