"Because ignorance of your culture is considered uncool"
By 1956 it would be pretty safe to say America was headed well into nervous breakdown territory. Everything was on the rise – divorce, alcohol abuse, prescription medications, fear, paranoia and irrevocable change. And it wasn’t being coped with, other than via escape. And those issues were many. We had...
As a kid growing up in Detroit in the 1950s, I wasn’t really aware of how much Detroit was different than other cities. It was a place I lived with my family and I had no other frame of reference. I was however, aware that my father, who worked in...
If we’re helping keep your mind off things, maybe chipping in a buck of five would be a good idea, no?: Become a Patron! Characterized as a tinderbox by the State Department, Turkey, Italy, Greece and the Balkan region were hot in the grips of rioting on this March 19th...
Hard to forget this week in September of 1980 was all about the Presidential Election campaign and the upcoming debates between Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and that thorn in both of their sides, John Anderson. Carter refused to participate in any debate that also included Anderson. Spokesman Robert Strauss explained...
A week where the vagaries of Human Nature went haywire, this September 10th in 1949. Starting with news of a deadly mass shooting in Camden New Jersey. The lone gunman, Howard Unruh, claiming people were saying bad things about his character, went on a shooting rampage, indiscriminately killing some 13...
Click on the link here for Audio Player – George Meany – Labor Day Address – Sept. 1, 1967 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection Labor Day in 1967 was on the pessimistic side. Unrest all over the country. Poverty, cities in turmoil, unemployment, the Vietnam War sapping the country of...
Become a Patron! While the much-fabled Woodstock Festival was getting underway for its first day, the world was spinning wildly away as usual on this August 15th in 1969. From Northern Ireland, Catholic and Protestant rioting was raging on. British troops were being reinforced and rioting was spreading rapidly....
Click on the link here for Audio Player – Watts Riot Coverage – KTLA-audio – August 13, 1965 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection If you were living in Los Angeles on this August 13th in 1965 you were no doubt glued to your radio or TV, watching and listening with...
June 19, 1968 – Coretta Scott King – Solidarity Day Address 1968 saw no end of turmoil and upheaval in the world. In the first six months alone there was the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. France went on strike. Prague Spring...
We could use a bit of love at the moment: Become a Patron! On June 11, 1963, the Civil Rights struggle had gathered steam, but it was still a struggle with bitter and violent opposition every step of the way. On this day in 1963, the infamous showdown between Deputy...
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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