While browsing the search results in the holdings of the Internet Archive when I was looking for anything about San Francisco for the year 1928, there were some audio files in the mix. After checking the books for pertinent details, I navigated to the first audio file that caught my eye – “Make Believe” by the Paul Whiteman band, featuring a very young Bing Crosby.
I then went to the audio section and called up their holdings for my search target. Several pages of results rewarded my effort. Among the music artists active at that time were:
Louis Armstrong and his jazz trumpet
The Carter Family with their Appalachian sound – Wildwood Flower
Fanny Brice (whom I had learned was appearing at one of the music halls in San Francisco during this time period).
Helen Kane – “boop boop a doop” and Sophie Tucker
Ted Lewis and his jazz orchestra
Benny Goodman’s Wolverine – with Glen Miller on the trombone.
And a ton of others which I am exploring, for I am using them as the background soundtrack while I do my writing.
Watch This Space 