Lost Sounds is a public radio documentary in three parts produced by KUOW 94.9 Seattle. The documentary combines audio from lost recordings dating back to 1890, and information from the book Lost Sounds.
It's a common belief that African American artists were excluded from the fledgling recording industry of the 1890s. In fact, black entertainers were pioneers of commercial recording. The audio collection Lost Sounds highlights African American contributions in the earliest days of recorded sound. Prototypes of distinctly American music styles – Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz and Rock and Roll – are all represented in these early recordings.
"Lost Sounds takes us on an amazing 30–year journey through American music that many assumed was never recorded — a whole history hitherto unheard by modern audiences. These performances presage American music for the entire century to follow; the rhythms and harmonies of proto–jazz, R&B, and even rock jump from grooves cut in the 1890s. Our understanding of music, of performance, of the character and impact of black artistic contributions is forever enriched. Some experts are now suggesting that our history books need to be rewritten."
Meagan Hennessey – Producer, Archeophone Records
Lost Sounds won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Historical Album. Tim Brooks' award winning book Lost Sounds: Blacks and The Birth Of The Recording Industry 1890–1919 profiles early black recording artists heard on the album. Tim Brooks and David Giovannoni organized the music for the CD. In this three–part interview, the two collectors come together to talk about the historical and social significance of Lost Sounds.
Meet some people behind Lost Sounds. Look at the Lost Sounds slideshow.
Part One
Part one focuses on the techniques and content of the very earliest commercial recordings.
Listen (MP3)
Related Links:
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- 'Researchers Play Tune Recorded Before Edison,' New York Times
- First Sounds
- Jack Johnson, boxer on Wikipedia
Photo: Jack Johnson at the Edison Bell recording studio in England, 1914. (from Talking Machine News, July 1914, courtesy of the British Library)
Part Two
Part two explores how early African American recordings planted the seeds for several uniquely American music styles and for social equality.
Listen (MP3)
Related Links:
KUOW does not endorse nor control the content viewed on these links as they appear now or in the future.
- Lost Sounds on Archeophone Records
- The Booker T. Washington papers digital archive, University of Illinois Press
- Booker T. Washington on Wikipedia
Photo: Booker T. Washington, the founder of Tuskegee Institute, c.1908, only months before he committed his 1895 landmark speech to wax for posterity. (Courtesy Library of Congress)
Part Three
Part three highlights changes to the face of black American entertainment in the early 20th century and what that can tell us about contemporary times.
Listen (MP3)
Related Links:
KUOW does not endorse nor control the content viewed on these links as they appear now or in the future.
Photo: Pianist Eubie Blake and singer Noble Sissle, in a 1920 publicity photo. (Courtesy Tim Brooks)
Podcast
KUOW's Lost Sounds was hosted and produced by Amanda Wilde. Executive Producer Jeff Hansen.
