Regular SWLing Post readers know that I’m a huge fan of the late Willis Conover. I just learned, via the Arts Journal blog, about an amazing collection of Conover audio archives that are now being shared online:
“The music program at the University of North Texas has graduated hundreds of jazz artists who went on to successful careers as professionals.[…]
Under Maristella Feustle of the university’s library, there is an archive devoted to the late Willis Conover of the Voice of America[…]. Conover’s VOA programs sent jazz around the world. For a quarter of a century he was one of the nation’s most valuable cultural diplomats. As of today, parts of the Conover archive are online and open to the public, thanks to a grant from the Grammy Foundation.[…]”
Many thanks, Maristella, for championing and finding funds for the Willis Conover archive!
Click here to browse the list of recordings and listen to the tapes via the UNT Digital Library.
Hi I live in the UK just North of London. Spent my whole teenage years 1954 on-wards trolling the short wave and guess what the most favourite radio was? The VoA Jazz Hour. This site is so good now in my late 70s and just revel in these recordings, very well done and thank you . Willis Conover will live for ever on this site.
André: Click on:
http://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/MLCC/browse/?fq=dc_type%3Asound
There are now 137 recordings you can listen to now. There are even some “off beat” recordings such as this one:
http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc824822/m1/?q=armstrong#track/1 😉
As of today (20 January 2024), there are now 277 recordings in the collection. There’s also a great one-hour long video about the VOA produced on the occasion of its 50th anniversary:
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc849958/
I DID MY STUDY IN THE LATE FIFTIES WITH THE HELP OF WILLIS CONOVER THE JAZZ HOUR ON THE BACKGROUND
HOW CAN I GET ACCESS TO HIS ARCHIVES ?
ANDRE TESTA , LOCATED IN BAARN THE NETHERLANDS