1959 Buffalonian Talking Page 45 rpm record, 1959
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9/6/1389 Abstract:The recording crackles to life, then bursts into fanfare. The announcer, in full radio voice, narrates the “talking page,” a 45-rpm disc included with the 1959 Buffalonian yearbook. Together, they provided “a verbal, as well as a pictorial résumé of the year’s activities.”
We hear of exciting news from all corners of the university. The football team had its best year ever. Count Basie performed at the Alpha Phi Delta Winter Dance. A scientist from the Bell Aircraft Corporation presented a lecture on rockets and the space age.
Finally, the charming 11-minute record draws to a close with an instrumental version of UB’s alma mater, signaling the end of an era for the Class of ’59, but also the beginning of a new adventure. Chancellor Clifford C. Furnas lent his voice to the 45, offering this message to graduating students: “With the loss of hair or the graying of hair or perhaps getting just a little bit paunchy, may you always be prouder year by year of your alma mater, the University of Buffalo.”
Similar to an old-time radio show, the narrator of the “talking page” is accompanied by a gamut of sound effects, including a ringing alarm clock and a yawn; Hayes Hall clock’s Westminster chimes; footsteps falling on campus pavement; and the ka-chunking rhythm of an IBM machine shooting out mid-semester grades.
*Text from “Objectology: The Sounds of College,” by Rebecca Rudell, in At Buffalo, Summer 2016. Online, along with a digital file of the record, at http://www.buffalo.edu/atbuffalo/article-page-summer-2016.host.html/content/shared/www/atbuffalo/articles/Summer-2016/in-every-issue/objectology.detail.html
Topics: Publications, University History Resources, Student Life
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