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The ARChive of Contemporary Music (ARC) is a non-profit music library and archive based in New York City. It contains over five million items.
The ARC was founded in 1985 by current Director, B. George and David Wheeler (1957–1997) in Lower Manhattan. Since then it has been supported by a prestigious Board of Advisors, currently composed of Jellybean Benitez, Michael Feinstein, Youssou N'Dour, Keith Richards, Nile Rodgers, Todd Rundgren, Fred Schneider, Martin Scorsese, Paul Simon and Mike Stoller. Past Board members include David Bowie (1947-2016), Jonathan Demme, John Hammond (1910–1987), Ellie Greenwich (1940–2009), Jerry Leiber (1933–2011), Lou Reed (1942–2013) and Jerry Wexler (1917–2008).
The ARC focuses on commercially released popular music on record, created since the advent of microgroove recording in the mid-1940s. The collection contains two million sound recordings and over three million pieces of attendant support material including photographs, videos, DVDs, books, press kits, sheet music, ephemera and memorabilia.
The ARChive is spread across three locations in Tribeca, taking up a total of 15,000 square feet. George estimates that the archive has grown to three million vinyl records [1] . The collection includes 750,000 dance singles, 350,000 seven inch singles, three million posters, press kits and photos, 25,000 music books, 60,000 videos, 100,000 music magazines and, although George doesn't collect the heavy, pre-vinyl 78s, the ARC has about 15000 of those, too. [2]
The collection began with 47,000 sound recordings donated by Mr. George accumulated through his work as a DJ, producer and discographer. Mr. George is the co-author of Volume, The International Discography of the New Wave , and released Laurie Anderson’s first recording, O Superman , on his One Ten Records label.
Major collections deeded to ARC include The Jeep Holland Collection (100,000 recordings, 1987), The Rockpool Collection (30,000 recordings, 1991), The NBC Music Library Collection (10,000 recordings, 1991), the Robert Hall Library of Sound Effects (20,000 recordings, 1997), The ABC 45 rpm Record Collection (62,000 recordings, 1999), Jean Gallia Collection of French Popular Music (6000 recordings, 2004), Ron Saja / Footlight Records Collection (35,000 recordings, 2005), The Adam Goldstone Collection (10,000 recordings, 2007), The James Doran Piano Jazz Collection (2008), and the Jerry Rappaport Collection (6000 recordings, 2009).
The Keith Richards’ Blues Collection is the first specialty collection started by an ARChive Board member. Since 1991, Mr. Richards, a passionate devotee of early Blues music, has supported this collection, now numbering over 8,000 discs, including a rare Robert Johnson 78, "Me and The Devil Blues"/"Little Queen of Spades." (Vocalion, 04108, 78rpm, 10", 1937)
While the primary function is preservation, ARC has provided research services and material to many projects - film, music, and academic.
Amongst the film and reissue projects ARC has contributed to are Ken Burns’ series Baseball (1994); Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia (1993), Beloved (1998) and The Manchurian Candidate (2004); Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Goodfellas (1990); and Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock (2009).
Larger projects include providing metadata and images for Microsoft’s Music Central, the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame in Lincoln Center in New York and the Grammy Hall of Fame and Museum in Los Angeles. In 2009 ARC partnered with Columbia University to “assist future research and help further integrate the arts into the University's educational experience.”
Muslim World Music Day is collaborative project with the libraries and the Arts Initiative at Columbia University, Gracenote and the Internet Archive, which took place on April 12, 2011. They have continued their annual ‘'World Music Days”, online databases dedicated to highlighting a country, culture or genre of music. On September 7, 2012, the ARC celebrated Brazilian Music Day.
Atlantic Recording Corporation is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of two decades, starting from the release of its first recordings in January 1948, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most important American labels, specializing in jazz, R&B, and soul by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Ruth Brown and Otis Redding. Its position was greatly improved by its distribution deal with Stax. In 1967, Atlantic became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, now the Warner Music Group, and expanded into rock and pop music with releases by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Led Zeppelin, and Yes.
Parlophone Records Limited is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parlophone Company Limited, which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a jazz record label. On 5 October 1926, the Columbia Graphophone Company acquired Parlophone's business, name, logo, and release library, and merged with the Gramophone Company on 31 March 1931 to become Electric & Musical Industries Limited (EMI). George Martin joined Parlophone in 1950 as assistant to Oscar Preuss, the label manager, taking over as manager in 1955. Martin produced and released a mix of recordings, including by comedian Peter Sellers, pianist Mrs Mills, and teen idol Adam Faith.
Carl Lee Perkins was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 1954. Among his best-known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the American Graphophone Company, the successor to the Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. From 1961 to 1991, its recordings were released outside North America under the name CBS Records to avoid confusion with EMI's Columbia Graphophone Company. Columbia is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels, alongside former longtime rival RCA Records, as well as Arista Records and Epic Records.
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the style. Vocal styles in Delta blues range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery.
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Arista Records, and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop, classical, rock, hip hop, afrobeat, electronic, R&B, blues, jazz, and country. Its name is derived from the initials of its defunct parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA Records was fully acquired by Bertelsmann in 1987, making it a part of Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and became a part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment after the 2004 merger of BMG and Sony; it was acquired by the latter in 2008, after the dissolution of Sony/BMG and the restructuring of Sony Music. RCA Records is the corporate successor of the Victor Talking Machine Company, founded in 1901, making it the second-oldest record label in American history, after sister label Columbia Records, founded in 1889.
Mitchell William Miller was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor and artists and repertoire (A&R) man. Miller was one of the most influential people in American popular music during the 1950s and early 1960s, both as the head of A&R at Columbia Records and as a best-selling recording artist with an NBC television series, Sing Along with Mitch. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in the early 1930s, Miller began his musical career as a player of the oboe and English horn, making numerous highly regarded classical and popular recordings.
Jerry Vale was an American singer, songwriter and actor. During the 1950s and 1960s, he reached the top of the pop charts with his interpretations of romantic ballads, including a cover of Eddy Arnold hit "You Don't Know Me" (1956) and "Have You Looked into Your Heart" (1964). Vale, who was of Italian descent, sang numerous songs in Italian, many of which were used in soundtracks by films of Martin Scorsese.
Gerald Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integral in signing and/or producing many of the biggest acts of the time, including Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers, Chris Connor, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Wilson Pickett, Dire Straits, Dusty Springfield and Bob Dylan. Wexler was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 2017 to the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
George Mesrop Avakian was an American record producer, artist manager, writer, educator and executive. Best known for his work from 1939 to the early 1960s at Decca Records, Columbia Records, World Pacific Records, Warner Bros. Records, and RCA Records, he was a major force in the expansion and development of the U.S. recording industry. Avakian functioned as an independent producer and manager from the 1960s to the early 2000s and worked with artists such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck, Eddie Condon, Keith Jarrett, Erroll Garner, Buck Clayton, Sonny Rollins, Paul Desmond, Edith Piaf, Bob Newhart, Johnny Mathis, John Cage, Alan Hovhaness, Ravi Shankar, and many other notable jazz musicians and composers.
Steve Jordan is an American musical director, producer, songwriter, and musician. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a member of the bands for the television shows Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman.
"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin. Released on Atlantic Records, as the first big hit of her career, it became a defining song for Franklin, peaking at number one on the rhythm and blues charts and number nine on the pop charts. The B-side was "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man". Before this Franklin had placed only two Top 40 singles on the pop chart during her modest tenure with Columbia Records.
Bob George, known professionally as B. George, is the co-founder and executive director of the ARChive of Contemporary Music in New York City. He also published the first comprehensive discographical reference work on punk rock and new wave music and founded the company One Ten Records.
Emil Richards was an American vibraphonist and percussionist.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1934.
The Complete Recordings is a compilation album by American Delta blues musician Robert Johnson. The 41 songs were recorded in two sessions in Dallas and San Antonio, Texas for the American Record Company (ARC) during 1936 and 1937. Most were first released on 78 rpm records in 1937. The Complete Recordings, released August 28, 1990, by Columbia Records, contains every recording Johnson is known to have made, with the exception of an alternate take of "Travelling Riverside Blues".
Johnny Mathis has recorded 73 studio albums, 18 of which achieved sales of 500,000 units and were awarded Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. Five of his greatest hits albums also accomplished this, and of these 18 Gold albums, six eventually went Platinum by reaching sales of one million copies. In 1999, sales figures totaled five million for his first holiday LP, Merry Christmas, and three million for Johnny's Greatest Hits, a 1958 collection that has been described as the "original greatest-hits package" and once held the record for most weeks on Billboard magazine's album chart with a total of 490. His second longest album chart run was the 295 weeks belonging to his Platinum 1959 album Heavenly, which gave him five weeks in the top spot. In a ranking of the top album artists of the last half of the 1950s in terms of Billboard chart performance, he comes in at number two, for the 1960s, number 10, and for the period from 1955 to 2009 he is at number six.
American blues musician Robert Johnson (1911–1938) recorded 29 songs during his brief career. A total of 59 performances, including alternate takes, were recorded over a period of five days at two makeshift recording studios in Texas. Producers selected 25, which Vocalion Records issued on 12 two-sided 78 rpm record singles between 1937 and 1939. These went out-of-print, but were the only source of Johnson's work until his recordings were eventually issued on albums beginning in 1959. In addition to those on the original singles, another 17 recordings have been released.
Colin Escott is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes for more than 500 albums and compilations, and major contributions to stage and television productions. Honors include multiple Grammy Awards and a Tony Award nomination.
