Welcome To Past Daily

Past Daily
Past Daily – “where ignorance of your culture is considered uncool”

After years of collecting recorded history, a lifetime spent dumpster diving for all those milestones of the past no one really wanted to hang on to, I decided it was time to share those discoveries with people who probably never heard them before. It’s history and, as much as it has to do with the past, it has some link with the present and probably some harbinger of what the future may or may not be about.

Past Daily started off as a hobby, like collecting stamps or recipes. And then it became a quest to find out how things changed, and in changing, how much they’ve remained the same.

But Past Daily isn’t all about the dim-distant past. Although, to be dead-honest, anything that happened thirty seconds ago is considered past history. So the playing field is pretty wide. Past Daily hopes to be the place you find out about things you wondered about, were curious about, read about.

This is my collection – my archive. Sounds of history and people and culture going back to the 1890’s right up to today – it’s all in the mix. Some of it is great and fun and an adventure to listen to. Some of it is depressing and anger-provoking. But it’s all part of life and our world and much of what has made us who we are today. A lot of it will be unfamiliar to you, or people places and events you’ve heard about, but never actually heard. This is history that can be fun, it can also be thought-provoking and sometimes even disturbing – because that’s what life is about anyway. We’re not all unicorns and popsicles. Sometimes you hear about how we used to be, but aren’t that way anymore. And sometimes you’ll hear how we used to be and haven’t changed that much.

History is mostly about things as they happened before, but also how they are happening again. The old adage of not remembering the past will make you repeat it is true, especially today, right now.

Our world can be alarming but it can also be a place of comfort – things that are familiar that bring back memories and moments that made a lasting impression. The music we remember from that place and time we were growing up; when everything around us was busy stamping its presence in our brains.

They always say it’s alright to look at the past but not stare at it. Everyone has a specific place and time that has meant the most to them. If you’re older you look at what is going on with those younger than you and shake your head. If you’re younger and you look at what was going on before you were born, those things that resonated with people your parents, or grandparents age, you may cringe. Both of you are looking at life from what made a lasting impression on you and when. But learning about it makes you understand why some things are the way they are. Which is why Past Daily is also about contemporary culture and history just as much as history from the past – it all mixes to make the big tapestry.

But to be clear, Past Daily isn’t about Nostalgia and “the good old days” – your best day may someone’s worst and vice-versa. Life is complicated and the events that take place in the course of our lives shape our opinions of it – so there’s no blanket feeling of wistfulness associated with history – just doesn’t happen unless it’s personal; just your personal moment in time.

So Past Daily tries to cover a lot of bases – and we try to do the best we can covering those bases. We cover a lot and offer a lot because like a magazine you can pick and choose the things that interest you the most and leave the rest. Sometimes we get things wrong and it’s up to you the visitor, who may have specific knowledge or experience with something to set the record straight. We’re always up for that because we think it’s important – we don’t re-write history, we can’t – we wouldn’t want to anyway. In many ways, history is supposed to make you feel uncomfortable because it marks something you can learn from and learn not to repeat – and the more witnesses the better. Which is why we try to go after the earliest examples of things or find those people who were there and can tell you in their own voice what it was like.

Our purpose with Past Daily is to turn you on to things – tell you things you might find important. We’re not clickbait, we aren’t trolls and we aren’t “influencers” – we’re like the best daily magazine on the planet, to thumb through and find something you like and we do that every day; seven days a week, no matter what.

Hopefully you will stick around and check in every day and keep coming back. And if you like what we’re doing and want to show your support so that we can keep doing it, consider supporting Past Daily via Buy Me A Coffee, PayPal or Patreon. It’s simple, easy and we can use all the help we can get. It’s expensive, preserving and presenting history and your support is crucial. And tell your friends.

History doesn’t stop and neither does the desire to learn about it.

Enjoy,

Gordon Skene – Past Daily/The Gordon Skene Sound Collection

66 Comments

  1. Impressed with the themes you have covered at Newstalgia. Wish you and this site much success. Thank you for sharing our history and music again!

    • I just made a contribution to recur monthly. I wanted to comment on the Fractured Atlas site but apparently I must do that with FaceBook or Yahoo. I’m not involved with either, by choice. Just wanted you to know that the old Eastman-Rochester and ORTF transcriptions – typically – are worth it for me, every Sunday evening – which is Monday morning in the east. Sometimes older news items from the 1950s. I have zero interest in rock groups. Good luck from Edward in Philadelphia.

      • Hello Edward:
        Many thanks for your kind words and your much appreciated contribution. I understand your feelings about the Rock materials. But since we’re an eclectic site, there’s something for everyone. And believe me, I get just as many complaints about the amount of Classical Music I play – but in all fairness, it’s history, and luckily with the Internet – you can skip the parts you don’t like and focus on the ones you do. Thanks so much again,
        Gordon

  2. hi, I love Ellington and wanted to listen to the Basin Street set from ’56 but
    everytime i press play file cannot be found. Help.

    Good luck with the new site

    • Hi: Let me go back and check that. A few months ago there was an outage that took out a number of my files and I think that was one of them. I have to reload it, but what I will most likely do is do it as a new post in the next week or two. There are several Ellington shows from Basin Street and I plan on running them all. Thanks for letting me know! Best, Gordon

      • Hi Gordon, My Name is Byron,
        I would like to contribute an .mp3 to your Tim Hauser tribute from my personal audio cassette of Tim’s Show ‘Sunday Sings Jazz’ from Jan. 1986 and I’m friends with Bobby Edwards from the Ol’ Vee-Jay Records days who said to say Hi. How can Bobby Contact you? Thanks, Byron

      • Nice to hear from you – of course he can contact me at Gordonskene@aol.com – I know, one of the last people on earth still using AOL mail! Still, it works. Thanks so much again and a big hello back to Bobby! Best, Gordon

  3. Hi,

    Thanks for getting back to me so promptly. I’ll certainly look
    forward to hearing the other broadcasts that you
    mentioned.
    One thing that i would point out,if I may,is that Dan Grissom is not
    the vocalist with Ellington, but his nephew Jimmy Grissom. Dan Grissom
    sang with Jimmy Lunceford.

    Thanks again.

    Wayne

  4. At Newstalgia, you posted some recordings of the old Newsfront show, hosted by Mitchell Krauss. I’ve been looking for this show for years! Could you tell me please where these recordings came from?

    Thank you for everything,
    Sincerely,
    Dave Thomas

    • Hi Dave: I’ve been meaning to put up more Newsfront programs as there is about a 2 year run of them in my archive. It’s a great show. I got them about 25 years ago as part of a larger collection from an individual who no longer had any use for them. Seems to be the running pattern of my archive acquisitions – wrecking balls, trash cans and downsizing. It continues to this day. I am trying to get back up to speed with more posts per day, but I’m in the process of renovating my studio so I’m in the midst of electronic debris everywhere. Sadly, Past Daily is just me so it makes being on top of things a bit difficult from time to time. Still, it’s support and encouragement from people like you that keep this thing afloat.

      Thanks again for all your kind words,

      Gordon

      • Hi Gordon. I am Mitchell Krauss’s daughter and I would SO love to see some of these old Newsfront segments. My father is now 83 and even he doesn’t have them. Wow, a 2-year run—what a goldmine. It would mean so much to both of us if we could see these.

      • Hi Jennifer: Just to let you know, these are audio airchecks of Newsfront, not video. Still, a two year run, and speaking of your dad, I have quite a number of his broadcasts when he was on WRUL in the early 1960s. Please contact me at Gordonskene@aol.com and I will send some to you.

    • Thank you so much! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that. I’m sincerely grateful and honored for the nomination.
      Gordon

  6. Hi Gordon,
    New to your site. Listen to this-
    I was visiting my granddaughter for her birthday. After dinner, her father wanted to show us some home movies that his father made back in 1963 at the Hollywood Bowl. He was filmed talking to Johnny Cash, George Jones and others. He also filmed some of the show. Since it was 8mm, there was no sound. So. I thought I would look it up on my iPhone and see if there was anything out there. Wow! There it was on you site- the whole thing.
    Can you imagine the wonderment of watching and listening to something from 51 years ago.
    Truly amazing. Anyway, thanks for making an evening even more special. Looks like you have a very full plate on your site. Very interesting listening.

    Appreciate the effort.

    Al Martin

    • Hi Al:
      Thank you so much for the very kind words. It’s notes like yours that make all this effort and struggle worth it. It thrills me no end when someone has another piece to a puzzle and suddenly the whole picture comes alive. It’s what we strive to do around here. Many thanks again – and keep coming back. Hopefully there will be more you’ll enjoy.
      Best wishes,
      Gordon

  7. Any chance that you have the 1978 Chicago Symphony broadcast which featured Easley Blackwood’s Symphony No. 4 (commissioned by the CSO)? As far as I know, there has never been a commercial recording of the piece. Many thanks! – Stormy

    • Two things – would you happen to know if it was broadcast? And if so, around when do you think the concert happened? I will check on my end and see what comes up.

    • I should double check that and see if something didn’t make it to the digital transfer from the analog original. I’ll let you know what I unearth.

      Thanks again!

      Gordon

  9. Great stuff, keep it coming. I think the senator with Dean Acheson on November 30th is not Arthur Vandenberg but Texas Democrat Tom Conally, senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. Looks a little too rumpled for Vandenberg. Best wishes.

    • Thanks for pointing that out. You’re absolutely right. Vandenberg was originally in the photo, but I cropped him out – it was originally a three-shot. I corrected the wrong identification. Thanks again!
      G.S.

  12. Very nice site Gordon, and I love some of the music you have up here. I was drawn here because I found that you have stolen one of my copyright images of ” The Smiths” to use on your blog. I would think that if you are going to use a photograph which is not yours then at the very least you should check out the copyright situation before you use it. This goes for all the other images you have on your blog. For me it is nothing more than stealing from my pocket. I thought the direct aproach would be better rather than getting a takedown notice through wordpress.

    • Please let me know which image it is and I will remove it. It is not my intention to go around stealing things from people. I have asked permission in the past where ownership was indicated. But there was no credit given on this image. I apologize for any inconvenience and will replace the offending image.
      Gordon Skene

  13. Hi Gordon! Just stumbled across your site researching a paper I’m writing for my Wind Literature class; imagine my surprise finding a recording of the original public performance of Ron Nelson’s Savannah River Holiday from 1953! Thanks so much for posting this.

    Re: your note at the bottom that none of those pieces likely have commercial recordings, Howard Hanson actually recorded Savannah River with the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra several years later on an album on the Mercury Living Presence label called Fiesta in Hi-Fi, which has been reissued on CD and is still available for sale (digitally, these days on iTunes or Amazon), along with a great many of the old classic Mercury recordings. Keith Lockhart also discovered Nelson sometime in the 1990s, and there is a Boston Pops recording extant as well.

    I think Nelson’s music survived better than most from that period because 1) he’s pretty darn good, and 2) he wound up writing a great deal for wind ensemble – and in fact transcribed Savannah River for wind ensemble in 1973. (There are at least two recordings available of the transcription, by the United States Air Force Band, and the University of Illinois Symphonic Band.) The wind ensemble movement, in its infancy and desperately seeking legitimacy in the 1950s and 1960s, and trying to build a legitimate core repertoire of quality music by then-current composers, was much more likely to give new works repeat performances than the artistically mature world of orchestral music – thus a lot more “American classical” music survives the mid-century in the wind band and chamber winds genres than the orchestral.

    I recommend the later wind band works of Nelson to you: his Rocky Point Holiday (1969) is something of a classic in the wind band world, and he has written three other “holiday” overtures throughout his career: Pebble Beach Sojourn for brass, percussion and organ (1983), Aspen Jubilee (1984), and Sonoran Desert Holiday (1994) along with 20 other major wind band, 15 orchestral and nearly 60 choral compositions. Several of the band works have won major composition prizes.

    Walter S. Hartley went on to write Concerto for 23 Wind Instruments in 1957, considered by many to be one of the most artistically significant pieces ever written for winds, and has among many other works written a great deal for the saxophone throughout his lifetime.

    • Thanks so much for your kind note, and your great research! It’s always appreciated and it adds to the enjoyment and certainly stimulates interest. And that’s the reason I am doing this. I am often not entirely sure what has been available commercial and what hasn’t. Sometimes I go with either what I have in front of me or the old Schwann Catalogs I have around. So any corrections or additions or supplemental information is always very much appreciated. Thanks again and bookmark the site – I run much of the out-of-the-way classical on Sundays. It’s great to hear from you.

  14. Hi Gordon,

    Found your site while searching for a 1952 recording of “American Forum of the Air” with the debate between Joseph McCarthy and Eugene McCarthy. I’m working as a production assistant to Eugene McCarthy’s niece for a documentary on his life.

    Your Phineas Newborn Jr. post made my heart sing – thank you! Of course, it was off the topic but there’s the internet for you….

    And then I found your Indiegogo campaign for funds which expired in March. Are you running another currently? I’d like to help promote if so.

    Thanks for all you do. This is a fascinating site and I can’t wait to explore it more. I’ll spread the word, too.

    Kelle

    • Hi Kelle: What a wonderful note to get! Many thanks for your kind words. I’ve been doing this now for three years and it’s a labor of love. I am planning on doing my Spring/Summer Indiegogo campaign starting on June 1st and can certainly use all the help I can get. Running the site is very time consuming and the ads don’t pay for all the hours in the day I spend putting posts up. But it certainly does my heart good to get encouraging words like yours. I can’t thank you enough.

      Gordon

  16. Hello-
    I was wondering how to listen to your posts that are “Newstalgia”. When I click on the link I am just sent to a Liars & Crooks website. Thank you for your help. Wonderful website you have here.

    Bill Sims

    • Hi Bill: Several years ago, the site was known as Newstalgia and was affiliated with Crooks and Liars. I have had no affiliation with them since 2012. However, they still have some of my earlier posts on their website (which I have asked them to remove). In 2012 I was cross posting between Crooks and Liars and Past Daily and some of those early posts show up on both. I have been revising those old posts and deleting the Crooks and Liars references, but there are about 500 that still need to be deleted. All of the revised posts benefit from better sound quality. It’s just a time consuming process that should be over in the next few months. Sorry for the inconvenience. Let me know if you have requests, or what you are having trouble listening to and I will prioritize them. Thanks again, Gordon.

  17. Oh ok thank you Gordon. I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. Keep up the good work here. I love the old news offerings. Gives a nice perspective to what goes on today. Thanks again.

  18. What Ho? Wonderful to hear more of these French transcriptions but the photo is not that of Claude Arrieu but of Grazyna Bacewicz. But it is the music that matters and thanks for it.

    • That’s interesting, because I got the photo from a French Music site. Hmm – I did double check your source and, yep, it’s her. Thanks for the heads-up on that. I’ll go in and change it.

  20. Hey man..I just sent you a little contribution, long overdue. Your site is one of the great miracles I have ever found on the internet. I’m a longtime collector of old radio news broadcasts—I thought I was doing pretty well until I saw your stash! haha Have a good bit of material from WSB Atlanta, where I work now, and WHAS Louisville, where I worked for many years. Keep it coming!! Would enjoy hearing any FDR death material you might have, on the upcoming anniversary.

    • Thanks so much Chris – and yes, I will be coming up with some FDR material shortly. So glad to hear someone else is collecting news!
      Keep it up! Gordon

  21. Thank you so much for this great site Gordon! I came across PastDaily while looking for some Art Blakey and the Jazz Messenger’s recordings, and I’m glad I was able to find some rare recordings on here. Would you happen to have any other Art Blakey recordings?

    • Thanks so much for the kind words. I try to keep it eclectic and interesting around here. As for Blakey – there are more concerts. What’s happening right now, is the digitization process is continuing, and as soon as I finish something, I usually post it. So have no fear, there is more!
      Thanks again,
      Gordon

      • That’s awesome, definitely looking forward to more. I’m a huge fan of his music and it’s hard to find some of his rare records.

    • Thank you so much for the kind words! It’s a pleasure and I will keep doing it as long as you’re here.

      Gordon

  24. Just stumbled across this your site and I really appreciate the Talking Heads live recording. In your post, you say you can’t confirm when it was from exactly. But, according to Wikipedia, the first five tracks of live Album The Name of This Band is Talking Heads were recorded at Northern Studios in Maynard, MA on 11/17/77. Comparing Psycho Killer in the two recordings, they’re definitely the same.

  26. Hi Gordon, I recently stumbled across your October 26, 2014 post concerning the “music of Stanley Finn”. I am one of Stan Finn’s grandsons. He was indeed a student of Roy Harris and Prelude and Dance formed a portion of his Master’s Degree compositions completed at Colorado College in 1948. The family moved to Canada in the early 1960’s. He passed away in 2004. Here is a link to his obituary which contains more information. I think he would have been honoured to have some of his work included in your collection. Cheers. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/calgaryherald/obituary.aspx?n=stanley-gene-stan-finn&pid=157458532

    • Hi Jeremy: Well I am certainly honored that I was able to post it. Many thanks for your kind words.

      Best wishes,

      Gordon

    • I had the great honor of working with them during that period. Truly an amazing band and great people to work with.

      Thanks for the kind words – I do what I can.

      Gordon

  28. Hi Gordon.
    I got your email and answered it but haven’t heard from you since, probably my emails were directed to your spam folder.
    Please use my email address to send the file by WeTransfer.

    Thanks!

    Lou

  30. Hi. On the page noted in the website box below… It’s “ALLAN” Sherman, not “ALLEN”. just thought you’d like to keep things correct. Great Site. Thank you!!

    • YIKES!!! Thank you so much! That’s a huge gaffe and I’m glad you caught it!

      Fixed and appreciate your eagle eyes!

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