One hundred and eleven years ago today Fred Gaisberg was in the middle of his third big recording expedition. He’d travelled to continental Europe over the summer of 1899 and the British Isles over the autumn of that year and had already made hundreds of the world’s first recordings. In spring 1900 he and hisContinue reading “Gaisberg in Russia: April 1st 1900”
Category Archives: PEOPLE
Fred Gaisberg. The World’s First A&R man.
Imagine a world where nothing yet has been recorded. Almost nobody on the planet has heard sound played back to them. Radio doesn’t exist. Music is played live and exists only for as long as the notes hang in the air. And imagine then that somebody has developed a technology for recording sound and you have been given theContinue reading “Fred Gaisberg. The World’s First A&R man.”
Gathering sounds out of the air. Charles Cros dawdles. Edison dawdles less.
Paris was clearly the centre of the world in the early days of sound recording. It was there that Leon Scott de Martinville invented his Phonautograph to capture sound onto paper in 1857 and 20 years later Charles Cros took the process forward by working out how to record sound onto a cylinder by tracing oscillations using a screw. In AprilContinue reading “Gathering sounds out of the air. Charles Cros dawdles. Edison dawdles less.”
Jet Harris passes on
It is very sad to learn of the death of Jet Harris who was early bass guitarist with Cliff Richard and The Shadows. He’s been credited with both introducing the first electric bass guitar into the UK and with coming up with the name of The Shadows when Cliff’s band had to change their nameContinue reading “Jet Harris passes on”
Nellie Melba. Born 150 years ago, buried 70 years ago.
Nellie Melba is one of those huge musical stars from the turn of the last century whose name remains very familiar today – although sadly her music is less well known. She died just over 80 years go on February 23rd 1931 and you can see how significant she was at the time from this clip ofContinue reading “Nellie Melba. Born 150 years ago, buried 70 years ago.”
Obituary for Peter Andry
Peter Andry, who ran EMI Classics for many years, has sadly passed away. Peter was an important EMI executive from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s who retained close links to EMI’s archives even after moving to Warner Classics and then later retiring. Our thoughts go out to Peter’s family. The Daily Telegraph has publishedContinue reading “Obituary for Peter Andry”
The invention of the modern music star in a hotel bedroom in Milan
Fred Gaisberg was one of the men who invented the recording industry. In 1893 he worked in the States as the assistant to Emile Berliner, who had just invented the gramophone disc, and then Gaisberg went on to open and run the world’s first recording studio. In 1898 Gaisberg moved to London to make theContinue reading “The invention of the modern music star in a hotel bedroom in Milan”
Sound Of The Hound 