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Formats - Sound
The Center for American History Sound Archives contain some 100,000 recordings of both music and the spoken word in a variety of sound formats ranging from early cylinders to the modern CD. Many of these recordings are readily accessible to researchers at the Center, while others will require transfer to a modern format. An increasing number of these sound documents will be appearing on the Center’s web site as they become available.
Spoken word
The Center’s extensive collections of spoken-word recordings include formal oral history as well as reminiscences, speeches, and public events. Major oral history collections include three related to the petroleum industry: Oral History of the Texas Oil Industry, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalties Organization (TIPRO), and the milestone Pennzoil-Texaco Dispute Oral History. Other major resources include the Texas Business Oral History, the University of Texas Oral History Project, the Texas Speakers Oral History, and the U.S. Latino and Latina World War II Oral History Project. Significant individual oral histories include those associated with the papers of oilman and UT Regent J. R. Parten, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, newsman Walter Cronkite, football coach Darrell Royal, and Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe . These oral histories and many more are accompanied by complete transcripts; some of them have formed the basis for publications by the Center.
Many smaller oral history collections document the lives and activities of Texas pioneer descendants, musicians, artists, writers, homemakers, political and business leaders, sheriffs, military veterans, educators, and other individuals from many walks of life. Among these, the Allan Turner Oral History Collection deserves special attention for embracing both music and other subjects, since it will be among the early sound collections featured on the Center’s Web site.
Other recordings of the spoken word include public events; radio broadcasts, interviews, and speeches; historical recreations; literature and lore; and conference proceedings. Significant public events include Gov. W. Lee O’Daniel’s inauguration in 1939, and the Presidio, Texas, Tricentennial celebrations in 1983. Radio broadcasts include Texas Centennial broadcasts of 1936, border radio air checks from the 1940s, and a Miriam A. Ferguson campaign speech from 1940.
Historical recreations include classic addresses by UT professors W. J. Battle and Eugene C. Barker. Recorded lore includes Alabama-Coushatta stories and songs, Texas prison lore, and even livestock auctions. Recorded conference proceedings include the Texas Literary Tradition (1983), the Texas Women’s Literary Tradition (1984), various John Henry Faulk Conferences on the First Amendment, and the conference on the José Enrique de la Peña Narrative of the Texas Revolution (2000). Still other recordings feature notorious public figures, such as accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and Branch Davidian leader David Koresh.
Music
The Center houses almost 50,000 music and music-related sound recordings among its extensive resources documenting the musical history of Texas and the greater South and Southwest. Many of these recordings are components of larger collections that feature different kinds of materials, as in the case of the Townsend Miller Collection or Bob Johnston Collection. Some are field recordings made by various folklorists, as in the UT Folklore Center Archives, while many others are commercial recordings that document the output of the music industry in Texas and elsewhere, such as the Texas Music Collection. Still another category consists of music broadcasts, such as the series, “Live Set,” to be found in the UT KUT/Longhorn Radio Network Archives. Again, the sound formats represented in all these music recordings embrace the history of recorded sound from early cylinders to modern digital technology. For full information on the Center’s music resources, consult the Music section under "Collection Strengths" on this Web site.
