[Who Killed Robert Johnson (WKRJ)], tape number 7
name: label: Collection Collector
content: McCormick, Mack
setName: label: See more items in
content: Robert "Mack" McCormick Collection
label: See more items in
content: Robert "Mack" McCormick Collection / Series 15: Audio Cassette Tapes and Digital Files
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Cassette tape (Total Running Time: 90:00)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1973
container: label: Container
content: Box 165, Cassette OTC 1485.24
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Audio
label: Type
content: Cassette tapes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Side A: Perry Pyle interview, November 1973.

Side B: Art Satherley interview, November 18, 1973.


Side A: Perry Pyle interview, November 1973.

McCormick conducts telephone interview with Perry Pyle, district manager for Brunswick Records, as part of his research for the Smithsonian Institution relating to the history of how talent was discovered and recorded for the record label. Pyle primarily discusses his career with Brunswick/Warner Brothers/Columbia records in Dallas, Texas.  He began his career as a salesman and becomes sales manager in 1928. By 1930, he was a branch manager in the music division but was not involved in the recording aspects of the business. He describes the company as being interested in hillbilly music and talks about the five salesmen including Robert Pompie, Jack Kemp, F. F. Binger, Stevens, and Ernie Oertle who travelled around the country looking for talent. He remembers the recording studio as first being in a warehouse located at 611 Elm Street and then in a two-story building on 508 Park Avenue where the company moved in 1930.  Located on the 2nd floor, the recording studio was marked off by drapes and in the same space as the record warehouse. He discusses the recording of musicians Henry Thomas, J. T. "Funny Paper" Smith, and Gene Campbell.  In addition, he provides information relating to the personality of Ernie Oertle.

Side B: Art Satherley, November 18, 1973.

McCormick conducts interview with Art Satherley, who was a recording executive for the American Record Corporation (ARC), as part of his research relating to the methods used to recruit talent for recording sessions in the 1920s and 1930s. Satherley, who grew up in England, states that he became interested in the music industry while employed in the furniture trade. He began working for the Brunswick Record Company shortly before it was sold to the American Record Corporation (ARC). Satherley worked out of the New York office and would travel to Dallas and in the process of scouting for talent throughout the country. He attended recording sessions with engineers Vincent Liebler, Al Housman, and Harry Marker. He speaks about other employees involved in company operations including salesman Ernie Oertle and producer Don S. Law who came with the Brunswick Company.  In addition, he provides information about the role [William Ronald] W. R. Calaway played in talent development, Lady Frances Tainter employed in Dallas, and shipping clerk Anthony Ganza. He provides insight into the recording process in Dallas, San Antonio, and Ft. Worth, Texas.  He notes that the company stop using wax as a medium for making recordings in 1939 or 1940.  He describes the recording of Mexican, white, and African American musicians; the use of recording schedules; and the process of giving groups a chance to rehearse before they recorded.  Satherley states that he signed the singer Josh White and took him to New York to record as Reverend White. Satherley also mentions to McCormick that he is in possession of American Record Corporation (ARC) ledgers.