02-19-03 - Music biz's 125th Anniversary

[peter2002]

Today is the 125th anniversary that Thomas Edison received the patent on the phongraph, a device that laid the groundwork for the recording industry as we know it.

Now, to celebrate the birthday of Edison's baby, popular artists are returning to the scene of the inventor's early experiments in sound reproduction, the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, N.J. With help from veteran producer Russ Titelman and engineer Peter Dilg, these singers and musicians will record music the old-fashioned way: by singing or playing instruments into a horn, then having the sound cut into wax cylinders.

Jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary and Daniel Rodriguez, the opera-singing policeman who rose to fame after Sept. 11, already recorded in the original room where Edison worked. James Taylor is scheduled to record in March.

George Keegan, executive director of the Edison Preservation Foundation, expects that an additional 20 to 30 "big-name artists" from various genres also will make the trek to Edison's stomping grounds over the coming year.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2003-02-18-edisons-way_x.htm

[alex_ant]

I don't know about the rest of those people, but James Taylor makes me wish recorded music had never been invented.

[3rdpath]

Originally posted by alex_ant
I don't know about the rest of those people, but James Taylor makes me wish recorded music had never been invented.

gosh, and we we're getting along so well....;)

[Jaykay]

Well now isnt that an interesting concept. I can see the sentimental aspect of it, but how many of the "Big Recording Artists" will be doing it as a promo eh?

[howard]

Originally posted by alex_ant
I don't know about the rest of those people, but James Taylor makes me wish recorded music had never been invented.

hahaha i agree

[cubist]

My father was a musician in the 1930's. Before recorded music, all the swank hotels and restaurants had to have live music all the time, and musicians were in great demand. But Benny Goodman and other musicians made records that were popular, and by the mid-30's the number of musician jobs had dropped like a rock; my father went to work for the post office. He always had harsh words for Benny Goodman after that.

I like Benny Goodman, his music still has a style and a happiness that's pretty much unique, and I'm happy that recordings have been preserved. But to date the origin of the "music business" from the invention of the wax cylinder recorder is rather disingenuous. The "music business" as we know it today is a much more recent development.

[dreamlance]

Of course, in the 1930s, you actually had to have musical talent. Now you can get a recording contract without it.