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--- 2008 ARSC AWARDS --- The Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Begun in 1991, the awards are presented to authors and publishers of books, articles, liner notes, and monographs, to recognize outstanding published research in the field of recorded sound. In giving these awards, ARSC recognizes outstanding contributions, encourages high standards, and promotes awareness of superior works. A maximum of two awards is presented annually in each category -- one for best history and one for best discography. Certificates of Merit are presented to runners-up for works of exceptionally high quality. The 2008 Awards for Excellence honor works published in 2007. Additionally, a Lifetime Achievement Award and an Award for Distinguished Service to Historical Recordings are also presented annually. The 2008 winners are: BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED BLUES, RHYTHM & BLUES, or SOUL MUSIC Best Discography: The Gospel Discography: A Discography of Post-war African-American Gospel Records from 1943 to 1970, by Cedric Hayes and Bob Laughton (Eyeball Productions) Best History: How Britain Got the Blues: The Transmission and Reception of American Blues Style in the United Kingdom, by Roberta Freund Schwartz (Ashgate) Certificate of Merit: Cross the Water Blues: African American Music in Europe, edited by Neil A. Wynn (University of Mississippi Press) BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED CLASSICAL MUSIC Best Discography: Joan Tower: The Comprehensive Bio-Bibliography, by Ellen K. Grolman (Scarecrow) Best History: Moondog: The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography, by Robert Scotto (Process) Certificate of Merit: Sigmund Romberg, by William A. Everett (Yale University Press) BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED COUNTRY MUSIC Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost, by Tony Russell (Oxford University Press) Certificates of Merit: Charlie Monroe: I'm Old Kentucky Bound: His Recordings, 1938-1956, liner notes by Richard K. Spottswood (Bear Family) Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry, by Holly George-Warren (Oxford University Press) Whiskey River (Take My Mind): The True Story of Texas Honky-Tonk, by Johnny Bush with Rick Mitchell (University of Texas Press) The Selling Sound: The Rise of the Country Music Industry, by Diane Pecknold (Duke University Press) BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED FOLK, ETHNIC, or WORLD MUSIC Best Discography: Hawaiian & Hawaiian Guitar Records, 1891-1960, by T. Malcolm Rockwell (Mahina Piha Press) Best History: Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae, by Michael E. Veal (Wesleyan University Press) BEST RESEARCH in GENERAL HISTORY of RECORDED SOUND The Complete Guide to Vintage Children's Records: Identification & Value Guide, by Peter Muldavin (Collector's Books) BEST RESEARCH in RECORD LABELS Best Discography: Beltona: A Label Listing and History, by William Dean-Myatt (The City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society) Best History: Horizons Touched: The Music of ECM, edited by Steve Lake and Paul Griffiths (Granta) BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED JAZZ MUSIC Lennie Tristano: His Life in Music, by Eunmi Shim (University of Michigan Press) Certificates of Merit: Subversive Sounds: Race and the Birth of Jazz in New Orleans, by Charles Hersch (University of Chicago Press) The Original Hot Five Recordings of Louis Armstrong, by Gene H. Anderson (Pendragon) Ragtime: An Encyclopedia, Discography, and Sheetography, by David A. Jasen (Routledge) BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED POPULAR MUSIC Best Discography: The Complete New Zealand Music Charts, 1966-2006: Singles, Albums, DVDs, Compilations, by Dean Scapolo (Maurienne House) Best History: Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus, by Alex Halberstadt (Da Capo) Certificate of Merit: Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector, by Mick Brown (Knopf) BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED ROCK MUSIC Best Discography: The Beatles Swan Song: "She Loves You" & Other Records, by Bruce Spizer (498 Productions) Best History: Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius, by Philip Lambert (Continuum) Certificate of Merit: Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography, by George Case (Hal Leonard) 2008 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: JERRY WEBER ARSC annually presents a Lifetime Achievement Award to an individual, in recognition of a life's work in recorded sound research and publication. Jerome F. Weber (better known to his ARSC colleagues as Jerry) is recognized for the depth and breadth of his discographical research. He has spent much of his lifetime surveying many kinds of music. Weber's religious vocation gave him a logical entree for examining a considerable body of recorded Gregorian Chant, culminating in 1990 with the publication of a definitive two-volume discography of this music. Weber researched, compiled, and published a large series of discographies of music by various composers: Schubert Lieder (1970), Brahms Lieder (1970), Schumann Lieder (1971), Mahler (1971), Hugo Wolf (1975), and Schubert's Great C Major Symphony, D.944 (2000), to name a few. In addition to his published discographies, Weber has written articles on medieval music and been a reviewer of recordings for Fanfare, for many years. His pioneering studies on the "science" of discography -- a scholarly approach to organizing data about recordings -- have appeared in the ARSC Journal. 2008 AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO HISTORICAL RECORDINGS: SAM BRYLAWSKI ARSC's Award for Distinguished Service to Historical Recordings honors a person who has made outstanding contributions to the field, outside of published works or discographic research. Sam Brylawski has worked in nearly every aspect of recorded sound archiving, been involved in many significant library developments over the past thirty years, and served as a national leader in the field. In the early 1970s, Brylawski began his career at the Library of Congress, as a transfer engineer. He became a reference librarian for recorded sound in 1980, and was promoted to Curator of Recorded Sound in the early 1990s. In 1996, he was chosen to head the re-formed Recorded Sound Section of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division -- a position he held until his retirement in 2004. Under Brylawski's leadership, the Library acquired many important collections of commercial, non-commercial, and broadcast recordings, and -- for the first time in the Recorded Sound Section -- major manuscript collections. He devised efficient inventory and cataloging procedures, which resulted in the online SONIC database that indexes more than 200,000 recordings, including 90,000 radio broadcast recordings of the NBC network. Brylawski worked on the passage of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 that established the National Recording Preservation Board, where he serves as advisor to the Library. In addition, he was on the executive team that planned the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia. After retiring from the Library, Brylawski was appointed Editor and Project Manager of the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings, by the University of California, Santa Barbara. As editor, he has brought this long-awaited project to fruition as a Web database. His goal for the future is a comprehensive database of all standard-groove discs. Brylawski has served as ARSC Program Chair and ARSC President, and is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He has authored articles and liner notes, and produced CDs and websites. He continues to work on national policy initiatives and lead the profession through his vast experience, wisdom, and humor. 2008 ARSC AWARDS COMMITTEE Winners are chosen by the ARSC Awards Committee: five elected judges representing specific fields of study, plus the ARSC President, and the Book Review Editor of the ARSC Journal. The members of the 2008 ARSC Awards Committee are: Robert Iannapollo (Awards Committee Co-Chair) Roberta Freund-Schwartz (Awards Committee Co-Chair) Sam Brylawski (ARSC President) Brenda Nelson-Strauss (ARSC Past-President) Jim Farrington (Book Review Editor, ARSC Journal) David Hamilton (Classical Music Judge) Kip Lornell (Judge-At-Large) Dan Morgenstern (Jazz Music Judge) William L. Schurk (Popular Music Judge) Dick Spottswood (Judge-at-Large) The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings -- in all genres of music and speech, in all formats, and from all periods. ARSC is unique in bringing together private individuals and institutional professionals -- everyone with a serious interest in recorded sound. Additional information about ARSC, including lists of past ARSC Award Winners and Finalists, may be found at www.arsc-audio.org.
