Legacy Recordings

One of the most exciting things about working with the catalog of SonyBMG is rediscovering entire sections of our catalog that, for one reason or another, have not gotten the love and attention that they deserve. Such was the case with our Spoken Word catalog.

The director of A&R for Masterworks and the host of all of the Masterworks Podcasts David Foil recently introduced me to a list he’d found of all of the spoken word products in our archive. There are such gems! from John Gielgud to Jimmy Stewart to presidential speeches, it’s amazing the kind of things we have.

When we confirmed that we were doing the soundtrack to the Ken Burns film The War , we immediately thought of our spoken word catalog and what might be most relevant and interesting to those millions of people tuning in.

Eight titles were selected that are representative. Have a listen:

Eleanor Roosevelt: My Husband And I: Eleanor Roosevelt Recalls Her Years With FDR

Will Rogers Jr.: Politics U.S.A

Walter Cronkite: Blitzkreig

Edward R. Murrow: I Can Hear It Now (1919-1932)(coming soon)

Edward R. Murrow: I Can Hear It Now, Vol. II (1933-1945)

Edward R. Murrow: I Can Hear It Now, Vol. III (1945-1949)(coming soon)

Edward R. Murrow: A Reporter Remembers, Vol 1: The War Years

Winston Churchill: Winston Churchhill: Authorized Recordings of His Actual Speeches