"Because ignorance of your culture is considered uncool"
1956 seems so deep in the distant past that to many, any discussion of it would be purely in the abstract. But 1956 was a pivotal year on many levels, and what went on during that year had repercussions for decades to come. 1956 was an election year; Eisenhower was...
Alec Wilder Octet – Vox Records Set VSP-301 – 1947 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection – Something a little out of the ordinary this weekend. The music of Alec Wilder featuring an octet and recorded by Vox Records in 1947. The music of Alec Wilder doesn’t really conform to one...
Looking for samples of Iconic Americana this weekend, I ran across this concert by the legendary Little Feat, recorded by KMET-FM in Los Angeles on March 20, 1973. Having been a fan of this group since their early days, I always enjoyed their live gigs equally as much as their...
December 30,1955 – In 1955, as in 2020, the day before New Year‘s Eve fell on a Friday – the weekend was set aside for celebrating and the ever-present singing of Auld lang Syne. But Friday was the last day of the 5-day-a-week news programs – and this Friday in...
Count Basie and His Orchestra – America Dances – CBS – July 9, 1938 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection – The incomparable Count Basie and his Orchestra to help slide into this Holiday weekend. Broadcast on July 9, 1938 from the CBS series America Dances and broadcast via shortwave to...
KYA – Norman Davis Substituting for Tom Donahue – December 26, 1964 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection – ‘Tis the morning after Christmas; 1964. You are laying in bed, you are very quiet. You gradually open your eyes. Your mouth feels like Death Valley, the rain outside thunders in your...
Couple cents? Become a Patron! As crowds line up, snaking down city blocks and shivering in sub-zero temperatures in anticipation of snagging a bargain on what has now become the second Great Holiday; Black Friday – a name which seems ironic, as it should be called Green Friday as retailers...
What began during World War 2 as a holiday ritual, continued on for decades as members of the Hollywood contingent boarded planes and headed off to Army camps to spend Christmas with the troops. In 1952 it was Korea. And for 17 days, from Christmas to New Years, the USO...
Frank Sinatra turns 105 today. The singer who became so identified with the Big Band era of the 1940s, and who branched out to become one of the Entertainment world’s great icons of the 20th century, was born on this December 12th in 1915. There is very little...
There was a time when radio had a habit of mixing things up – going from serious news or conversation to festive holiday music didn’t seem that much of a jarring stretch at the time. The assumption was, the audience would adjust accordingly. Case in point – here is a...
Gordon Skene, two-time Grammy Nominee and archivist runs The Gordon Skene Sound Archive and this website, which is dedicated to preserving and encouraging an interest in history and historic news, events, and cultural aspects of our society. Past Daily is the only place on the Internet where you can hear a Nixon speech, listen to an interview with John Cassavettes or play a broadcast of Charles Munch rehearsing the Boston Symphony in 1950, all in the same place. It's living history and it's timeless.
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