The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) was established by the War Department on May 26, 1942 to entertain, inform and connect troops to back home. The broadcast were also intended to counter propaganda broadcasts by Tokyo Rose, Axis Sally and other radio personalities supported by the Axis alliance. The AFRS network was launched with a five hour broadcast on July 4, 1943. The network quickly grew and by the end of World War II included 300 stations, broadcasting to troops around the world. Programs were distributed to stations on 16" polyvinyl discs that contained fifteen minutes of information. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and other major stars of the day performed on the network free of charge as their contribution to the war effort. Radio networks and record labels provided free access their programming and recordings to help develop programming for the network. In addition to bringing the troops programming from networks and the record labels, the service also created original programs like Jubilee which featured African American bands and entertainers. The AFRS network continued broadcasting through Korea, Vietnam and other subsequent wars and conflicts. Now known as the Armed Forces Network, the service continues to entertain servicemen and servicewomen stationed around the world.
The vast majority of the collection is the full contents of the Leo Sarkisian Music Library transferred from the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. to the University of Michigan for preservation, teaching, and research use. The media library supported Sarkisian’s research and recording career at VOA (1963-2012) and served as the principal analog audio resources for the production of the Music Time in Africa radio show. The collection also includes personal papers and memorabilia from Leo Sarkisian and his wife Mary. New materials in digital form are added to the collection as tape recordings and personal papers are digitized.
Content types:
Performed music, Still image, and Text
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, Pressed 45rpm disc, Optical disc (including CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, VCD), Analog audiocassette, Polyester open reel tape, Acetate open reel tape, Digital audio file (including MP3, WAV, AIFF, etc.), Photographic negative, and Text document
The Wayne W. Daniel collection contains manuscript copies of his definitive book on the history of country music in Atlanta, Pickin' on Peachtree, research materials, audio cassette recordings of oral histories, black and white photographs, film posters, event announcement posters, posters of musicians, commercial audio recordings, commercial video recordings, and noncommercial video recordings.
Content types:
Text, Still image, Spoken word, Performed music, and Two-dimensional moving image
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, Pressed 78rpm disc, Pressed 45rpm disc, Optical disc, Analog audiocassette, VHS, Photographic print, Photographic negative, and Text document
Extent:
58 linear feet
Repository/Collector:
Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives
The Don Kennedy papers contain writings, audio recordings, photographs, printed materials, and awards related to Kennedy's television and radio broadcasting career. The bulk of the materials relate to the production of the Big Band Jump radio shows between 1989 and 2013. These include scripts, cue sheets, newsletters, and broadcast masters of the weekly programs. The papers include some full-length interviews with musicians and other big band-era figures that were subsequently edited for broadcast. The collection also includes promotional and photographic materials from his work with television station WATL-TV, 1976-1978; radio stations WKLS FM, 1960-1970, and the Georgia Network, 1972-1982; as well as his time as children's television host "Officer Don," 1956-1969.
Content types:
Performed music, Spoken word, Still image, Text, and Two-dimensional moving image
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, Optical disc (Including CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, VCD), MiniDisc, Analog audiocassette, Digital Audio Tape (DAT), Photographic print, and Text document
Extent:
22 linear feet, 640 Optical discs, 300 Pressed LP discs
Repository/Collector:
Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives
WRAS Radio records, 1966-2009, contain materials documenting the Georgia State University student-run radio station. The collection consists of materials pertaining to day-to-day operations, tower construction and relocation, playlists, logs, news clippings, ephemera, station produced sound recordings (interviews, promos, drops) and sound recording submissions for the Georgia Music Show. Notable in the collection is the almost complete run of general manager files documenting the station’s activities under each manager.
Content types:
Performed music, Spoken word, Still image, and Text
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, Pressed 45rpm disc, Optical disc (Including CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, VCD), MiniDisc, Polyester open reel tape, Photographic print, and Text document
Extent:
8 linear feet, 900 Optical and 45rpm discs
Repository/Collector:
Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives
The records contain correspondence, memos, scrapbooks, news clippings, publicity materials, program log books, scripts, radio engineering lesson plans, contracts, licenses, photographs, sound recordings, moving image recordings, transcripts, and artifacts relating to the early history of WSB Radio, to WSB performers, programs, awards, and sponsored events (such as news workshops and career conferences for students), and to WSB-FM and WSB-TV.
Content types:
Notated music, Performed music, Spoken word, Still image, Text, Three-dimensional form, and Two-dimensional moving image
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, Pressed 78rpm disc, Pressed 45rpm disc, Lacquer disc, Analog audiocassette, Polyester open reel tape, Motion picture film, Photographic print, Photographic negative, and Text document
Extent:
24 linear feet, 250 Lacquer discs, 40,000 Pressed 78rpm, LP, and 45rpm discs
Repository/Collector:
Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives