NRR Project: 'I Can Hear It Now: 1933-1945' (1948)

 

NRR Project: “I Can Hear It Now: 1933-1945”

Produced and co-written by Fred Friendly

Co-written and narrated by Edward R. Murrow

Compiled for Columbia Records 1948

46:44

Another excellent essay by Cary O’Dell is available here – it explains this entry quite well!

The idea of producing an album of significant sound slices from recent world history was Fred Friendly’s. His experience as a radio producer led him to think of a way to summarize the historical period of 1933 to 1945 through sound excerpts. The project was initiated in part due to a musician’s strike. Without material to put out, the record companies were hurting. They needed content! In addition, the invention of audio tape made it much easier to create sound collages.

Friendly collaborated with CBS’s star reporter, Edward R. Murrow, on the project. They put together a sonic “scrapbook,” bridged with narration, that provided a timeline of memories for people to listen to. Starting with the voice of Will Rogers in 1933, the album moves through the Depression and the onset and completion of World War II. We hear Churchill, Roosevelt, Mussolini, Hitler. We travel to distant places and listen to the voices of history.

The record was a huge hit. It is interesting to hear these snippets set off and contextualized by the reassuring voice of Murrow. His words seem to make the progress of events seem purposeful and connected. In fact, the concept of the “sound bite” started here. Excerpts were more listener-friendly than long passages. This encapsulation of significant historical events proved a winner; subsequent albums overed the periods 1945-1949, 1919-1932, and the 1960s.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: “I’ll Fly Away.”