The 1954 Indianapolis 500, The Hits of 1952, More from Germany, Some Pizza, and Then Some!

What a cornucopia of sound we have to enjoy together on this Memorial Day. 

To start, because it's topical, here's a tape I bought at least 35 years ago - I remember listening to it when I still lived with my parents - digitized at least 20 years ago, and forgot about until yesterday, when I was watching part of the Indianapolis 500. 

It is that very same race, as called and broadcast on the radio just a short 67 years ago, in 1954. It's not the entire race - there are sections that were not recorded, but it runs nearly two hours (the race itself lasted almost four hours). 

The only other things I'll add is that it starts with a very softly recorded introduction, but the sound gets better after about 30 seconds, and that at the very end, there is another very brief section (another 30 seconds perhaps) containing a moment of a baseball game. I don't think there's a lot more to be said, as it pretty well speaks for itself.  

Enjoy the greatest auditory spectacle in racing, 1954 style!

Download: The 1954 Indianapolis 500

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(By the way, on the same date, I also bought a tape of the 1953 broadcast, and if anyone's interested, I can share that one, too.)

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Last time around, I played an interesting audio letter from the family of an Army man in Germany, talking about a variety of things, but largely about their visit to the Berlin Wall. As promised, here is the second of three tapes I have from this family. As you can see from the tape box (below), the receiving family was in Warren, Michigan, but I wasn't looking at the tape box when I digitized these, and as the family mentions Detroit a few times within the tapes, that's what I called the tapes. 

I also labeled this as being from the soldier and his family, but it's not - it's just the Major himself. Also, the sound gets downright weird about halfway through, just before side one is finished. 

Here is that second tape. 

Download: Audio Letter from an Army Man in Germany to his Family in Detroit

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Next up, here's a short segment (about half, I think) of a broadcast of "Your Hit Parade" from the fall of 1952, which was not exactly the pinnacle moment of 20th century pop music. An interesting side note here is that there is a small group of people (half) listening to this show, wherever it was being recorded, and they can be heard having conversations at points during the broadcast. 

Download: Your Hit Parade (Segment), Fall, 1952

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The Dominos Pizza "Noid" commercials were aggressively annoying - and for some reason have been brought back. Here is a tape - unmarked - that I found featuring some "takes" of a "Noid" ad being made, as well as some production music. 

Download: Dominos Pizza - "Noid" Commercial and Production Music - 11/7/88

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Continuing on with my "Acetate of the Month" series, here is an acetate I found which features The Fisher Family, on February 4, 1941, with a tiny bit of music and general good fellowship on the very brief first side, and, on the slightly longer second side, a bit of chat about what the visiting family (from Grand Rapids) thought of Miami, where they appear to have been visiting at the time of this recording. After a bit more merriment, the recording is over. 

Download: From the Fisher Home, 2/4/41, Side One

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Download: From the Fisher Home, 2/4/41, Side Two

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And finally, my other series, the Very Short Reels. Here is the box for today's Very Short Reel, which says just about everything you need to know: 

I do find it curious that a series of PSA's from The American Heart Association contains a spot about warning signs of stroke, don't you? 

Download: Four American Heart Association PSA's - Summer, 1981

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