I've had a few requests for more tapes from the Army Doctor in Korea, a set of recordings from 1954 from which I've previously shared, in random order, two reels in a post from 2011, and two more in another post, about a year ago. At the moment, I can only put my hands on one more of these tapes, although I know there are several more in my catacombs, somewhere, and I will continue to share these if the interest continues.
This tape was made two days after one of the tapes shared a year ago, and the doctor's big news is his upcoming move to a new location within Korea, which doesn't appear to have been by his choice, and which he sounds decidedly unhappy about. Also of note is the story related at the start of side two of the tape, recounting why someone he knew sent him an actual U.S. dollar bill, and why such an item was not supposed to be among his possessions, a story which also touches on the religious practices of the locals in that time.
Comments appear to still be stuck on "closed" on this site, so if you have anything to say, feel free to write me at bpurse@gmail.com, and I'll update this posting with those comments.
The unusual, obscure and fascinating trips to my reel to reel collection, and the offbeat, unknown and one-of-a-kind records from the archives will wait until another day and another post.
For my money, the best singer ever recorded, and that I've ever heard anywhere. No one comes close. His voice was the purest expression of joy, or sadness, or anger, or righteous indignation, or whatever else was called for. In addition, his singing was a natural extension of his speaking voice, unadorned by any embellishment, misguided training or showboating, and that's exactly the sort of singing we don't have enough of today. HIs voice is pure emotion. His voice is the sound of America. His voice is the sound of life being lived well.
And not only that, Pete was without question in my mind, the most important American musician of the 20th century. I'm not saying that based solely on his songwriting or performances - I wouldn't try to support that statement. What I mean is - looking at any prominent musician of the century, and the totality of what each of them did, in all areas, musical or otherwise, again, no one comes close. He was one of the most important Americans of the century, period.
I could support those statements, if I had the time and the space - it would take (and has taken) a book. But instead, just a focus on one important moment from history, and then I have a few of my favorites from Pete's works below.
There is also a much more detailed version of this post, with nearly 20 samples from his career, in a post you can find here.
Before the music, a trip back in time to one of the pivotal events in Pete's life. While he kept up his professional career from 1955-1962 - Pete made at least five albums with the Weavers, and perhaps three dozen albums for Folkways, including hundreds of tracks recorded during that time, in addition to non-stop touring - he was, for that entire period, facing the wrath of the U.S. Government, including what seemed likely to be a likely prison term, essentially for refusing to reveal his private thoughts.
And now, a quick three song sampling of my favorite Seeger tracks, which, again, is greatly expanded on here.
Here's a recording from the Newport Folk Festival. To me, it is among the prime examples of Pete's ability to lead a crowd in group harmony - as he first encourages them to sing, then goes over each part, then, realizing it should be in a higher key, moves his capo before launching into an inspired rendition of "Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep". The spoken opening is a great demonstration of how Pete's singing voice was just an extension of his way of speaking, and the moments here in which he sings a single high note over the harmonizing audience... well, that's something he often did, and it was always an amazing sound, rarely better than it is here.
From 1974, here's my second favorite Seeger track, a performance with his great friend Fred Hellerman on the folk standard "Banks of Marble". The track here, with banjo, guitar and piano, goes into a rolling rhythm, as their voices harmonize as in the old days, and they sing a song which is, sadly, yet to lose its meaning - it is as relevant today as when it was written, about 65 years ago. To quote a well known Seeger song: "when will we ever learn?".
And finally, the recording I consider not only Pete Seeger's finest moment, but one of the two or three greatest single tracks ever recorded. This is one of those perfect records that I could listen to multiple times a day without getting tired of it. It's found on an album recorded at the Weavers' reunion concerts at Carnegie Hall in 1963, but aside from some key instrumental backing from other members of the group (the double bass in particular is essential here), this is all Pete's show, or rather, Pete Seeger with an choir-by-audience numbering in the thousands.
Thanks, Pete, for the myriad ways that you colored our lives, made it a more beautiful, musically vibrant world, help open our eyes to so many things, and worked to make America and the world a better place.
I had an itch to post this during the final weeks of the presidential race, but due to the record's rather hateful (but hilarious) far-right conservative script (as read by one of my record-collecting faves Walter Brennan) I elected to wait and see how the chips fell before I dove in. Since the reptilian/humanoid candidate lost we'll now present side one of this rare little gem. Again, one of those discs that I've been DJ'ing bits of for a LONG time and I'm glad to share it in its entirety (well, side one this time anyhoo).
As written by Vick Knight in the early 1960's for Key Records (who I'd like to know more about), it spends two full sides tearing down the LBJ administration and its 'terribly destructive' policies carried over from the Kennedy years. I got quite a shock when I first bought this and heard Mr. Good-Time Ol' Farmer Guy using his normal voice for a change and ripping savagely into anything remotely resembling liberal government policies. The stark cover also struck me as quite attractive as well.
Both sides of the lp are continuous, so I broke it into eight parts when I ripped it to digital years ago, for easier DJ'ing and listening. So buckle up and hear a side of Mr. Brennan that you may not have heard before.
This week, I went digging around in the corner of the catacombs where I keep stacks of radio ads and PSA's, and dug up a batch of 20-30 year old spots, on four different tapes, which are from a variety of very different times and places.
Here are three ads from Computerland, with bargains that can hardly be believed: Imagine saving $400 on your purchase of an IBM computer, with enhanced keyboard, DOS and 640 K of RAM, all for only $1999! Where do I sign up????
Beyond a few broad, core truths (the Nazis are Evil, the Axis are a Threat), propaganda is by its very nature filled with falsehoods, exaggerations, and lies. It reveals far more about the country that created it than its actual target. In the following cartoons, which cast the most popular animated characters of the time into situations both comic and nightmarish, the concerns of World War II America are laid bare: it's scared, defiant, and strangely obsessed.