Woody Guthrie Lost Bonneville Power Recordings Preservation

Todd at the LOC should have all the information. I believe they should be available digitally.

 

There's this description of the recordings:

Woody Guthrie Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) recordings (Library of Congress Finding Aid)

...and this which appears to include a request for the material:

LC Catalog - Item Information (Full Record)

 

I am glad that the digitization has been complete

 

Did you like the DVDs?

 

OK we wanted to know what was on these records and here is the descriptions from the LOC website:

Summary

• Woody Guthrie songs, performed by Guthrie with guitar and harmonica on a collection of 11 lacquer discs. Twenty-six new songs were written by Guthrie on a one-month contract for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in May 1941, and were recorded during 1941 or later in Portland, Oregon. These are likely the originals or near copies of the 1941 studio recordings Guthrie made at the BPA Headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Some are first-generation discs, others are second-generation or other copies; songs include alternate takes and outtakes. Three of Guthrie's songs were included in the 1948 film "The Columbia."

Contents

• AFC 2018/003 SR01 Side A "Ballad of the Grand Coulee Dam" [Grand Coulee Dam] (2456813-2-1) ; Side B "Roll on Columbia, Roll on" [Roll On Columbia] (2456813-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR02 Side A "Columbia Talking Blues" [Talkin' Columbia] (2456814-2-1) ; Side B "Song of the Grand Coulee Dam" (2456814-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR03 Side A "Jackhammer Blues" (2456815-2-1) ; Side B blank
• AFC 2018/003 SR04 Side A "Pastures of Plenty" (2456816-2-1) ; Side B "Roll Columbia, Won't You Roll" [Roll Columbia, Roll] (2456816-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR05 Side A "Columbia Talking Blues" [Talking Columbia] (2456817-2-1) ; Side B "Good morning Mr. Captain" [Columbia's Waters] (2456817-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR06 Side A "Jackhammer Blues" (2456818-2-1) ; Side B "Way Up In That Northwest" [Song of the Grand Coulee Dam] (2456818-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR07 Side A "Pastures of Plenty" (2456819-2-1) ; Side B "Grand Coulee Dam" [outtake] (2456819-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR08 Side A "Roll, Columbia, Won't You Roll" [Roll Columbia, Roll] (2456820-2-1) ; Side B "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" [Roll On, Columbia] (2456820-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR09 Side A "Grand Coulee Dam" (2456821-2-1) 80 RPM ; Side B 1. "The World Has Several Wonders" [Grand Coulee Dam outtake] (2456821-2-2) 80 RPM ; 2. unknown narration #1 (2456821-2-2) 33.33 RPM ; 3. unknown narration #2 (2456821-2-2) 33.33 RPM ; 4. unknown narration #3 (2456821-2-2) 33.33 RPM ; [Each narration cut is a different voice, none of them Woody Guthrie, all reading from the same script. Possibly related to the film for which the Guthrie songs were written - engineer's notes]
• AFC 2018/003 SR10 Side A "The Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done" (2456822-2-1) ; Side B "Roll On Columbia (2456822-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR11 Side A "Pastures of Plenty" (2456823-2-1) ; Side B "Roll Columbia, Roll" (2456823-2-2).

We have an album of history right here. Sound quality HAS to be better than what had survived. These must be released. Are you listening Smithsonian Folkways?

Congratulations VA! You my friend, have made a mark.

 

Anything would be an improvement over the Rounder CD.

 

I thought they were great!

 

Me too

 

Simply amazing. Thank you, Vinyl Archaeologist.

 

• AFC 2018/003 SR01 Side A "Ballad of the Grand Coulee Dam" [Grand Coulee Dam] (2456813-2-1) ; Side B "Roll on Columbia, Roll on" [Roll On Columbia] (2456813-2-2)
• AFC 2018/003 SR08 Side A "Roll, Columbia, Won't You Roll" [Roll Columbia, Roll] (2456820-2-1) ; Side B "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" [Roll On, Columbia] (2456820-2-2)

So are these two different performances of “Roll On, Columbia, Roll On,” or just two copies of the same version? Given how bad all of the previously existing copies sound, new copies of the commonly available performance wouldn’t exactly be bad news, but alternate versions in high(er) quality sound might be even better.

 

Unless I miss my guess they are variations in the songs possibly for different lengths and points. They were ostensibly for a movie after all.
The fact that one of the sleeves was marked "HYDRO MUSIC UNUSED" is telling. The description says some are copies and some are first gen and include variations.

 

The film Hydro is available on the BPA Film Archive DVDs available at the BPA as well.

 

Well! That was an interesting thread to read!
Made my day -- thanks!
RH

 

A month later, same here!

 

Still hankering for a release of these recordings!

 

Me too.

 

Ditto. Can't wait for thier release!

 

I recently picked up a copy of the incredible "American Radical Patriot" set (a book, six CDs, one DVD and one 10" vinyl 78), which includes all of Woody Guthrie's recordings for the U.S. government, including all of his songs for the Bonneville Power Administration, and discovered to my surprise that many of the songs for the BPA are a major sonic upgrade from the existing Rounder CD, "Columbia River Songs."

I had been wanting a decent-sounding copy of "Roll On, Columbia" for ages and that song, along with the others, sounds much, much better on "American Radical Patriot," which is also a Rounder release. A few tracks, such as "Roll, Columbia, Roll" (completely different song from the similarly titled track mentioned above) definitely still sound rough but even those tracks are a major upgrade from the old Rounder CD.

I snagged my copy on ebay for less than $50, which is a great price for a sealed copy, but I would have paid a lot more had I known the sound quality of the BPA songs was this good. (I have yet to check out the sound quality on the Library of Congress recordings to see if they represent an improvement over my old 3-CD set, but I expect they will as that material comes from a new and more complete transfer of all the original LOC recordings.)

All in all, I can't say enough good things about "American Radical Patriot." It's easily one of the most impressive boxed sets I've ever purchased. It was released way back in in 2012, and was limited to 5,000 copies, so fans of Woody might want to pick this up soon while sealed copies are still out there. Amazon has it for $109.

 

American Radical Patriot is without doubt a deep dive. The BPA tracks are here as well as the LOC recordings. I pre ordered it on release and happy I did. But I have nothing to play the 78 on anymore, yet it is still cool to have.

 

I’ll play the 78 once, just to get a digital recording of it. I’ll have to play it at 45 rpm and then increase the speed and pitch in Audacity and then save that file.
I’ve ordered a copy of the other big Guthrie centennial box, “Woody at 100,” but that release doesn’t look to be nearly as impressive. It’s 2 CDs of previously issued material, with some major works omitted, plus one CD of previously unissued recordings.
For sound quality, it’s still hard to beat the 4-CD “My Dusty Road” set, made from recently discovered master discs. The only issue I have with that set is all the material would have fit nicely on just two CDs. (The little suitcase it’s packaged in is hard to store but I appreciate the thought that went into it.)