Sound Recordings

My aunt Mary has grown up in the age of new music production, being a teenager in the time of the 33's and 45's. These were the vinyl records that she listened to with her family. She mainly remembers artists like Frankie Avalon, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby.

When Mary was a teenager, her parents had a manual winding console phonograph in their living room that looked a lot like this one:

http://www.8-track-shack.com/popup_image.php?pID=132025&invis=1&osCsid=295186ee3525bd517b4d0e4fdff66993


After she married, her husband had a portable record machine that was again, manual. It was carried around in a suitcase and when you opened it up, it was a record player. Further along in the marriage, she and her husband got a turntable for their home that would change records on its own after one was finished, kind of like a CD disc changer today. You could load it with 3 or 4 records at a time.

Mary's parents were pretty lenient with what could be listened to in the home. Her family was pretty musically inclined as was she. She took piano lessons and sang as a child. Her parents also let her play what she wanted on the consoles.

She found out about different artists and musicians in a few different ways. "Mainly through listening to the radio," she says, and she also heard from her friends and other people who hear about them.

Today, she likes to listen to easy listening stations, with the occasional country western, on Sirius XM Radio through her satellite television. Sometimes, she listens to music on the internet from streaming sites and the radio. Music is what keeps her calm and helps her relax.

The Interviewee

    Finding an interviewee who can remember back to the 1950's is a tricky task in itself, let alone finding someone who can remember specific things and can tell me the details. Most of my family has regretfully passed away in the passed year, or, due to medical conditions, are unable to participate in these interviews. What is left after that cannot remember much, if anything. Despite this, my great aunt  Mary who was born in the year 1932, and for whom I am very grateful, was able to help me in my journey back in time to learn more about the evolution of media. Coming soon will be Mary's recollection of how the world of music and sound recordings has changed throughout her life. This is to be followed by posts about what she remembers from the evolutions of radio, television, movies, and printed media. :)