It's All Star Week. And what better time of year to share yet another tape of early 1960's baseball, including part of an All Star game broadcast.
Here's what was recorded on the first side of the tape. Most of this is game played between the White Sox and the Tigers in Detroit on July 3rd, 1962, but there are a few interruptions by other recordings, including a few double recordings along the way at another speed. And even more oddly, unless I miss my guess, it sure seems like this side of the tape begins near the end of the game mentioned, and then a short time later, it's early in the same game, and we hear the progress of the game from that point forwards. I'm not sure how that happened, but I didn't mess with this tape in any way, aside from adjusting the sound levels here and there.
Download: (Mostly) Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers, 7-3-62
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The other side of the tape contains a recording of the national broadcast of that year's second All Star Game (yes, they had two of them for a few years), at Wrigley Field. Again, there are a few (fewer, though) interruptions by other material herein.
I'm sure this recording is available elsewhere online, and in significantly higher quality, but I've chosen to share this recording because it has a few local ads amidst all of the national ones (many of which feature player endorsements of various products) and because it has a local break-in at one point for a news bulletin about a local, at-that-moment-in-progress criminal act.
Download: (Mostly) The Second 1962 All-Star Game at Wrigley Field, 7-30-62
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For those of you who are not enamored of baseball (although I can't fathom that such people exist), or of these somewhat hard to listen recordings, I will add that, at the moment, I am not aware of any further baseball recordings in my collection. That said, I may find more tomorrow!
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Three posts ago, I offered up a woozy radio broadcast of speeches made by members of Toastmistresses. Today, I have another tape of speeches, made more informally - and rather randomly - by what seems to be a similar group, this time a group of men. This doesn't seem to be a Toastmasters group - the name of the group is said at one point - I think - but I can't make it out. These speeches - and some of them barely qualify as such - certainly seem more off the cuff and less prepared than other things I've heard from participants in Toastmasters.
Download: Members of a Toastmasters-Type Group - A Few Short Speeches
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I came across a tape which contained a greeting card with the following documentation inside:
This therefore appears to be a demo reel by someone named Mike Davidson. The tape opens with a short testimonial (the beginning is missing) from someone clearly trying to sell someone else on this person's talents, and then the songs listed are heard. At some point, this tape of recommendation (or perhaps a copy) found its way back to the artist, and he seems to have sent it on to someone else, with an addition: As indicated by the handwritten note at the bottom of the typed list, there is a second version of one of the songs, arranged and produced later than the original version, which Mike Davidson apparently thought was a considerable improvement on the original.
I have been unable to find out anything about this songwriter/performer, so maybe he never "made it" to any degree, but if anyone out there knows who he is/was and what happened to him, please share that information in the comments.
Download: Mike Davidson - Songs by Mike Davidson
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Here is what the outside of the card looks like - the picture is shared upside down so that you can see the writing on the back
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In my last two posts, I featured the first two in a three episode series of "Continental Classroom" episodes, from February of 1963, all about The Supreme Court. Here is the last of the three programs I found on that reel. Actually, the most interesting thing here may be the short segment of the start of The Today Show from that same date, which was captured after the Classroom episode ended.
Play:
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Now here's something which I just love. I don't know how much those of you out there enjoy it, so I don't force feed it to you, but if this site was just for me, there'd be something like this every single time I came across it.
Basically, it's people at home, playing instruments and singing, for their own enjoyment. I should clarify that it's people who are capable of playing and singing well, and not things like our pal Pete, from a bit earlier this year. I don't mean to say that these are virtuosos, but this is a lovely little listen for those who enjoy down-home folks making down-home music.
At various points in this recording, there is ukulele, guitar (sounding like a mandolin at times), simple drumming and a recorder-like instrument (I'm not sure that's what it is), along with the singing. There are several songs performed during the nearly half hour of music, including "Memories Are Made of This" (one of the greatest songs ever written, and done here simply and very sweetly), "You Tell Me Your Dream", "Chinatown", "Bye Bye Blues" and "Who's Sorry Now", among several others. There is a conversation early on, about some local radio performer and his take off on "The Old Philosopher", as well as a lame joke about Mayor Daley of Chicago, but once that's over, it's music, music, music.
That is, until about the 28th minute. I will say no more, besides to say that the last three minutes and ten seconds are something else entirely - several something else's - and that it's best if I let you listen without telling you what to expect.
Download: Unknown - Music At Home (and a Bit More)
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For this post's "Very Short Reel".... well, this is more than a bit of a cheat. This came at the end of 35 or 40 minutes worth of someone's recording of the soundtrack to the film "Gigi". The person who recorded the album for later enjoyment (presumably him, anyway), chose to "back-announce" what the listener had just heard by doing a quick, brief "Alvin the Chipmunk" impersonation, and then interacting with "Alvin". Here is that bit of tape:
Download: Unknown: "Alvin" Back-Announces the Album
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