Centuries Of Sound - mixes / audio collages for every year of recorded sound, 1860 to the present day.

Not sure why I didn't put all of this in a single thread from the start to be honest.

Index of all episodes is here - https://centuriesofsound.com - so far everything between 1860 and 1939, plus 2016-2019

Anyway, here, after a longer-than-planned gestation period, is 1939

https://centuriesofsound.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/1939-icon.jpg

This one is a BIGGIE - four and a half hours of swing, rhythm & blues, samba, country, film clips, music from around the world, interwoven sound collages of original news, lots more I cannot list here for reasons of space.

If you want the WWII collage, that's the final hour. But I think the first three and a half hours are more interesting.

Blog post with all links, etc - https://centuriesofsound.com/2021/10/17/1939/
Mixcloud - https://www.mixcloud.com/centuries_of_sound/centuries-of-sound-1939/

Tracklist is hidden, it's quite long.

0:00:00 Victor Young - Prelude
(Clip from BBC Winston Churchill - Ten Weeks Of War)
(Clip from The Voder - Homer Dudley Bell Labs)
0:00:38 Harry James - Here Comes The Night
(Clip from 1939-09-03 BBC Places Of Entertainment To Be Closed)
0:01:32 Solomon Linda & The Evening Birds - Mbube
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
0:04:33 Betty Hutton - Ol' Man Mose
(Clip from Gone With The Wind)
0:07:16 Glenn Miller - In The Mood
0:10:49 Al Donahue - In The Mood (Paula Kelly, Vocal)
(Clip from Ninotchka)
0:11:31 Carmen Miranda - Mama Eu Quero
0:13:27 Fats Waller - Ain't Misbehavin'
(Clip from The Women)
0:17:24 Art Tatum - Tea For Two
(Clip from Gone With The Wind)
0:19:54 Lionel Hampton - Central Avenue Breakdown
(Clip from Young Mr Lincoln)
0:23:01 Pete Johnson - Let 'em Jump
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
0:26:31 Billie Holiday - Some Other Spring
(Clip from 1939-03-08 BBC Gas Mask Drill)
(Clip from A.R.P. - Gas All Clear (Handbells))
0:29:40 Willie 'The Lion' Smith - Echoes Of Spring
(Clip from 1939-03-15 BBC Chamberlain After Czech Invasion)
0:32:07 Duke Ellington - Sergeant Was Shy
(Clip from Only Angels Have Wings)
0:34:47 Xavier Cugat - One Two Three Kick Conga
(Clip from Ninotchka)
0:36:24 The Manhattan Brothers - Thaba Tseu
(Clip from Gone With The Wind)
0:39:12 Raymond Scott - Oil Gusher
(Clip from Bachelor Mother)
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
(Clip from The Cup Final 1939)
0:41:24 Benny Goodman Sextet - Flyin' Home
0:44:35 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Ida Red
0:46:52 The Carter Family - Hello Stranger
(Clip from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)
0:48:59 Grigoraș Dinicu - Hora Lui Ion Dinicu Și Sârbă Lui Tanţi
(Clip from General Franco in Barcelona)
0:50:09 Sexteto Flores - Un Besito No Mas
(Clip from Hollywood Hobbies)
0:53:31 Artie Shaw - Begin The Beguine
(Clip from Philo T Farnsworth - The Birth of Television)
0:55:27 Carl Stalling - Good Egg
(Clip from Beau Geste)
0:55:53 Hoosier Hot Shots - Like A Monkey Likes Cocoanuts
(Clip from Dodge City)
0:57:50 Cats And The Fiddle - I Miss You So
(Clip from La Règle du Jeu)
1:00:22 Charles Trenet - Mam'zelle Clioénilmontant
(Clip from Le Jour se lève)
1:03:51 Georgius - Sur La Route De Pen-Zac
(Clip from La Règle du Jeu)
1:05:31 Django Reinhardt Et Le Quintette Du Hot Club De France, Avec Stéphane Grappelli - Younger Generation
(Clip from The Voder - Homer Dudley Bell Labs)
1:07:59 Gus Viseur - Swing 39
(Clip from Lou Gehrig - Farewell To Baseball)
1:10:43 John Kirby - Effervescent Blues
1:12:29 Andy Kirk - Twinklin'
(Clip of Dr_James_Naismith_-_Creator_Of_Basketball_In_Rare_Interview)
(Clip from Eve_Ad_2000)
(Clip from Blondie_Dagwood_-_Dagwoods_New_Suit)
1:15:60 Count Basie Orchestra - You Can Depend On Me
(Clip from Blondie_Dagwood_-_Dagwoods_New_Suit)
1:19:14 Bud Freeman - The Eel
1:20:39 Lead Belly - Poor Howard / Green Corn
(Clip from Drums_Along_the_Mohawk)
(Clip from Goodbye_Mr_Chips)
1:23:45 Ari Barroso, Lamartine Babo - No Rancho Fundo
(Clip from Judy_Garland_and_Mickey_Rooney_-_1939_newsreel_footage)
1:25:47 King Radio - It's The Rhythm We Want
(Clip from Midnight)
1:28:28 Ink Spots - If I Didn't Care
(Clip from Confessions_of_a_Nazi_Spy)
1:32:08 Lagos Mozart Orchestra - Esan Inyong Ikide
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
1:34:07 Flanagan & Allen - Nice People
(Clip of WC_Fields_in_You_Can’t_Cheat_An_Honest_Man)
1:35:56 杉井幸一 - おけさ節
(Clip from Son of Frankenstein Trailer)
1:37:23 Carl Stalling - Rubber Dog
1:37:39 Judy Garland - The Jitterbug
(Clip from Blondie_Dagwood_-_Dagwood's_New_Suit)
1:39:03 Raymond Scott - Bumpy Weather Over Newark
(Clip from Bachelor_Mother)
(Clip from The Voder - Homer Dudley Bell Labs)
(Clip from Breakfast_Pals)
1:40:07 Ramblers - Drie Kleine Vischjes (Vocal - Wim Poppink)
1:41:02 Kay Kyser - Three Little Fishies
(Clip from Hollywood_Hobbies)
1:42:42 Louis Armstrong - Jeepers Creepers
(Clip of James_Hilton_discussing_his_Goodbye_Mr_Chips_-_CBS_Radio_Interview)
1:44:45 Patricia Rossborough - Sunrise Serenade
1:46:09 Thaton Ba Hein - Taw Hnit Taung Swe
(Clip from Intermezzo)
1:48:08 Sukru Tunar - Cifte Telli
(Clip from Ninotchka)
1:51:08 Joe Turner & Pete Johnson - Roll 'em Pete
1:52:55 Sonny Boy Williamson - Good Gravy
(Clip from Midnight)
1:54:31 Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five - Keep A-Knockin' (But You Can't Come In)
(Clip from Gone With The Wind)
1:56:20 Lionel Hampton And His Orchestra - Denison Swing
(Clip from Stagecoach)
1:59:36 Gene Autry - Back In The Saddle Again
(Clip from Drums_Along_the_Mohawk)
2:01:42 Ida Cox - Death Letter Blues
(Clip of Lincoln's_cross_examination from_Young_Mr_Lincoln)
2:03:21 Jelly Roll Morton - Oh Didn't He Ramble (+ Sidney Bechet)
2:06:10 Sister Rosetta Tharpe - This Train
(Clip from In_Name_Only)
2:08:45 Mills Brothers - Georgia On My Mind
(Clip from Destry Rides Again)
2:11:38 Sidney Bechet Quintet - Summertime
2:15:26 Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit
2:18:47 Perihan Altindag And Rakim Elkutlu - Ne Bahar Kaldi Ne Gul
2:20:43 Hanende Agyazar Efendi - Kessik Kerem
2:22:05 Tommy Dorsey - Dawn On The Desert
(Clip from Philo_T_Farnsworth_-_The_Birth_of_Television)
(Clip from Ninotchka)
(Clip from The_Man_In_The_Iron_Mask)
(Clip from Mr_Smith_Goes_to_Washington)
2:24:35 Johnny Hodges (Ellington) - Dooji Wooji
(Clip from Only Angels Have Wings)
2:27:17 Coleman Hawkins - Body And Soul
2:30:14 Larry Clinton; Bea Wain - Deep Purple
(Clip from Gone_with_the_Wind)
2:32:30 Chick Webb - Undecided
(Clip from Swing_Dance_In_Secret)
2:35:46 Coleman Hawkins - Fine Dinner
(Clip from Midnight)
2:38:15 Carmen Miranda - South American Way
2:40:02 Dorival Caymmi - O Que É Que A Baiana Tem
2:43:00 Francisco Alves - Aquarela Do Brasil
2:44:59 The Growler - Trinidad Loves To Play Carnival
(Clip from Rules_of_the_Game)
2:47:33 The Atilla - La Reine Maribone
2:49:26 Cab Calloway & His Orchestra - The Jumping Jive
(Clip from Ninotchka)
2:51:36 Bram Martin - Chopsticks (Vocal - Bob Howard)
(Clip from The Women)
2:52:38 Slim Gaillard - Matzoh Balls
2:54:45 George Formby - Sweet Sue, Just You
2:56:06 Arthur Askey - The Worm
2:58:11 Flanagan & Allen - Run, Rabbit, Run
3:00:53 Johnny & Jones - We Hoeven Niet Te Hamsteren
3:02:48 Andrews Sisters - Beer Barrel Polka
(Clip from The Voder - Homer Dudley Bell Labs)
3:05:05 Pyi Hla Pe - Shwe-Tanga
3:07:54 Will Bradley Trio - Down The Road A Piece
(Clip from Lou_Gehrigs_1939_Radio_Interview_While_at_the_Mayo_Clinic_on_1340_KROC_AM)
3:10:57 Fats Waller - Your Feet's Too Big
3:13:59 Rex Stewart (Ellington) - Fat Stuff Serenade
(Clip from Machine_Made_Voices)
3:15:52 See There Singing Band Kumasi - Anoma Oreko
3:17:52 Be Sackey's Band Of Appam - Nkyrinna
3:18:41 Kpagon Band Accra - Ba Wo Ni Aya Ye
3:20:43 Lead Belly - Fannin Street
3:22:25 Pete Johnson - Barrelhouse Breakdown
(Clip from The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame)
3:24:00 Andy Kirk And His Twelve Clouds Of Joy - Floyd's Guitar Blues
3:27:05 Edward Heyman & The Les Paul Trio - Out Of Nowhere
3:29:56 Stéphane Grapelli - Baby
3:32:36 Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade
(Clip from Of_Mice_and_Men)
(Clip from Goodbye_Mr_Chips)
3:37:09 Debutantes & MGM Studio Orchestra - Optimistic Voices
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
3:38:02 MGM Studio Orchestra- March Of The Winkies
(Clip from 1939-08-27 BBC Czech Ambassador In London On Poland Situation)
3:39:08 Toscanini, NBC Orchestra - Beethoven 3 Symph. Funeral March
(Clip from 1939-08-28 - CBS Coverage on the Eve of WWII)
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
(Clip from 1939-08-31 BBC Alvar Liddell Reports On German 16 Point Plan)
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
(Clip from 1939-09-01 State Of Armed Conflict With Poland)
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
3:42:40 Pablo Casals - Bach No. 5 In C Minor - I- Prelude (Adagio - Allegro Moderato)
(Clip from 1939-09-01 BBC Alvar Liddell Reports The Invasion Of Poland)
(Clip from 1939-09-01 BBC Ignace Paderewski On The War Looming Before Poland)
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
(Clip from 1939-09-03 BBC Britain Declares War On Germany)
(Clip from 1939-09-03 BBC Prime Minister Chamberlain Declares War On Germany)
3:46:24 Max Steiner - The Death Of Melanie
(Clip from 1939-09-03 BBC King George VI Addresses The Nation)
(Clip from 1939-09-03 BBC Places Of Entertainment To Be Closed)
3:50:30 Toscanini, NBC Orchestra - Beethoven 3 Symph. Funeral March
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
3:53:05 Django Reinhardt - Echoes Of Spain
(Clip from 1939-09-01 BBC Alvar Liddell Reports On Evacuation Of Children)
(Clip from 1939-09-01 BBC S J de Lotbiniére Reports Further On Evacuation)
(Clip from 1939-09-01 BBC S J de Lotbiniére Reports Train Now Leaving)
3:54:22 Bert Ambrose - Nasty Uncle Adolf (Vocal - Jack Cooper)
(Clip from 1939-09-10 BBC Evacuee Message To Parents)
3:56:50 Judy Garland - Over The Rainbow
(Clip from 1939-10-13 BBC Children's Hour Broadcast By Princess Elizabeth)
4:00:04 Art Tatum - Over The Rainbow
4:00:27 MGM Studio Orchestra - Terrified Lion
(Clip from Adolf Hitler - Speech - 1939-09-22 - Poland and it's imminent defeat)
4:01:01 Max Steiner - Soldiers In Retreat
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
4:02:20 Toscanini, NBC Orchestra - Beethoven 3 Symph. Funeral March
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
4:03:17 Pablo Casals - Bach No. 4 In E Flat - I- Prelude (Allegro Maestoso)
(Clip from 1939-10-01 BBC Winston Churchill - The First Month of the War)
4:05:27 Golden Eagle Gospel Singers - A Warrior On The Battlefield
4:08:02 Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet - Precious Lord
4:10:33 Roland Hayes - 'Roun' 'Bout De Mountain
4:11:59 Duke Ellington - Informal Blues
(Clip from 1939-10-15 (BBC Richard Dimbleby) By a French Road)
4:14:21 Art Tatum - Deep Purple
(Clip from 1939-11-11 BBC Queen Elizabeth - Fortitude Of Women)
4:17:35 John Kirby - Dawn On The Desert
4:20:21 Django Reinhardt - Echoes Of Spain
(Clip from Review of the Year 1939)
4:21:39 Victor Young - The Scroll And The Storm
(Clip from 1939-12-18 BBC Winston Churchill - The Sinking Of The Graf Spee)
(Clip from HM King George VI - The Royal Christmas Message of 1939)
4:23:58 Lale Andersen - Lili Marlen
(Clip from HM King George VI - The Royal Christmas Message of 1939)
4:27:39 Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again (Novachord - Arthur Young)
(Clip from The Roaring Twenties)

(This one is a BIGGIE - just to warn you, the longest mix I've ever made. The last hour is the WWII collage, if that's what you're here for)

If it's of interest to anyone (unlikely, but possible) I wrote a Twitter thread as I made this mix to show how it was done -

PROGRESS THREAD OF THE 1939 MIX

As promised, here is a daily update on how 1939 is going. A year ago I spent a month listening to recordings from 1939, now I have a three neat-ish folders. pic.twitter.com/5NfQxxTjp0

— Centuries of Sound (@Centuries_Sound) September 7, 2021

this looks amazing

Thanks dm, I hope it is.

Haven't updated this for a while (have been away) - anyway

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/1940-icon.jpg

https://centuriesofsound.com/2021/12/07/1940/

HD stereo recordings from Stokowski layered over recordings from the war, Woody Guthrie, last great year of swing

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1941-icon.jpg

https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/03/11/1941/

Earliest be bop recordings, jump blues, verite-style montage of radio recordings from day of Pearl Harbor attacks

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/1942-Icon.jpg

https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/05/30/1942/

War becomes pop culture, John Cage, Casablanca, much more of a sound collage than previous mixes.

...I won't post tracklistings, these things are each around four hours of audio.

Tremendous!

Thanks TH, these are becoming exponentially difficult to produce, though I have made a rod for my own back with downloading so many hours of old radio. Hoping something comes along that will let me devote more time to them, but nothing on the horizon.

The 1942-44 Petrillo/musicians strike is such an overlooked event in the history of pop music. I still can’t believe it actually happened. It killed the big bands!

Wasn’t overlooked by the late Phil Schaap.

i cannot wait to listen to these, thanks as always!

by the way, i've been listening to your 1950 mix (yet again) because it's that year in a biography i'm reading. makes for wonderful reading music

(although i'm sure most radio stations were too square to play some of the more raunchy material? maybe i'm wrong on that?)

I haven't got to 1950 yet, KM, are you thinking of Michael Daddino's "The Bomb At The Heart Of The Century"?

have you see this, CaAL? feels somewhat adjacent to your interests..

https://citiesandmemory.com/2022/05/open-call-your-field-recordings-of-obsolete-sounds-wanted/

I did see that, yeah, and have been doing a lot of field recording these days, still can't think of anything that would fit though!

I made this field recording / ambient / noise / found sound LP at the start of the year, if anyone's into that stuff.

https://centuriesofsound.bandcamp.com/album/the-westering

I haven't got to 1950 yet, KM, are you thinking of Michael Daddino's "The Bomb At The Heart Of The Century"?

for fuck's sake, yes, and that is not the first time i've done this. i'm sorry. i'm not used to having multiple people's names i recognize tackling old school annual music mixes!

at any rate, i'm digging into 1940 now

So it's been a long time in gestation, but here finally is 1943!

The AFM strike + low vinyl production due to the war means that there is very little recorded music from the USA in 1943, so I have made a soundscape of music (mainly V-discs / movie soundtracks / non-US-releases / etc.) and movie clips, radio broadcasts, etc. which I'm putting out in twelve more digestible bits.

So here is part one, including blog - https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/08/23/1943-part-1-introduction-january/ - this section includes Lena Horne, Charlie Parker, Mildred Bailey, Efisio Melis, Oscar Aleman, Xavier Cugat, Charlie Barnet, Django Reinhardt Et Le Quintette Du Hot Club De France and "Shadow Of A Doubt"

I've been putting this mix up in chunks.

PART ONE - INTRODUCTION + JANUARY

Featuring Lena Horne, Charlie Parker, Mildred Bailey, Efisio Melis, Oscar Aleman, Xavier Cugat, Charlie Barnet, Django Reinhardt Et Le Quintette Du Hot Club De France and "Shadow Of A Doubt"

https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/08/23/1943-part-1-introduction-january/

https://i.imgur.com/PNVU9TP.png

PART TWO - FEBRUARY

This part is mostly a wartime sound collage over and under lengthy selections from Duke Ellington's 'Black, Brown & Beige' concert, but also features Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots, The Golden Gate Quartet & The Nat King Cole Trio

https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/09/01/1943-part-2-february/

https://i.imgur.com/ozs0lzm.png

PART THREE - MARCH

This part features Yma Sumack, Evelyn Künnek, Louis Jordan, Nat King Cole & Dexter Gordon, Flanagan & Allen, George Lewis, Harry Roy, Four Vagabonds, "Women of Steel" "The Human Comedy" and "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman"

https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/09/05/1943-part-3-march/

https://i.imgur.com/9TnuFzy.png

PART FOUR - APRIL

Featuring Miguel Caló, Alberto Podestá, Carlos Di Sarli, Roberto Rufino, Django Reinhardt, Spike Jones, Lionel Hampton, Dinah Washington, Shinda Gikombe and "I Walked With A Zombie"

https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/09/07/1943-part-4-april/

https://i.imgur.com/7wEsqU1.png

PART FIVE - MAY

Featuring Jimmy Yancey, Cab Calloway, The Nicholas Brothers, Charlie Parker, Jay McShann, Carroll Gibbons, Freddy Martin, Fats Waller, Ada Brown, "Five Graves to Cairo" and the notorious Axis Sally.

https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/09/09/1943-part-5-may/

https://i.imgur.com/Cenh8cA.png

PART SIX - JUNE

Featuring The Andrews Sisters, Oscar Aleman, Carlos Di Sarli, Roberto Rufino, Ameerbai Karnataki, Khan Mastana, Nattiyakkalaye, Django Reinhardt Et Le Quintette Du Hot Club De France and "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp"https://t.co/z3mkWqUhhi pic.twitter.com/vgfjwY3jKl

— Centuries of Sound (@Centuries_Sound) September 12, 2022

PART SEVEN - JULY

Featuring Lead Belly, Dorothy Maynor, Frank Sinatra, Carmen Miranda, Edith Piaf, Lord Invader and "For Who The Bell Tolls"https://t.co/OMqxuWyS4q pic.twitter.com/MktCvBqP9X

— Centuries of Sound (@Centuries_Sound) September 14, 2022

PART EIGHT - AUGUST

Featuring Concha Piquer, Duke Ellington, Ray Nance, Benny Carter, Rueben Solomon & His Jive Boys, Jimmy Dorsey, Kitty Kallen, Anne Shelton and "Private SNAFU"https://t.co/9fju1nfiBe pic.twitter.com/r5K1PT3udC

— Centuries of Sound (@Centuries_Sound) September 17, 2022

PART NINE - SEPTEMBER

Featuring a long genuine sequence of a bomber crew flying over Germany, also with Ella May Morse & Freddie Slack, Big Bill Broonzy, The Four Vagabonds, Dicky Wells, Spike Jones, Lum & Abner and Yvonne de Treberthttps://t.co/tq9PuIZsmP pic.twitter.com/JK975pz9yl

— Centuries of Sound (@Centuries_Sound) September 22, 2022

PART TEN - OCTOBER

Featuring "Lassie Come Home", Charlie Parker, Aníbal Troilo, Sekinomu, Django Reinhardt, Lead Belly and The New Mayfair Dance Orchestrahttps://t.co/q49u0U0TI4 pic.twitter.com/dAF97h1qhm

— Centuries of Sound (@Centuries_Sound) September 26, 2022

PART ELEVEN - NOVEMBER

Featuring Wild Bill Davison, Louis Jordan, Yma Sumack, Charles Trenet, Nat King Cole and Fats Wallerhttps://t.co/oB2zshzXfD pic.twitter.com/YMG0oSx3wl

— Centuries of Sound (@Centuries_Sound) September 30, 2022

PART TWELVE - DECEMBER + CLOSING

Featuring Stuff Smith, Dicky Wells, Nat King Cole, Shamshad Begum, Custódio Mesquita, Bing Crosby, The Andrew Sisters, Xavier Cugat, Amos & Andy, Fibber McGee & Molly.

And that's about it! #CenturiesOfSoundhttps://t.co/0cERCcaUxq pic.twitter.com/G49rkDTv0m

— Centuries of Sound (@Centuries_Sound) October 5, 2022

Sorry for laziness re:twitter repostings

Anyway, here is the whole thing, streamable.

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/12_116725237.jpg

https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/10/06/1943/

https://www.mixcloud.com/centuries_of_sound/centuries-of-sound-1943-single-mix/

As noted before, this is an odd one as the record business was essentially shut down for the duration of the year.

I can't wait :)

Thank you CAL!

Thanks TH (not sure if this is in regard to the mix above or the Halloween mixes I just put out)

Lol all of it!

Progress has been slow this year, but I've put out three compilations this Christmas - first two were out previously, last one is brand new.

Christmas 1902-1924: Deep Magic From Before The Dawn Of Time

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Deep-Magic-cover.jpg?w=400

Christmas 1926-1938: A Holiday Between The Wars

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/a-holiday-between-the-wars-front.jpg?w=400

Christmas 1939-1945: A Wartime Christmas

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Cover.jpg?w=400

Love these, CaAL, thank you for your service

On my podcast app, the earliest file I can access is 1942 (May 13, 2022). Did you switch audio formats then, or is there some kind of hosting limitation, or…?

There has been a problem between WordPress and Google Podcasts somewhere, think it is basically fixed, but the apps will probably take a few days to re-scan the old feeds.

Anyway, new one out today, this is for the first half of 1944. Have decided to start splitting the things up to preserve my sanity.
Full tracklist under the link - scroll down for the mixcloud player, the podcast download is a shorter preview version

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/1944-Part-1-Icon.jpg

https://centuriesofsound.com/2023/01/10/1944-part-one/

New one out today, but featuring very little in the way of music. I edited down all the original recordings I could find of D-Day (around 60 hours) into this 80-minute soundscape. Put the whole thing up as a download as copyright issues are less of a concern this time, but it's also up at Mixcloud, etc.

https://centuriesofsound.com/2023/02/06/d-day-tuesday-6th-june-1944/

thank you for keeping us posted. i know i'm not the only one here who adores your mixes. keep it up and sorry i don't comment on them as often as i'd like to.

New one out today for patrons and it's brilliant!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/1944-part-three-79707269

Thank you!

It's out for everyone else too -

https://centuriesofsound.com/2023/03/07/1944-part-three/

(look for the Mixcloud player if you want the whole thing)

SO anyway here it is

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1944-Part-3-Icon.gif

https://centuriesofsound.com/2023/03/07/1944-part-three

Features a good deal of original radio recordings, as discussed upthread I had WAY too many for 1944 and that's why everything has taken so long.

Aside from radio, film clips, speeches, etc, you can hear:

Louis Jordan, Boyd Raeburn, Dinah Washington, Wally Bastiansz, J.J. Johnson, Illinois Jacquet, Jack Mcvea, Nat King Cole, Les Paul, Johnny Miller, Lee Young, Stan Kenton, Phil Harris, Arsenio Rodríguez, Woody Guthrie, Tino Rossi, Sergei Provokiev, Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, Lead Belly, Lucky Millinder, Wynonie Harris, Cecil Gant, Coleman Hawkins, Tampa Red, Charles Wolcott, Nestor Amaral, Bing Crosby, Walter Houston, Artie Shaw, Spike Jones, Julia Lee, The Andrews Sisters, Rev Utah Smith, Harry James, Josh White, Ernest Tubb, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Edmond Hall, Carmen Miranda, Ink Spots, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Meade Lux Lewis, Zohrabai Ambalewali, Sons Of The Pioneers, Wee Bea Booze, Kansas City Five, Cootie Williams, Orquesta Casino De La Playa, Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ángel D'Agostino and Ángel Vargas.

I love all of this and one reason why is the absence these mixes evoke - absence of the audience that was listening at the time, when this stuff was floating through the air, part of the mix of popular culture. You can imagine its contours, its reactions, its absent-mindedness, but the audio only partially helps you do that, the rest is a void, unknown apart from whatever knowledge you have to bear about 1944 (probably very little). But the audio remains, as vivid and true to itself as it was back then - probably truer, because of the incredible fidelity of today's equipment. Like touching the side of a cathedral.

Centuries of Sound is great! I’m sure that mix is amazing but I’m currently at 1917 (how have I never heard the incredible “Livery Stable Blues” before?) and I want to go in chronological order, not gonna skip any years. I’ll get to 1944 eventually. All in good time. I also love the Centuries of Sound radio podcast on Cambridge 105 radio. Great stuff!

Thanks both - yes TH, I do think about the lives of people at this time, have been researching my grandparents' wartime experiences for my other project and wonder what the world sounded like to them - this is why I have a doodlebug at the start of 1944 part 1. I do also wonder about how much restoration work I should do, it's a complicated question because if the quality is better than would have been experienced at the time then that doesn't feel right. I've used some of the worse quality radio recordings to add tuning-in effects, but this kind of pseudo-authenticity just reminds me that everything is constructed, and everything is a decision I've made rather than an untouched artefact.

Mr Snrub, yes Livery Stable Blues is a great record, it is a shame that the novelty jazz of 1917-1922 is so completely disregarded, though I can well understand the reasons.

New mix up, 1945 Part One

https://centuriesofsound.com/2023/04/10/1945-part-one/ - mixcloud player has the whole mix, dl is just the first hour.

https://i0.wp.com/centuriesofsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Raising_a_flag_over_the_Reichstag.jpg

The second world war has been a bit of a cursed time for this project, there is just too much history and not enough music going on, so let's view this one as a last grand flourish for the era, the mix is at least 50% speech radio recordings of various sorts, covering the first 4.5 months of 1945, a time when a lot of history went down. This is not what I had planned for the project, but I'm happy with how it turned out, and even happier that the next phase (and the foreseeable future) is music-centred. Though of course the war is not quite finished yet, so next time will be bebop, jump blues and Hiroshima.

1945 Part Two is up!

https://centuriesofsound.com/2023/05/23/1945-part-two/

Such a relief to finally get to the end if WWII and stop downloading those radio archives.

This one features -

Dizzy Gillespie
Xavier Cugat
Big Maceo
Mary Lou Williams
Bidu Sayao
Louis Jordan
Erskine Hawkins
Abbott & Costello
Stan Kenton
Roy Milton
Don Byas
Duke Ellington
The Les Paul Trio
Frank Sinatra
Ray McKinley Trio
Harry James
Illinois Jacquet
Trummy Young
Wynonie Harris
Miguel Caró
Spike Jones
Bob Wills
Nat King Cole
Lester Young
Luis Vola
Cecil Gant
Woody Herman
Dorothy Squires
Artie Shaw
Mukesh
Slim Gaillard Quartette
Lenny Tristano
Bing Crosby and Judy Garland
Benny Goodman
Jo Stafford
Billie Holiday
Charlie Parker
Charles Trenet
Django Reinhardt
Bill Stegmeyer
Eddy Arnold
Bill Monroe
Merle Travis
Jack Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup
Roosevelt Sykes
Joe Liggins
Rubberlegs Williams
Julia Lee
The Duriyapranit Piphat Ensemble & Chorus
Betty Hutton
Edmond Hall
Carmen Miranda
Hadda Brooks
Coleman Hawkins
Dexter Gordon
Alfredo De Angelis
Carlos Dante
Julio Martel
Johnny Moore
Gene Kelly
Kay Starr

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