The Voices And Music Of World War I

About This Project | Text Version

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The Voices And Music Of World War I is a joint initiative between the Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections and the Marr Sound Archives, at the Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri - Kansas City. Featuring sheet music of the era (as well as other print material, including photographs and ephemera) housed in Special Collections, and original sound recordings from the Marr Sound Archives, this website chronicles the American WWI experience through printed music and audio discs of the day. In addition, there is a section dedicated to spoken word recordings containing the voices of leaders and personalities of the day.

The sheet music featured here is part of Special Collections' World War I Sheet Music Collection, which contains over 250 unique titles published primarily from 1914 to 1919. The World War I Sheet Music Collection is hosted online by the Missouri Digital Library. Direct links to this collection can be found at this website on the pages containing the music and spoken word listings. Look for the Sheet Music Gallery link in the top right corner of the page.

This web project was conceived in cooperation with the National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. Designated a National Historic Landmark on September 20, 2006, the Liberty Memorial houses the only public museum in the United States solely dedicated to honoring the World War I experience.

The site for the Liberty Memorial was dedicated on November 1, 1921. The main Allied military leaders spoke to a crowd of close to 200,000 people. It was the only time in history that these leaders were together at one place. In attendance were Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of Belgium; General Armando Diaz of Italy; Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France; General John J. Pershing of the United States; and Admiral David Beatty of Great Britain. After three years of construction, the completed Liberty Memorial opened on November 11, 1926 - eight years after the end of the War. President Calvin Coolidge delivered the dedication speech, in which he spoke of how "the magnitude of this memorial, and the broad base of popular support on which it rests, can scarcely fail to excite national wonder and admiration."

Text excerpt from the Liberty Memorial website. For more information visit: http://www.libertymemorialmuseum.org/.

Project Coordinators
Chuck Haddix (Director, Marr Sound Archives)
Elizabeth Henry (Assistant Director of Public Services)
Bonnie Postlethwaite (Associate Dean of University Libraries)

World War I Project Committee
Brenda Dingley, Teresa Gipson, Chuck Haddix, Elizabeth Henry, Kelly McEniry, Wendy Sistrunk, Garth Tardy

Content Selection
Chuck Haddix, Charlie Stout (Marr Sound Archives)
Scott Gipson, Teresa Gipson, Kelly McEniry (Special Collections)

Cataloging
Wendy Sistrunk, Garth Tardy

Digital Audio
Scott Middleton

Digital Imaging & Flash Intro
Scott Gipson

Web Design And Layout
Kelly McEniry

Transcriptions For Spoken Word Recordings
Flannery Cashill

Our thanks to Eli Paul, Research Director at the National World War I Museum; Phil Redmon and the staff of the Missouri Digital Library; and our former Special Collections Librarian, Robert Ray, for their input regarding this endeavor.

Home | Music | Spoken Word | Project Credits