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By Recorded Sound Archives, October 12, 2020 5:18 pm

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Recorded Sound Archives is exploring music through portraits.  This week discover and learn more about Mexican Singer and Composer Chucho Martinez Gil in the video below.

If you enjoyed learning about you can listen to one of his recordings in the Recorded Sound Archives: https://rsa.fau.edu/artist/5077.

Please feel free to download a coloring page we created of Chucho Martinez Gil that you can color and hang up in celebration of Hispanic heritage month and join us this week to find out which Latino musician we end up exploring next.

DOWNLOAD – Free Chucho Martinez Gil coloring page

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By Recorded Sound Archives, October 2, 2020 5:04 pm

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Recorded Sound Archives is exploring music through portraits.  This week discover and learn more about Cuban American Musician and Bandleader – Desi Arnaz in the video below.

If you enjoyed learning about Desi Arnaz you can listen to five of his recordings in the Recorded Sound Archives: https://rsa.fau.edu/desi-arnaz

Please feel free to download a coloring page we created of Desi Arnaz that you can color and hang up in celebration of Hispanic heritage month and join us next week to find out which Latino musician we end up exploring next.

DOWNLOAD – Free Desi Arnaz coloring page

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By Recorded Sound Archives, September 25, 2020 2:52 pm

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Recorded Sound Archives is exploring music through portraits. Enjoy the first of four videos created in celebration of Hispanic/Latino artists. This week discover and learn more about Cuban composer and pianist – Ernesto Lecuona and Lecuona’s Cuban Boys in the video below.

If you enjoyed learning about Ernesto Lecuona you can listen to two of his recordings in the Recorded Sound Archives: https://rsa.fau.edu/ernesto-lecuona

Please feel free to download a coloring page we created of Ernesto Lecuona that you can color and hang up in celebration of Hispanic heritage month and join us next week to find out which Latino musician we end up exploring next.

DOWNLOAD – Free Ernesto Lecuona coloring page

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By Recorded Sound Archives, July 28, 2020 3:24 pm

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.

Discover 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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, July 14, 2020 6:58 pm

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.

Discover more recordings at Recorded Sound Archives

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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, February 7, 2020 12:46 pm

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!

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By Recorded Sound Archives, October 31, 2019 8:05 am

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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, September 27, 2019 12:17 pm

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.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, June 6, 2019 6:00 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 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.

Recently Added to Research Station

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

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, 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.