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Look at the Edison Photo Gallery
The Rise and Fall and Rise and Fall and Rise of Thomas Alva Edison
is
a two-part story produced by The Kitchen Sisters, Davia Nelson & Nikki
Silva that explores the recorded legacy of the near-deaf inventor of the
talking machine.
Jenny Lind and Melba Advertisement for Edison
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Part II: The Competition
The idea of recording something for posterity was really one of the important ideas in creating the industry of recorded sound. Great moments of culture were going by --Caruso, Dame Melba. If you weren’t there, if you weren’t at the Metropolitan Opera House you were going to miss it. The industry of recorded sound said, "Here is your chance to capture this historic moment."
Edison was completely against creating stars. He saw the expense, the inconvenience, and he didn’t get along with the Carusos of this world. He was a rough and ready westerner and he rubbed the the wrong way. As a businessman he said "Let’s not even put the name of the performer on the recording.
Caruso Advertisement for Victor
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Let the listener decide. But on the other hand, Victor went with the Star and it sold."
The sounds in the story range from the first ever recorded words to
diamond discs cut in 1927. Some of these archival artifacts are worn by
time and play. But listen and you will hear some of the oldest sound
recordings that exist anywhere.
The Rise and Fall and Rise and Fall and Rise of Thomas Alva Edison Part II
was produced by The Kitchen Sisters, Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva in
collaboration with David Giovannoni and Jim Anderson. Mixed by Robin
Wise.
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Copyright © 1999 The Kitchen Sisters