WASHINGTON – A retired music executive will donate more than 200 audio interviews with popular singers including Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Paul McCartney and others to the Library of Congress, officials announced Monday.
The gift includes interviews that Joe Smith recorded over two years while president of Capitol Records/EMI. He compiled the candid oral histories for his book, Off the Record, published in 1988. The collection includes interviews with dozens of big names, including Barbra Streisand, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner and others.
Now the recordings have been digitized by the worlds largest library and will be available to researchers at its reading room on Capitol Hill. Some will be streamed on the librarys website later this year to provide wider access.