Woody Guthrie Lost Bonneville Power Recordings Preservation

here are some pics - i can always take more but hopefully these can cast some light on the mystery

 

Wow, looks like they are in good nick! Keep us posted, I'm very curious.

 

I have no knowledge to add, only excitement. Keep us posted!

 

"Big Thing" and "The world Has Several Wonders" seem to be alternative names for"The Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done" and "Grand Coulee Dam"

 

Might be a great day to buy a lotto ticket

 

they are cool as! wowsers!

 

I found this about Record Disc Corp.

==== About the RecorDisc Corp ====

The RecorDisc Corp. blanks were aluminum discs coated with cellulose nitrate lacquer, with generic labels that could be filled in by hand.
Given this, the best format tag to use when entering these releases is Lathe Cut.

Releases having this label were most likely home recordings or demos.
Blanks were able to be recorded from either the outside-in or the inside-out. From 395 Broadway , New York City, NY, 10013, USA

 

Some related info
Woody Guthrie's Fertile Month on the Columbia River

 

Yes, my thoughts exactly.

 

I curate the Guthrie materials at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. I agree that they look like period instantaneous discs. We should confer with Jeff Place at the Rinzler Archive (Smithsonian). My email is [email protected]. Jeff is [email protected] . Good find!

 

I'm bill Murlin of the Bonneville power administration. I published the Guthrie Columbia River collection songs. I'd like to see what you found and get more details. Email me at [email protected]. Thanks.

 

And by the way, I'm in Portland so I can reach you easily. The membership thingy says I'm from Minnesota but that's only partly right. I'm in Portland as we write so contact me please and do nothing commercial with those until some of us historians have had a look. Thanks.

 

I'm the archivist at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa. Would love to see clearer images of these. [email protected]

 

This is exciting stuff!

 

Wow. This is so cool! Hope these turn out to be something special.

 

I am SO jazzed! Now I REALLY want to know the provenance. Woody, or someone with BPA had to have given these to someone. But who? Exactly how many of the 26 were committed to acetate? Was there more than one pass at recording? If so these could be unknown alternates.

 

The thing that jumps out at me is "Hydro music -Not used". Good God man!

 

Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc.

These guys are right down the street from me.

 

You will note that someone here has already alerted the people most needed to deal with this find. And those people joined our board to make sure they got hold of him. way to go Team!
I am in awe just being a bystander.

 

Six or eight years ago I found a Woody Guthrie LP I'd never seen or heard of before and couldn't find anything on it. I contacted Arlo Guthrie and told him about it and he was very interested. I gave it to him to put in the Guthrie Archives. I'll have to dig through my papers some time because I don't remember the title right off hand, but it was very cool being able to contribute to the Guthrie estate!

 

I don't think I have ever actually heard a Woody Guthrie song, but this is very interesting.

 

Here ya go!:

 

Woody Guthrie Publishing legal info...you know, just in case.

Legal Affairs
Wayne D. Rooks, Esq.
Serling Rooks Ferrar McKoy & Worob LLP
119 5th Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10003
T (212) 245-7300 / F: (212) 586-5175
E: wdr(at)srfllp.com

 

Bill and I went through all of the acetates and there are no unpublished songs but there are multiple clean looking copies of a few songs with no existing clean/undamaged copies known. Also without listening we can't be sure if all of the copies are exact or different takes of the same song. Onward to finding the best way to restore and preserve the music inside these and a permanent home that is not my basement.