Sound Beat

Sure, marshmallows are great. But it’s a special kind of campfire when someone breaks out the chocolate and graham crackers. Put all three together (carefully) and you get S’mores, that sticky sweet summer treat that’s been burning mouths and fingers since the first quarter of the 20 th century. It’s thought that the recipe originated with the Campfire Girls, now known as the gender-friendly Campf...

The U.S. Coast Guard was officially established in 1915, but its roots go back to the late 18 th century . In 1790, Congress allowed for the building of 10 cutters, medium-sized ships charged with enforcing tariff laws. It was given the no-frills name The Revenue Cutter Service, and the first cutter , the USRC Massachusetts, hit the water in 1791. Perhaps the coolest of these ships was the Naugatu...

You’re listening to an Edison Blue Amberol Cylinder from 1914, featuring William Davidson and the words of “Scotland’s favorite son”. And, You’re on the Sound Beat. Robert Burns was also known as “the Ploughman Poet” and, in Scotland, simply, “The Bard”.  This song, Afton Water, was based on his poem “Sweet Afton” and set to music by Jonathan E. Spilman in 1837. Burns’ birthdate, January 25th, is...

In 1967, WSYR in Syracuse, NY issued the following message, an interruption to their scheduled broadcast: You’re on the Sound Beat. “We interrupt this program. The Office of Civil Defense has issued the following message: This is an attack warning. Repeat. This is an attack warning. Attack warning means that an actual attack against this country has been detected and that protective actions should...

You’re listening to “Gloomy Sunday” recorded by Billie Holiday in 1941. It goes by another title as well, “The Hungarian Suicide Song”. Written by Rezső Seress and László Jávor , the song was linked to a slew of suicides in Hungary. Urban legend or not, the intrigue surrounding the song translated into sales. Still, the song was met with opposition by stations all over the world. Some would only p...

Robert Cocking was one such name, and parachuting was his game. Well…kind of. Actually, he was an early 19 th century artist with an interest in aeronautics. Inspired by earlier parachute jumps, he drew up his own plans. And who did the 61-year-old watercolor painter with no parachuting experience pluck to test his? You guessed it. He went up over South London on July 24 th , 1837 in a hot-air bal...

Story’s Texas Moon Most anyone alive during the first lunar landing can tell you exactly where they were. For Dr. Story Musgrave it was a very special room in Houston. You’re on the Sound Beat. “I was assigned to a mission already but I was in Mission Control in the back of the room and just by luck, just by total luck, I am standing next to a person called Lewellyn Evans, Lewellyn but he we...

You’re listening to Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra, and… You’re on the Sound Beat Between 1939 and 1952 Bing and the gals recorded 46 times. Exactly half of those were major hit records. They recorded “At the Flying W” in December of 1947. At that time The Flying W was the quintessential  cattle ranch. It became a tourist spot in the mid-1950s complete...

  “Oh, Boy!” was released in 1957 by Brunswick Records, the A-side to “Not Fade Away.” Those barbershop harmonies on this and eight other Buddy Holly tracks were supplied by The Picks: a Lubbock, Texas-based trio made up of brothers John and Bill Pick -ering and friend, Bob Lapham. But they didn’t get any official credit until the 1987 CD  liner notes. Buddy appreciated them, though. In...

You’re on the Sound Beat…with Anna Canoni, the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie. Woody once said “If you use more than two chords you’re showing off”. But the simplicity of the music provides the perfect backdrop for Guthrie’s lyrics. (Interview) Many credit Woody with inventing the “Talkin’” format, with it’s free-formish, rambling melody.  But Christopher Allan Bouchillon’s recording of “Talking B...

You’re listening to Syracuse University Libraries Cataloger Sophie Rondeau and… You’re on the Sound Beat Sound Beat is produced at the Belfer Audio Archive, Syracuse University Libraries. I’m Brett Barry. Photo: Courtesy of The Mary Baker Eddy Science Institute . (Lots of further reading contained therein!)

Long before the Greenwich village scene of the 1960’s, New York served as a folk music hotspot of another kind. Here’s Syracuse University Libraries Cataloger Jennifer Vaughn. This episode was recorded in the studios of WAER at Syracuse University. I’m Brett Barry.

  A pretty little tune written by a couple-a fellas…just walking around… prison . You’re listening to Syracuse University Libraries Cataloger Sophie Rondeau and … You’re on the Sound Beat.   This episode was recorded at WAER, Syracuse University. I’m Brett Barry.

We’re spoiled here at Sound Beat, listening to and learning about the very best recordings ever made. But as Syracuse University Libraries Cataloger Jennifer Vaughn tells us, sometimes great stories come out of the…not so great recordings. Read the article right now. Sound Beat is produced at the Belfer Audio Archive, Syracuse University Libraries. I’m Brett Barry.

Tolkien started writing Lord of the Rings in 1937. But a year before that he gave a lecture entitled “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics”. Beowulf is, of course, the epic poem recognized as one of the most important in the Western Canon. The author is unknown, but the piece has been translated and critiqued by some of the biggest literary names. Tolkien’s interpretation changed the whole game,...

You’re listening to Deep Elem blues, performed by Dick Stabile and His Orchestra, with vocal chorus by Billy Wilson. Deep Elm is a real town near Houston, Texas but the local pronunciation led to that Deep El-um branding. It was admittedly rough and tumble, and an early jazz and blues hotspot. In the 1920’s, Elem would attract the likes of Bessie Smith, Leadbelly and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Th...

When John Steinbeck read the lyrics to Woody Guthrie’s Ballad of Tom Joad…well, we’ll let Anna tell it. (Interview ) The two men admired each other greatly…fitting, then, that 2012’s Woody Guthrie Centennial celebration included an event with the National Steinbeck Festival. And the Guthrie/Steinbeck collaborations don’t end there… (Interview) Talk about Dust Bowl Royalty.

Woody wrote this tune and his cousin Jack recorded it in 1945. It went to the top of the charts…a feat that a Woody Guthrie record never matched. But it’s Woody’s version, not Jack’s, that serves as Oklahoma’s state song. Others have had success with Guthrie songs as well… (Interview) And, bet you weren’t thinking about Woody during “The Departed”… (Interview)

Sound Beat is officially one year old today. We thought about celebrating with that OTHER song. But it just so happens that THAT SONG is one of the most famously-litigated songs in all of copyright law. That’s why you rarely hear it in films, and instead hear this one. “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” was recorded here by Tiny Hill and his Orchestra in 1939. It should be stressed that Sound Beat is...