This week on From the Vault we present a condensed version of the Pacifica-produced award-winning series called The Bill of Rights Radio Education Project. Originally produced as a 15-part series in 1983, this series was designed to flush out the gray areas in which the Bill of Rights, established to offer protections to all Americans, has failed.

We’ve chosen 4 segments that we think are particularly relevant today:

–Due Process – The seemingly biased way in which the US offers political Asylum depending whether the country you come from is Conservative or Progressive.

–Censorship – The consequences of Censorship of books from Public Libraries and schools.

–How the the right to keep and bear arms doesn’t work for all Americans.

–Due process and fair trial for all Americans – The sordid contradictions of the Japanese/American Internment during World War II.

This series won the NFCB Golden Reel Award, the San Francisco State Broadcast Media Award, The American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award, The Ohio State Award for Broadcast Excellence, and an award from Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

This program is narrated by Kathy McAnally.

From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

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This week on From the Vault, we enter the field of music as one of the great expressions of the creative spirit.

KPFK Music Director Maggie LePique interviewed 93 year old Les Paul before his weekly performance at the Iridium Club in New York City on April 7th, 2008. On a chilly Monday afternoon before his first set, Les Paul was in great form – what started out as a friendly conversation becomes a whirlwind overview of this legendary guitar player and inventor. From his early hard body electric guitar invention to the Les Pulverizer to his first ever multi-track recording to his blistering guitar technique, Les Paul is the original Guitar Hero.

From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

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In the summer of 1999, the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage presented a brilliant Woody Guthrie exhibit called this This Land is Your Land: The Life and Legacy of Woodie Guthrie. On the final day of the exhibit, Sunday, September 26, 1999, Los Angeles based folk singer Ross Altman was invited to perform a program called The 10 Greatest Protest Songs of the 20th Century. This week on From the Vault, you’ll hear Ross Altman tell the stories and perform songs from folk greats such as Leadbelly, Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, Florence Reece, and, of course, Woody Guthrie.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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We push onward into our Summer Arts and Literature Series on From the Vault with the final readings from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novel, Notes From Underground. First published in 1864, Notes from Underground is considered by many scholars to be Dostoevsky’s most philosophical effort, introducing to Underground Man, who is filled with self-contempt and self-betrayal without being aware of it. Dostoevsky’s novel – equally criticized with the same passion as it is championed – is widely considered to be a prologue to his later work. Ultimately, his writing would have a profound influence on writers such as Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.

In 1972, Kathy Dobkin produced the 3rd annual WBAI reading of a classic novel, this time choosing Notes From Underground. This fourth of four parts is read by Stacy Keach from a David Magarshack translation of the novel.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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We continue our Summer Arts and Literature Series on From the Vault with more readings from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novel, Notes From Underground. First published in 1864, Notes from Underground is considered by many scholars to be Dostoevsky’s most philosophical effort, introducing to Underground Man, who is filled with self-contempt and self-betrayal without being aware of it. Dostoevsky’s novel – equally criticized with the same passion as it is championed – is widely considered to be a prologue to his later work. Ultimately, his writing would have a profound influence on writers such as Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.

In 1972, Kathy Dobkin produced the 3rd annual WBAI reading of a classic novel, this time choosing Notes From Underground. This second of four parts is read by Stacy Keach from a David Magarshack translation of the novel.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on From the Vault we continue our Summer Arts and Literature Series with a reading of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novel, Notes From Underground. First published in 1864, Notes from Underground is considered by many scholars to be Dostoevsky’s most philosophical effort, introducing to Underground Man, who is filled with self-contempt and self-betrayal without being aware of it. Dostoevsky’s novel – equally criticized with the same passion as it is championed – is widely considered to be a prologue to his later work. Ultimately, his writing would have a profound influence on writers such as Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.

In 1972, Kathy Dobkin produced the 3rd annual WBAI reading of a classic novel, this time choosing Notes From Underground. This first of four parts is read by stage and film actor Morris Carnovsky.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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Since 2007, the Pacifica Radio Archives has featured on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Up All night program, sharing the vault’s rich and diverse history with a UK audience. In today’s episode of From the Vault, we look back on some of the programs produced for the BBC, featuring the rich tapestry of audio held at the Pacifica Radio Archives, including the voices of controversial 1968 Olympic athlete Tommie Smith, singer and actress Judy Garland and Garland’s son Joey Luft, and comic-director-writer-producer-lyricist Mel Brooks.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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This week on From the Vault, we launch our summer Arts and Literature Series with a hilarious romp hosted by three true minstrels of folk folly: Phil Ochs, Dave Van Ronk and Patrick Sky. On April 21st 1973, these three friends and pioneers of the Greenwich Village folk scene made an impromptu visit to perform live on The Free Music Store, a WBAI radio show dedicated to bringing live music to the New York City airwaves during the 1960′s and 1970′s. Ochs, Van Ronk, and Sky deliver a set of music they learned from the Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music compiled by Harry Smith in 1952: Van Ronk and Sky offer their rendition of a few blues tunes from Mississippi John Hurt, Ochs performs his song “Flower Lady” originally released on the 1967 album Pleasures of the Harbor, and then the three musicians use the remainder of the concert taking turns wowing the audience their best work and good cheer.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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This week on From The Vault we dig deep inside our vault to present one of our gems of High Kitsch, the words and music of Mrs. Miller.

In 1966, Mrs. Miller rose to stardom as an unlikely pop-music sensation who sang off key and out of rythym. Having relocated from Dodge City, Kansas to Claremont, California she connected against all odds with the folks at Capitol Records, recorded an album, and became an instant phenomenon – to the tune of 250,000 copies sold in three months – a pretty big deal for the late Sixties!

WBAI producer Richard Lamparski, who hosted the series “Whatever Became of…” couldn’t resist interviewing Mrs. Miller as she visited New York in 1966 to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. Lamparski intersperses his interview with several tracks from Mrs. Miller’s first record, including covers of The Beatle’s “A Hard Days Night” and Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made For Walking.”

Those of you who remember Mrs. Miller and her music are going to be surprised with the interview and the storytelling of this delightful entertainer. Those of you who have not yet heard the song stylings of Mrs. Miller, you are in for a real treat. In fact, while researching for this program we found ourselves pressed to recall a recording that compares to the curiosity and intimacy of this little gem – a true Pacifica classic!

Curious Fact: Signed copies of Mrs. Miller first record “Mrs. Miller’s Greatest Hits” would raise more money for WBAI during the 1966 fund drive cycle than any other “thank-you” gift that year…

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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This week on From The Vault we take a look at one of the most innovative artists and creative forces of our time, jazz musician and composer Sun Ra. Guided by two KPFK – Los Angeles music programmers and Sun Ra admirers, Mark Maxwell and Carlos Niño, we’ll explore some of the more abstract ideas of Sun Ra. The Pacifica Radio Archives has two landmark interviews with Sun Ra, including one of the oldest known recorded interviews conducted by Dennis Irving in 1968, and a 1991 interview with KPFK producer Jay Green titled, “Getting Better than Good, Notes from the Omniverse.” Through these recorded interviews, Sun Ra gives us a glimpse of his unique perspective on humanity’s existence and place in the Universe, and guests Mark and Carlos explain the impact Jazz legends had on Sun Ra… and the impact Sun Ra had on others.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

PURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download