RSA Blog

Looking for music to celebrate the High Holy Days this year? Look no further, the Recorded Sound Archives has a collection of over 40 recordings for you to choose from and share and enjoy with your family.

Here are a few favorite albums, which can be listened to in full on the Recorded Sound Archives website.

Selichot Service by Cantor Joseph Schwartzman

Selichot Service by Cantor Joseph Gross

Complete Selichot Service by Cantor Zvee Aroni

High Holiday Chants by Cantor Salomon Pinkasovitch

High Holiday Chants by Cantor Samuel Taube

High Holiday Moods by Cantor Leib Glantz

High Holiday Prayers (Volume 1) by Cantor Moshe Koussevitzky

High Holiday Selections by Malavsky Family

High Holy Day Prayers Live for the First Time by Cantor Leibele Waldman

High Holy Days in a Conservative Synagogue by Moishe Schwimmer

Rosh Hashana – Day 1 by Cantor Zvee Aroni

Rosh Hashana – Day 2 by Cantor Zvee Aroni

Rosh Hashanah by Cantor Benjamin Z. Maissner

Rosh Hashanah New Years Service Abraham Birnbaum – Rosh Hashanah New Year Service by Cantor Israel Goldstein

Rosh Hashanah by Cantor Yosef Rosenblatt

Yom Kippur Chants, Volume 3 by Cantor Zawel Kwartin

Yom Kippur  Day (Parts 1 & 2) by Cantor Zvee Aroni

Yom Kippur Day (Part 3 – Conclusion) by Cantor Zvee Aroni

Yom Kippur; Excerpts From the Traditional Liturgy by Cantor Moshe Ganchoff

Midnight Selichot Service by Cantor Leib Glantz

If you’re looking to attend High Holiday Services, Cantor Azi Schwartz and the Park Avenue Synagogue will be broadcasting their services through their website.

And will be accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Brass and chamber orchestra.

A Schedule of their services is available on their website – https://highholidaysstreaming.pasyn.org/

The post Music for the High Holy Days and Online Services This Year appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Do you think player pianos are a thing of the past? Join Ben Roth-Aroni as he shares some new and old tunes on his player piano at home during National Piano month!

Loved this video? Discover a series we created in 2013 featuring Bob Berkman as he goes into further detail in how the player piano works!

If you’d like to discover more piano rolls, you can listen to more through featured collections on the Recorded Sound Archives website!

The post Join Ben Roth-Aroni as he shares some new and old tunes on his player piano appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, we listen to A LOT of music, while digitizing and scanning recordings for research.

With the library being closed, we’ve had to get a little creative in how our department works since we’re so dependent on the physical recordings. So we’ve been working hard behind the scenes doing quality control on recordings and meta data since we haven’t been recording as much these days.

This week, we wanted to start by sharing and highlighting some RSA Staff’s Favorite Eddy Duchin Songs!

Check out the list below and let us know some of your favorites.

1. To Be Or Not To Be – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/11011

2. It’s Great to Be in Love Again – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/14376

3. Love Walked In – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/12504

4. Summertime – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/12506

5. I’ve Got Something in My Eye – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/11029

6. Cheek to Cheek – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/11017

7. Lover come back to me – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/12497

8. Did you ever see a dream walking? – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/11012

9. I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plans – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/12503

10. It’s De-Lovely – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/11030

11. Summertime – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/12506

12. A Rendezvous with a Dream. – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/10148

13. Sometimes – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/12500

14. S’ Wonderful. – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/12505

15. So you’re the One. – https://rsa.fau.edu/album/12496

The post RSA Staff’s Favorite Eddy Duchin Songs! appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Did you know it’s National Hot Dog month? We had almost forgotten until a co-worker brought it up in conversation last week.

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives we’ve got a few songs about Hot Dogs that you can listen to from home that we wanted to share!

While digging around to share  Hot Dogs and Knishes with you we discovered a few more songs that were digitized. Enjoy these five songs about hot dogs.

1. Hot Dogs and Knishes by Aaron Lebedeff
2. Ooh! Hot Dog by Benny Goodman
3. Hot Dog by Molly Picon
4. Sam, the Hot Dog Man by Lil Johnson
5. Hot Dog by Blind Lemon Jefferson

Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.

Are you a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings? Visit the Recorded Sound Archives website to apply for Research Station Access by click here.

The post It’s National Hot Dog Month – Enjoy Some Songs! appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Eddy Duchin never pretended to be a great musician.

One of the members of Eddy Duchin’s orchestra once said “…Many people didn’t listen to him as much as they looked at him, he was the only musician I’ve ever known who could play a thirty-two-bar solo with thirty-two mistakes and get an ovation afterwards…”

So how did Eddy Duchin become the Reisman Orchestra Leader by 1932? Well, While enrolled at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy near Cambridge at the age of nineteen Eddy Duchin auditioned for a part in Leo Reisman’s Orchestra as a pianist. Which he got enjoying tremendous popularity in New York’s Central Park Casino. His effortless technique and charming personality not only won him the job. But also made him stand out among the long list of those aspiring to join. Three years later, his personality and flashy style had captured customers and Duchin had himself taken over the engagement becoming the leader of the Reisman Orchestra.

Throughout the 1930s, Duchin’s Orchestra played primarily in hotels like the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and appeared on quite a few radio series along with in two films.

He went on to get married and have a son, named Peter who went on to follow in his father’s musical footsteps. During the war, Duchin joined a commission in the Navy where he paid little attention to music. By the end of the war his popularity had declined and so had his health. In 1951, he passed away from leukemia.

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, you can listen to recordings by both Eddy Duchin and Leo Reisman’s Orchestra.

Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.

Are you a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings? Visit the Recorded Sound Archives website to apply for Research Station Access by click here.

The post How Did Eddy Duchin Become Reisman Orchestra’s Leader by 1932? appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

During my early childhood (early 50’s) in N.E. Philadelphia, I listened to Gladys Gewirtz singing all the songs from the Jewish holidays and holy days on our big RCA-Victor S-1000.

My grandma Nessie’s hamantashen were so yummy I couldn’t stop eating them.  Sadly, she passed away when I was 7 [Z”L].  Many years went by. Now I’m 73 and I work with thousands of recordings (Jewish, Jazz & Classical) at the RSA, but Gladys Gewirtz will always have a special place I my memory.  I still miss my Grandma!

Ben Roth

P.S. Prune Hamantashen are my favorites.

Esther (née Hadassah), an orphan raised by her uncle Mordechai, was taken against her will to Persian King Ahasuerus’s harem. There, she was forced to prepare herself for her first night with the King by spending six months doused in oil of myrrh and another six in sweet odors ointments. The night of their union, Ahasuerus loved Esther “above all women” and made her the Persian Empire’s Queen. Esther replaced Queen Vashti, who had been sentenced to death because she had refused to display her beauty to the attendants of the King’s feast.

When events took a turn for the worst and Esther learned that Prime Minister Haman planned to kill all Jews in the Persian empire she decided to act immediately to prevent the genocide. She told her uncle: “Go, gather all the Jews together and fast for me.  Neither eat nor drink for three whole days. ” Mordecai argued that these three days fast happened to include the Passover night, which should not be a night of fasting. Esther retorted, “Without Jews, who needs Passover?”

She invited both Ahasuerus and Haman to a private banquet. At that banquet Esther told the king of Haman’s plan to massacre all Jews in his kingdom, then acknowledged her own Jewish ethnicity. The information about Haman enraged King Ahasuerus and he gave an order that Haman be hanged.   He also elevated Mordecai to prime minister and gave Jews the right to defend themselves against any enemy.

Looking for music to celebrate Purim, discover over 20 vintage albums to choose from here at the Recorded Sound Archives!

The post Purim Memories & The Story of Esther! appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Recorded Sound Archives has curated a collection of Black Blues Artists some of which are currently on display on the 1st floor of the FAU Wimberly Library for the month of February.

Click to discover 14 Blues Artists such as the voices of Huddie Leadbelly, Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith and more in this collection!

In celebration, FAU Libraries and the Recorded Sound Archives have put together a Spotify playlist Celebrating Black Blues Artists coinciding with the exhibit currently on display. Click to listen to 12 recordings and discover who these Blues Artists influenced from Nirvana to The Weavers and more down below. Enjoy!

The post Celebrating Black Blues Artists for Black History Month! appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Whether you celebrate Chanukah or Christmas, here at the Recorded Sound Archives we’ve got you covered.

You can listen to the story of Chanukah, or have you ever wonder how Christmas is celebrated in Israel? Discover how both Christmas and Chanukah are celebrated in Israel in the late 50s and 60s. Along with Christmas hymns such as Oh, Come All Ye Faithful and Silent Night, Holy Night or silly songs like I want a hippopotamus for Christmas and All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth.

We even have a few Hanukkah sing-alongs (Volume 2, Volume 3) for you to sing-a-long and enjoy with children. Or perhaps you’re looking for a modern take on some old Chanukah classics, discover Kenny Ellis Hanukkah Swings.

With over 100 recordings for you to choose from between our Chanukah and Christmas collections, the Recorded Sound Archives staff has put together a list of our favorite songs for you to listen to with family and friends.

Enjoy!

1. Chanukah in Song: Mi yimalel/(Yeladim binerot) by Gladys Gerwirtz; Eve Lippman

2. Mommy Kissing Santa Claus / __ days ’till Christmas (15 through 9) by Spike Jones

3. Ocho Kandelikas by Kenny Ellis

4. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra

5. Chanukah in Song (Side 4): Oy Chanukah by Gladys Gewirtz; Eve Lippman

6. Silent Night, Holy Night (Stille Nacht) by Helen Traubel

7. Chanukah Piano Medley by Benjamin Roth-Aroni

8. We Wish You a Merry Christmas by The French Quarter Band

9. Medley: Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah; Who Can Retell by Kenny Ellis

10. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas by Gayla Peevey

Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45-second snippet.

If you are a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings, click here.

The post RSA Staff Shares Holiday Music Favorites! appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

While some horror films feature blood-curdling scores (Jaws, Halloween, The Exorcist), there are certain songs that will forever be associated with the movies they helped make all the more terrifying. Just in time for Halloween, here are six vintage songs made infinitely creepier by horror movies, four of which you can find here at the Recorded Sound Archives.

First up, is the Jeepers Creepers franchise which features the song Jeepers Creepers playing through the radio prior to the creature approaching and can be found playing on an old-timey radio as the movie progresses.

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, you can listen to a few versions of the song by artists such as Larry Clinton and his orchestra , Jack Teagarden and the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.

But our personal favorite here in the sound archive is Ethel Water’s version of Jeepers Creepers.

Next up is a classic from the 90s, while not necessarily a horror movie we’ve included it in honor of all things spooky. Hocus Pocus features three witches that come back to life after being accidentally summoned. In the movie, Winifred Sanderson along with her sisters sing the tune I Put a Spell on You at the town’s Halloween Party which was originally released in 1956 and sung by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.

Watch the clip below to see Screamin’ Jay Hawkins perform I Put a Spell On You back in 1989 on the Arsenio Hall Show.

Another haunting tune that can be found in the Recorded Sound Archives, is Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips by Johnny Marvin who originally sang the song prior to Tiny Tim which is featured in the movie Insidious.

Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips starts to play as the Demon who is terrorizing this family uses a victrola-like device to sharpen its nails while the song plays on with marionettes and puppets moving about.

You can listen to the original by Johnny Marvin in the sound archive by clicking here.

Next up is the movie Misery which features Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes an obsessed fan who kidnaps her favorite writer forcing him to rewrite his novel.

At one point, she exclaims with happiness that she’ll play her favorite song in the movie which just so happens to be Liberace’s Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 along with I’ll be seeing you both of which can be found here at the Recorded Sound Archives on the album Liberace by Candlelight.

And finally, we have Halloween II with the song Mr. Sandman by the Chordettes which can be heard playing at the beginning of the movie’s opening credits and as the film comes to an end.

click here to watch the opening scenes from the movie to listen to the song.

While we only feature six songs, there are tons out there to be discovered four of which you can listen to here at the Recorded Sound Archives.

Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.

If you are a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings, click here.

The post 6 Vintage Songs Made Infinitely Creepier by Horror Movies appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, we wanted to share one of several recordings within our hispanic/latin american collection of recordings. Last year we highlighted Xavier Cugat, as an important artist who shaped the world of Latin music into what it is today.

This year we’d like to highlight the voice of Graciela Párraga and composer Vicente Gómez. Both of whom are featured on the album Blood and Sand within the Recorded Sound Archives Hispanic/Latin American collection.

Very little can be found about Graciela Párraga other than what can be found on the jacket of this album. Graciela Párraga was born in Havana, Cuba.  Although it is mentioned that she gained noterity and fame by singing to a large group of women prisoners within a dentention center inside Cuba where she received tons of offers to sing professionally, all of which she refused. It goes on to say her professional singing career began shortly back in 1937 with her arrival in New York.

She went on to sing at several hotels also working at the East Side night club La Rue for two years. Appearing in radio, Miss Párraga went on to sing on the Rudy Vallee Show of which several transcriptions were made and were broadcast throughout all 21 Latin American Republics at the time. In the 1938 issue of Stage Magazine, Miss Párraga was one of the Palm Award winners for her work while at La Rue.

She went on to perform at Hotel Berkeley in London and during her stay in England, where she performed twice weekly for Television by the British Broadcasting Company.  She was even invited to sign for her Royal Highness and the Ex-Queen of Spain at a garden party given by the Duke of Alba.

Upon returning to the United States, Miss Párraga was invited to sing at a Reception Ball given by the Cuban Embassy in honor of Colonel Fugencia Batista, during his good-will visit to the United States. And on one of her return trips to Cuba, Miss Párraga  was appointed Chancellor to the Consulate General of Cuba in New York and Honorary Artistic delegate for the promotion and appreciation of Cuban music in the United States and Europe.

In this position she went on to give a series of concerts throughout the United States in leading colleges such as Vassar, Columbia University, Princeton and more.

You can hear the voice of Graciela Párraga by clicking here along with Vicente Gómez playing guitar on the Blood and Sand soundtrack he composed himself prior to retiring to compose and teach.

This is just one of over over 180 Latin American recordings for you to listen to. Click here to view collection.

Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.

If you are a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings, click here.

The post Discover the voice of Graciela Párraga this Hispanic Heritage Month appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

In celebration of college football season starting, we wanted to share a recording we have here at the Recorded Sound Archives by Walter Camp known as the Father of American Football.

While working as an adviser to the United States military during World War I, Camp devised a program to help servicemen in both the Navy and Army become more physically fit. Camp wrote a book explaining the exercises and extolling their benefits. This book was later taken and recorded in 1921 and marketed to a wider audience with the Musical Health Builder record sets called the Daily Dozen Health Building Exercises.

The names of the exercises in the original Daily Dozen, as the whole set became known, were hands, grind, crawl, wave, hips, grate, curl, weave, head, grasp, crouch, and wing.

All of which can be heard here at the Recorded Sound Archives, click here to listen.

The post Discover Walter Camp the Father of American Football appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Did you know the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries has over 49,000 albums along with over 150,000 songs in its databases, which is growing everyday with the help of volunteers? With so many recordings to choose from, we have given Research Station users the ability to request items be digitized.

Below you’ll find a list of recordings that were recently added to the Research Station this Spring 2019 from requests made by Research Station Users.

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

From Sunset to Sunset by Paul Zim

32 Golden Hits of Nahal by The Nahal

Aw Horachamim & Adonoj Moloch by Moritz Perlmann

Cantor of the U.N. Synogogue by Harold Klein

Avraham Fried Aderaba by Avraham Fried

Harmony – Songs of Cecelia Margules by Various Artists

Modzitz Classics Volume One by Ben Zion Shenker

T’filoh L’Moshe by Moshe Teleshevsky

Jerusalem of Gold – Songs of the Six Day War by David Eshet

Marcus Goldman Orchestra by Marcus Goldman Orchestra

At Madison Square Garden by Esther Jungreis

I’d Rather Pray and Sing by Mordechai Ben David

Take Me Home by David Lazerson

Achdus by Various Artists

Honor! Honor! by Charles Holland

On Ma Journey by Jonathan Brice & Carol Brice

I’m So Glad Trouble Don’t Last Alway by Carroll Clark

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot by Lawrence Brown & Paul Robeson

Spirituals by Adelaide Hall & Kenneth Cantril

Moshe Teleshevsky by Moshe Teleshevsky

Chalutsim/Zum Gali Gali/Aviv/Emek Avoda by Eve Lippman Gladys Gewirtz

An Den Mond (To the Moon) by Frida Benneche

Des Madchens Klage by Frida Benneche

Shalom Eretz Israel by B’nai Shalom Singers

Amazing Grace by Jon Spong & Sherrill Milnes

Dizzy’s Diamonds: The Best of the Verve Years by Various Artists

I Gianti Del Jazz by Various Artists

An Electrifying Evening with The Dizzy Gillespie Quintet by Dizzy Gillespie Quintet

Dizzy Gillespie and his Orchestra by Dizzy Gillespie and his Orchestra

Dizzy Gillespie Plays by Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie’s Big 4 by Various Artists

Horn of Plenty: Dizzy Gillespie by Various Artists

Jam Session: Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Gerry Mulligan by Various Artists

Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie by Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie

Big Hits from Israel by The Amranim

Mordecai Ben David Sings Neshama Soul by Mordechai Ben David Werdyger

The New Jewish Sound by Various Artists

Jubilation by Jordan Penkower & the Sterling Sound

The Sun, the Lake and the Jewish Stars by Various Artists

Jewish Celebration in Song Vol. II: The Traditional Wedding by Ken Gross Orchestra

Harei Yehudah by Various Artists

Meir Rimon and his Hor – Nigunim by Meir Rimon

Oriental Songs by Jo Amar

Nigunim of Lubavitch, Vol. 3 by Shmuel Althaus

Shalom by General Israel Orphans Home for Girls

Bialik Songs by Nama Hendel

The New Slavery by Stanley Schwartz

25 Years of Israel in Songs by Various Artists

The Return to Jerusalem by Jordan Penkower and The Sterling Sound

Chabad Nigunim by Chabad Choir

Camp Judaea Sings Folk and Modern Israeli Songs by Avram Grobard

The Jerusalem Echoes by Moshe Yess & The Jerusalem Echoes

Lubavitcher Nigunim No. 2  by Aharon Haritonov, Meier Yanowsky of Nikoaiyev and Shmuel Althaus

Lectures in Tanya – Volume 1 by Joseph Wineberg

Lectures in Tanya – Volume 2 by Joseph Wineberg

Jo Amar Sings Yismah Moshe and Other Sephardi Sabbath Songs by Jo Amar and The Levantine Orchestra and Chorus

Yamim Noraiim by Jo Amar

Tumba by Moshe Nathanson & Abraham Ellstein

Sholosh R’Golim – Chassidic Melodies of Three Festivals by Ben Zion Shenker and Modzitzer Choral Ensemble

Here is Israel – Record No. 3 by Various Artists

Pirchei Tzion by Various Artists

Der Yiddisher Shtern by Seymour Rechtzeit

The Best of Jewish Short Stories from Eastern Europe and Beyond by Various Artists

As a research station user you can request it using the Music on Demand forms on the website.

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The post Recently Added to Research Station (Spring 2019) appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

In celebration of children’s book week, discover our children’s collection of recordings featuring stories, lullabies, nursery rhymes and more.

This collection of children’s music was produced mostly during the 1940s and 1950s, a time when vinyl replaced hard shellac as the basic material used in the making of phonograph records. The innovation of vinyl allowed manufactures to produce kid-friendly recordings that could be handled without adult supervision. These recordings became an extremely popular form of entertainment for children in the days before families had television sets.

Here are the Recorded Sound Archives we have over 480 children’s recordings for you to choose from.

Discover our Superstorm Sandy Restoration Project which features over 380 children’s recordings that were donated by Peter Muldavin as a result of Hurricane Sandy, along with our Vintage children’s collection with over 130 recordings for you to choose from!

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Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access consider applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The post Celebrate Children’s Book Week with Records! appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Recorded Sound Archives has curated a collection of African-American artists. Discover the voices of Huddie Leadbelly, Billie Holiday, Ethel Waters, Fats Waller and more in this collection!  Over 20 artists for you to discover and listen to.

Follow us on Facebook and learn some fun facts all this month about these artists and they’re contributions to music.

The post Discover New Artists during Black History Month appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Photo of Xavier Cugat. This work is from the William P. Gottlieb collection at the Library of Congress.

As part of Hispanic / Latino Heritage month, we’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to some important artists who shaped the world of Latin music into what it is today. Today we would like to highlight Xavier Cugat. Born January 1, 1900 in Catalonia, Spain, his family had bigger plans venturing first to Cuba when he was five. In Cuba, this is where Xavier picked up the violin training as a classical violinist he went on to play with the Orchestra of the Teatro Nacional in Havana. Xavier trained further in Paris and Berlin and in 1915, his family boarded the SS Havana en route to New York City where Cugat went on to train before serving five years as a violinist appearing in recitals with Erinco Caruso. Cugat went on to lead the resident orchestra at the Waldorf-Astoria before and after World War II before venturing out west to Los Angeles.

Here are 3 interesting facts about Xavier Cugat, you may or may not know about him.

1. He was a classically trained violinist who conducted with his bow, and can be seen in quite a few films waving his violin bow. Below is an animated gif showcasing Xavier Cugat in Stage Door Canteen waving his bow as he conducts his orchestra. You can watch the clip below from Stage Door Canteen, 1943 where Xavier Cugat can be seen conducting with his bow at 1:16.

via GIPHY

2. Xavier was known as the Rhumba King and is credited with pushing Latino music and dance into popularity and best-known for having popularized the rumba in the United States during the 1930s.

He and his band, the Gigolos, were featured in several popular Hollywood movies in the 1940s and 1950s. They introduced many popular Latin American rhythms to North American audiences and toured extensively every year, playing tangos, rumbas and congas.

“Under the influence of tropical skies and a couple of daiquiris, people developed a taste for my Latin American style of music,” he once said.

3. Xavier went on to work for the Los Angeles Times as a cartoonist. Not a huge stretch, considering art seemed to run in the family. His older brother Francis Cugat worked as a portrait, poster, book jacket artist and set designer.  He is known for his 1925 cover of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Cugat himself can be seen in a few films drawing his caricatures prior to or during a performance.

via GIPHY

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, we have over 30 recordings by Cugat and several of this bands. To listen to more music by Cugat, click here.

In celebration of Hispanic / Latino Heritage month, we have digitized over 180 Latin American recordings for you to listen to. Click here to view collection.

Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.

If you are a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings, click here.

The post 3 Interesting Facts about Xavier Cugat! – Celebrating Hispanic / Latino Heritage Month appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Did you know the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries has over 49,000 albums along with over 150,000 songs in its databases, which is growing everyday with the help of volunteers? With so many recordings to choose from, we have given Research Station users the ability to request items be digitized.

Below you’ll find a list of recordings that were recently added to the Research Station this Summer 2018 from requests made by Research Station Users.

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

Hadesh Yameinu (New Music at Park Avenue Synagogue) by Azi Schwartz

Dort Vie Libe Dort Is Glik by Aaron Lebedeff

The Shicker Ticker by Seymour Rechtzeit & Miriam Kressyn

Famous Chassidic and Shabath Songs by Various Artists

El Estilo by Leibele Schwartz

Minke Beim Telefon by Bessie Thomashefsky

Let’s Dance by Yaffa Yarkoni

Song Celebration 1976 by Various Artists

Favorite Songs for Children by Yaffa Yarkoni

Lehitim Leyiladim by Eelaneet

Gila Almagor by Gila Almagor

Bab el Wad: The Gate to Jerusalem by Yaffa Yarkoni

Yaffa Yarkoni Greatest Hits by Yaffa Yarkoni

Ronni Ve’simchi by Shmuel Lerer

30 Years with Yaffa Yarkoni by Choir of Tel Aviv & Yaffa Yarkoni

Ilanit Sings Children Songs by Ilanit and Aviva Had

Shiru Shir – Volume 3 by Hadassa Sigalov

In Praise of Kalya by Yaffa Yarkoni and Aric Einstein

Songs of Edith Piaf by Various Artists

Hanukka Songs, Vol. 2 by Miriam Avigal

Yaffa Yarkoni by Yaffa Yarkoni & Anee Tslil Haagadot

Liebe by Seymour Rechtzeit

Tiher Rabbi Yismoel by David Amsel

Weal Yedei by Sawel Kwartin

The Happy People by Danny Rubenstein

The Time of Singing – The Fourth NFTY Album by Various Artists

NCSY-LIVE by Various Artists

Pirchei Holyland by Pirchei Holyland

Dear Mom / Sweet by Yaffa Yarkoni

Der Galicianer Cavallero by Peisachke Burstein

6 Sipurei Yiladim by Ester Sofer

Yaffa Yarkoni Sings International by Yaffa Yarkoni and Bob Adams Orchestra

Bo-oo Lesachek Come, Let’s Play by Ester Sofer Hadassah Sigolov

As a research station user you can request it using the Music on Demand forms on the website.

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The post Recently Added to Research Station (Summer 2018) appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Looking for music to enjoy with family and friends this Passover? Here at the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries, we would like to highlight the voices of Cantor Michael Kyrr, Cantor David Unterman and Joan Mey a few artists out of several available in the Passover Collection off the album, Songs for Passover.

This album was produced by the Jewish Education Committee of New York, in 1965 and was compiled by Harry Coopersmith to help engage youngsters in the customs and traditions of the Jewish religion. These recordings reflect a time in American history when Conservative Jewish educators sought to spirtually bind Jews together through song.

To listen to this album, click here.

To view other recordings by the Jewish Education Committee of New York, click here.

Discover over 40 other recordings for you to enjoy with family and friends in the Passover Collection.

Enjoy!

The post Celebrate Passover with Music from Cantors Michael Kyrr & David Unterman appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Did you know that in 1933, Lucrezia Bori began a career as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Opera during the Great Depression on top of performing?

Retiring, later that she wanted at age 48, Lucrezia Bori helped save the Metropolitan Opera. Despite the Great Depression, the Metropolitan continued to sell tickets to performances with no difficulty, but the contributions of its stockholders fell off dramatically and by the end of 1932 the board of directors found that a great deal of money would be needed if the next season were to be held.

Bori agreed to work with the Opera’s managers to obtain the funds and in 1933, she headed an organization called the Committee to Save the Metropolitan Opera House. Where Lucrezia made appeals by flyer, letter, and in personal contacts with potential benefactors to help save the Met. She traveled widely and participated in numerous benefits, at which she performed.

During this period of fundraising, Lucrezia also continued to carry out an exhausting schedule of performance at the Met.

To help raise the final funds needed,  a masquerade ball was held to raise financial support for the opera house.  Over 3,000 of the city’s aristocracy attended paying $10 each admission, contributing the final $30,000 towards the $300,000 fund needed to save the opera along with $10,000 to cover the cost of the ball.

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives we are celebrating Women’s History month through music by highlighting the voices of Lucrezia Bori and her accomplishments.

To listen to recordings by Lucrezia Bori, click here.

The post Lucrezia Bori Saved the Metropolitan Opera during the Great Depression appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Looking for music to enjoy with family and friends this Purim? Here at the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries, we would like to highlight the voices of William Wolff and Joan Mey one of several artists available in the Purim Collection off the album, Songs for Tu Bishvat and Purim.

This album was produced by the Jewish Education Committee of New York, in 1965 and was compiled by Harry Coopersmith to help engage youngsters in the customs and traditions of the Jewish religion. These recordings reflect a time in American history when Conservative Jewish educators sought to spirtually bind Jews together through song.

To listen to this album, click here.

To view other recordings by the Jewish Education Committee of New York, click here.

Discover over 20 other recordings for you to enjoy with family and friends in the Purim Collection.

Enjoy!

Interested in past posts related to Purim, click here.

The post Celebrate Purim with Music from the Jewish Education Committee of New York appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Did you know that Ethel Waters was the first African American to be nominated for an Emmy Award? In 1962, the legendary jazz and blues singer received the nomination for her performance in a “Route 66” episode, “Good Night, Sweet Blues.”

Ethel Waters in “Route 66”, episode “Good Night, Sweet Blues.”

In the episode, “Good Night, Swee Blues”, Ethel Waters plays Jenny Henderson, a retired singer in failing health who commissions Tod and Buzz to find and bring her the members of the Memphis Naturals, the band she performed and recorded with thirty years earlier.

Waters’ nomination for this role paved the way for women like Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson, Alfre Woodard, Halle Berry, Kerry Washington, Regina King, and Viola Davis, now the first Black woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Beyond acting, Waters’ also performed jazz, big band, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.

Her best-known recordings include “Dinah,” “Stormy Weather,” “Taking a Chance on Love,” “Heat Wave,” “Supper Time,” “Am I Blue?” and “Cabin in the Sky,” as well as her version of the spiritual “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives we are celebrating Black History month through music by highlighting the voices that pioneered it.

To listen to recordings by Ethel Waters, click here.

The post Ethel Waters – First African American to be Nominated for an Emmy in 1962 appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.