Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

PRESIDENT TRUMAN ACCEPTS A SPECIAL ALBUM OF ROOSEVELT RECORDINGS FROM NILES TRAMMELL, NBC PRESIDENT. "RendezvousWith Destiny" EXCERPTS FROM PRESIDENT ROOSEVELTS SPEECHES HAVE BEEN ASSEMBLED IN AN ALBUM OF RECORDINGS ON the weekend of the first an- niversary of President Roose- velt's death, millions of people in America and throughout the world sat by their radios and listened again to a voice they had known so well during the war years. The oc- casion was the premier broadcasts of "Rendezvous With Destiny," an album of excerpts from the late President's speeches, the first of a series of NBC documentary record- ings produced under the editorial advisorship of Dr. James Rowland Angell, public service counselor of the network and president emeritus of Yale University. The album's title was taken from Mr. Roosevelt's acceptance of the second presiden- tial nomination—"This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny." From Mr. Roosevelt's first in- augural address of March 4, 1933 {". . . the only thing we have to fear is fear itself") to his March 1, 1945, report to Congress on the Crimea Conference ("I hope you will pardon me for this unusual pos- ture of sitting down. . . ."), listen- ers heard portions of his outstand- ing speeches, delivered in his clear, unmistakable diction. At various times from April 12 [20 RADIO AGEl to 14, eighty-two of the network's stations carried the complete album as a two-hour feature. On April 13, selections from the album were broadcast over ninety-two NBC net- work stations as part of the "Our Foreign Policy" program. Listeners in England heard the recordings on the first anniversary of the Presi- dent's death through a special short- wave program arranged by the NBC International Division. Later, the performance was repeated for Sweden and Denmark, with inter- polations in the respective lan- guages. In addition, the U. S. State Department used selections from the album in one 45-minute broad- cast in English and in another with commentary in Italian. Acclaimed for Historical Value '■Rendezvous With Destiny" has already been acclaimed throughout the nation as a notable contribu- tion to the archives of history. Schools, radio stations, and libra- ries, as well as individuals and or- ganizations of every description, are requesting copies of the album. The U. S. State Department has ordered 50 copies for distribution to its representatives abroad. A radio station in Sweden has asked for and received a set of the record- ings. Result of Combined Efforts "Rendezvous With Destiny" is the result of the combined efforts of Dr. Angell; Cesar Saerchinger, NBC commentator: Tom Bennett, production director of NBC, and Herbert H. Wood, program man- ager of the network's Radio Record- ing Division. Saerchinger selected the speeches from more than 300 original off- the-air recordings and compiled the index, which identifies the speeches by date as well as by quotations. In the preface, which Saerchinger also prepared, he said, "The purpose of this album is to provide a per- manent word-picture of the years preceding and during the Second World War, highlighted by signifi- cant e.xcerpts from the speeches of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. I have aimed to recapture the spirit of those decisive years of our his- tory in the actual words and the familiar voice of America's Chief Executive, as broadcast by the Na- tional Broadcasting Company and recorded at the time." The Bennett musical score is based on a symphony which he composed and dedicated to Presi- dent Roosevelt. The orchestra was directed by Norman Cloutier, and the album was produced by Wood. THE TWO NBC VOLUMES CONTAIN FIF- TEEN RECORDINGS OF SELECTIONS FROM MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED SPEECHES BY THE LATE PRESIDENT.