Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1927-1974 (17.3 cu. ft.; 155 SB) consists of cassette copies of Ellington and non-Ellington studio recordings, concert recordings, radio and television interviews, Voice of America radio broadcasts, guest appearances on radio and television shows (for example, Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, The Today Show), and audition tapes. The material documents Ellington's recording career between 1927 and 1974. But most of the recordings are from the period, 1955-1973. Included are tapes of major Ellington works such as Black, Brown and Beige, Harlem, and the Second Sacred Concert, as well as tapes of material not widely available commercially including Three Black Kings. In addition to the Ellington recordings, there are recordings by groups led by musicians associated with Ellington, but recorded under their own names, including Johnny Hodges, Ray Nance, Mercer Ellington, Oscar Pettiford, and Herb Jeffries. Series 6 is organized into four subseries. Subseries 6A: Radio and Television Interviews, 1940-1972; Subseries 6B: Concert Performances, 1943-1973; Subseries 6C: Studio dates, 1927-1974 and Subseries 6D: Non-Ellington Recordings, 1941-1974. These original disc recordings and audiotapes (reel-to-reel and cassette) have been duplicated for preservation and researcher copies have been created. Less than one-quarter of the items in this series are commercially released recordings. The material is arranged sequentially by cassette RTC (Researcher Tape Collection) number. When cataloguing is completed access will be possible by artist, song and album title, and performers featured on the recordings. The listing will be updated continually as "unknown" artists, titles, etc., are identified.
RETURN TO MUSIC COLLECTIONS PAGE
E-mail: archivescenter@si.edu