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Last updated on Sunday, November 25, 2018
(BLOOMINGTON) - A new documentary from WTIU Public Television, The Music Makers of Gennett Records, set to air on Sunday, November 25th at 8 p.m., tells the story of the Gennett Recording Studios including rare 1920 recordings, interviews with some of today’s most celebrated performers as well as touching on the progressive nature of Gennnett during a time of racial segregation.
Once located on the banks of the Whitewater River in the center of Richmond, Gennett Records recorded many groundbreaking recordings from some of the greatest musical performers of the time. Gennett became the place in the country to record jazz, country, gospel, sound effects and more. Musicians of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, including Hoagy Carmichael, Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Gene Autry, and Jelly Roll Morton, flocked to Richmond to record their music. This amazing feat earned us the nickname "Cradle of Recorded Jazz".
Today, you can walk the same grounds where these historic musicians once played. The Gennett Walk of Fame located in the Whitewater Gorge offers a serene opportunity to walk among the stars. The Walk consists of large ceramic and bronze medallions featuring the images of the artists honored and a brief history of their musical accomplishments.
Following the premiere on WTIU and a Facebook Live on the same day/time, The Music Makers of Gennett Records will be available to watch on the website below from November 26 through December 26. DVD and BluRay copies of the program will be available for the public to purchase starting in April 2019.
The Music Makers of Gennett Records is made possible with production support from the Earlham College, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Wayne County Convention and Tourism Bureau, and the Al Cobine Recognition Endowment Fund.
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