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By Recorded Sound Archives, October 2, 2018 12:44 pm

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.

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

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.

Three interesting facts about Xavier Cugat!

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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, August 10, 2018 1:30 pm

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.

Recently Added Music

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

See a recording that hasn’t been digitized?

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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, March 7, 2018 7:20 pm

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. While the Metropolitan continued to sell tickets to performances with no difficulty despite the Great Depression. 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 voice of Lucrezia Bori and her accomplishment of saving the Metropolitan Opera.

To listen to recordings by Lucrezia Bori, click here.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, February 2, 2018 6:24 pm

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 of the past and their accomplishments.

To listen to recordings by Ethel Waters, click here.

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By Benjamin Roth-Aroni, July 25, 2017 1:31 pm

There was a “joke” in the cantorial world that “If you can’t get Koussevitzky, get Aroni!”  Personally, I think Aroni (my dad) had a better voice.

His voice instructor and many others told him that he could have been, or should be an opera singer, but he loved being a cantor too much.

His voice didn’t age noticeably from his first recordings, specifically The Grape Song recorded in 1950, to his last recording Kohanecha Yilb’shu Tzedek recorded in 1990.

Both recordings can be heard on the RSA website, along with 34 other recordings by Cantor Zvee Aroni, just one of over 260 cantorial voices to choose from in the Cantorial Voices Collection.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, June 30, 2017 5:52 pm

Celebrate this Fourth of July by listening and discovering some vintage songs from the early 1900s. Listen to a funny monologue and learn how the Fourth of July was celebrated at the Pun’kin Center back in 1915 or learn more about the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson and other Americana.

Below you will find a list of 5 songs and albums for you to share and enjoy this year with family and friends.

Fourth of July at Pun’kin Center by Cal Stewart and Steve Porter

Spirit of Independence March by Conway’s Band

The Liberty Tree by The Sand Pipers & Mitch Miller and Orchestra

Our American Heritage Album by Wesley Addy

American Patriotic & Marching Songs by Various Artists

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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, June 13, 2017 5:54 pm

Celebrate this Summer by listening and discovering some vintage songs from the early 1900s about summer and/or the summertime. Below you will find a list of over 20 songs for you to share and enjoy this year with family and friends.

 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.

When Summer is Gone by Nathan Shilkret and The Troubadours

Summertime by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians

The Last Rose of Summer by Fraces Alda

My Native Land / Midsummer by Lotte Lehmann

When Summer is Gone by The Columbians

A Summer on the Farm by Various Artists

Guess I’ll Go Back Home (this Summer) by James Cross

The Things We Did Last Summer by Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra

Summer Night by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians

The First Rose of Summer by John McCormack

Guess I”ll Go Back Home (This Summer) by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra

Indian Summer by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra

One Summer Night by Roger Wolfe Kahn and his Orchestra

When Summer is Gone by Nathan Shilkret and his Orchestra

Last Rose of Summer by Nelson Eddy

Last Rose of Summer by Elizabeth Wheeler

Last Rose of Summer by Virginia Rea

With Summer Coming On by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians

Song for a Summer Night by Mitch Miller and his Orchestra

A Summer Day by Not Listed

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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, May 10, 2017 5:48 pm

Celebrate this Mothers Day by listening and discovering some vintage songs from the early 1900s about mothers. There’s even a song or two about Dad and a fun Monologue called How Mother Made Soup for your enjoyment.

Below you will find a list of over 20 songs for you to share and enjoy this year with family and friends.

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.

Go Home and Tell Your Mother by Guy Lombardo & Keneke

Mother of My Heart by Frances Alda

Rembember Dad (On Mother’s Day) by Jerry Colonna

Mother O’ Mine by John McCormack

I Wouldn’t Trade the Silver in My Mother’s Hair (For All the Gold in the World) by Eddy Arnold

My Mother’s Sweet Voice by Eddy Arnold

Go Home and Tell Your Mother by Gus Arnheim and his Cocoanut Grove

If the Rest of the World Don’t Want You (Go Back to Mother and Dad) by Franklyn Baur

Baby Your Mother (Like She Babied You) by Don Bestor and his Orchestra

Dear Mom by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra

How Mother Made the Soup by Charley Case

Ireland Must Be Heaven for My Mother Came From There by Charles Harrison

Mother’s Hands by Henry Burr

Daddy has a Sweetheart and Mother is her Name by Charles Munch

My Mother by Orville Harrold

Dear Old-Fashioned Irish Song My Mother Sang to me by Henry Burr

I’m in Heaven When I’m in My Mother’s Arms (I Don’t Have to Die to Go to Heaven) by William Robyn

Mother O’ Mine by Conrad Thibault

Mother Of Mine, I Still Have You by Al Jolson and William F. Wirges and his Orchestra

Angel Mother by George Morgan

Always Think of Mother by Manuel Romain

An Meine Mutter (To My Mother) by Biedermann, Lufsky and Prince

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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, June 13, 2016 8:15 am

While digitizing recordings by Sergei Rachmaninoff at the Recorded Sound Archives, we found some interesting facts about Rachmaninoff that you may not of known. Such as did you know….

1. Rachmaninoff was twice offered the position of conductor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He refused both times.

2. Aside from being a magnificent composer, Rachmaninoff was also a man of strong moral character. In 1912, Rachmaninoff resigned from his position as vice-president of the Russian Musical Society in protest to a musician being dismissed from his duties because he was Jewish.

3. Rachmaninoff’s last piano recital included Chopin’s Sonata no. 2, which includes a famous funeral march. Rachmaninoff died 40 days after performing the funeral march. Rachmaninoff’s composition All Night Vigil was sung at his funeral.

Want to learn more about Sergei Rachmaninoff and his music?

Click here to listen to over 40 recordings that have been digitized and learn more about the life of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, March 18, 2016 4:36 pm

PURIM, which, in English, means [drawing] LOTS, is about the book of Esther which is also known in Hebrew as Megillah (the Scroll).  It is a book in the third section of Ketuvim (Writings) of the Jewish Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).  It relates to the story of a Hebrew girl in Persia, born as Hadassah but known as Esther (niece of Mordechai), who becomes Queen of Persia and thwarts the genocide of her people by the wicked Haman, a high official in the court of King Achashverosh.

Haman sought to annihilate all the Jews, Mordechai’s people, throughout King Achashverosh’s’ entire kingdom.  For Haman plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and he cast a “pur”, which is a LOT, to shatter and destroy them. For this reason, they call these days “Purim,” after the pur.

The story forms the core of the Jewish festival of Purim, during which it is read aloud twice: once in the evening and again the following morning. A Purim party often takes place during this time where children dress up in costumes usually relevant to the story of Purim. It’s a fun time for everyone including adults!

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, we have put together a collection of over 20 recordings for you to enjoy with family and friends this Purim.

Enjoy!