Happy Leap Day to all!
In the last month, I’ve been contacting historical societies in various states along the Lincoln Highway not only to let them know about the project, but to also see if they had any concert/recital programs from 1913-1935. I’ve had some tremendous results thank to the following agencies:
The Wyoming State Historical Society and The Wyoming State Archives came through with flying colors and I now have close to 50 pages of programs from this era. They also recommended a link I thought I would share with you history buffs, “The Wyoming Newspaper Project”. I spent hours (and could spend more hours) looking at all of the newspapers that were transferred online from microfiche. You not only can search by keyword, but also by pattern and concept. You can print anything from this website as well-all free of charge!
Nebraska’s Historical Society also had a few great finds, including a souvenir program that had music for a song called “Let Me Stray” from the Grand Island Capitol Theatre. I can’t find any modern recordings of this song, so I’m looking forward to debuting it on the road next year.
And last but not least, here’s the fun find for today. The Utah State Archives found a program from 1930 of the operetta “Naughty Marietta”, and noted two songs were performed: “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life” and “My Heart is Back in Napoli” (we know the latter as “Italian Street Song”. At first I didn’t know these songs, but when I played them back, my first memories of these songs from watching old Bugs Bunny cartoons as a kid. Sad but true.
Today’s video is a hilarious interpretation of “Italian Street Song”. She even stays in tune while everything falls in around her. Enjoy!