1947.

Hello hello.
For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I invite you to check out my grandfather and great uncles in the short they did in 1947.
Every time I watch, I am struck by the quality of the musicians and the quality of the voices, especially considering this is such an old recording. I'm only sharing the edited version here, but this is true of the other performers in the short as well.
This makes me think of generations of elders saying that music has gone to pot. And you know, I can understand. Yes, I love plenty of contemporary artists. But a recording like this is the kind of thing that makes me want to be better. Folks, this precision and blend is not the work of a studio engineer but of talented people who earned their place on film. (And, I believe that they, along with my great grandfather, did most of the arranging. Anybody know? I'll ask my grandfather when I see him tomorrow.)
My husband and I have been watching the Dick Van Dyke show on Netflix, and each time they sing, I savor how beautiful a live (or pre-recorded but untouched) voice can be on film. Sure, we get that with music theatre, but I'm talking everyday TV/radio here. When I set out to do what I do, I always imagined it as that raw. I'm not saying production is unnecessary; trust me, I like a little help, too. But I do love recognizing a voice as soon as I hear it, and I can't say I like the current industry standard. I was watching Glee the other night, and I had this moment where I had no idea who the soloist was. You know when you walk past a magazine stand and see a familiar looking blond girl with a pretty face, but she's been retouched so much that you have to read the cover to find out who it is? That is what I cannot tolerate in music. And so, I present you what I believe to be a refreshing, old-time, full-o-talent act.
This is what happened when my grandfather went to Hollywood. And he's encouraging me to go now. So, my Manifest Destiny inspiration of the day is, without further ado:
The Lind Brothers