December 3, 2002 - Washington, DC - Save Our Sounds History Channel Premiere

I arrive at noon and beat it to National Geographic for a peak at the new layout for Songcatchers. The book is in the final stages now and it feels like I am giving birth.

At 5 pm, on to the Library of Congress. This place is unbelievable. 200 years old and growing in size and reach. Its Internet outreach is visionary and bold. Everytime I look around I find a new and exciting angle to this Library.

Today we all meet in the old librarian's office off of the Great hall. This has been preserved in Lincolnesque splendor. Lights and furniture are mid-1800. This room is now only used for ceremonial purposes. Sometimes when I am here at the Library working in the stacks, I get special permission to come here and write and think. I love this room, it reeks with history.

James Billington, the Librarian of Congress, has a new office atop the Madison building across the street. Billington is a tall, gray-haired intellectual who specializes in the study of all things Russian. Billington is a presidential appointee for life, and my republican friend. He is on a jihad to digitize the Library of Congress and allow access to the greatest collection of information in the world. 

Tonight the librarian is very animated. He is hosting the History Channel in the Great Hall. The Great Hall is our Taj Majal. This should be a destination for anyone who passes through Washington DC. The main reading room is a whole city block. This quiet energy surrounds you as you enter this room. Columns of marble rise up to the vaulted ceiling like the feet of some giant creature. Massive bronze and iron statues gaze down on you with knowing eyes. Here lie the stories, the tales and legends. This is the Oz of libraries. Our digital Alexandria, the mother load of information.

But on to the event. The History Channel had gotten wind of the SOS Initiative through the full-page Rolling Stone ad that ran announcing its creation. This was a very fortunate for all of us who are involved with the project. Tonight was more than about the History Channel show, Save Our History / Save Our Sounds, a one hour documentary, which will premiere on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2002 at 8 p.m. ET/PT . It was a validation for many people, including myself, that maybe, just maybe, these musical treasures would be recognized as one of humanity's greatest creations. If this were the visual world, they would be considered as masterpieces, great works that mirror the soul of culture or many cultures in this case.

Many people have helped with this effort, but I want to mention a few here who have been critical in getting us this far.

There is Peggy Bulger the sweet folklorist who has guided the American Folklife Center to prominence in her brief but fruitful tenure as its Director. She has melted the cold hearts of even the most hardened disbelievers in the power of music. And her counter-part from the Smithsonian, Richard Kurin, a partner in this effort and another great advocate for the cause.

There is Joe Wilson, the head of the Council for Traditional Arts. A self proclaimed good ole hillbilly who has recorded and played the back porch music of America for his entire life. Together we stormed the gates of the Senate and the House in search of funds for preservation. Joe was my teacher and mentor in the fine art politics of lobbying the right people with the right message at the right time of day or night. He knows what committee who sits on and the names of their wives and children. He is a southern gentleman, and can charm the socks off any rattlesnake on the hill.

Then there is Alan Jabbour the tall lanky fiddler and beauracrat who ran the AFC before Peggy Bulger took over 3 years ago. He and I are co-directors of the Endangered Music Project and it was he who first welcomed me to the LOC many years ago.

And there was Diane Blagman; the tireless fighter for all that is good. She has helped me, Bob and Jerry many times with our rainforest quest. She would line them up; we would take em on. She has helped me lobby for funds on many fronts, from music therapy to preservation. She is also a board member of the Rex foundation and old friend of the Grateful Dead. We are very fortunate to have her here in Washington. She gives this town a big healthy dose of much needed soul.

There was a lot of stimulating conversation at the reception after the History Channel's 20-min clip was shown. Way back in 1877, Edison was on the trail of the electric light bulb. He wanted to light the American landscape. Only by chance did he fall on the notion of capturing sound on a wax cylinder. And now look at what this invention had produced. A recording industry and sound waves that wrap this planet in its grip. Truly amazing in just 125 years.


Click for more information on SAVE OUR SOUNDS.