Rare Audio Recording of Boxer Jack Johnson

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Pugguy, Oct 29, 2023.


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  1. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    Pugguy, Oct 29, 2023
    Pugguy, Oct 29, 2023
    #1
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  2. Stevie G

    Stevie G Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Thanks for that,Pug. It is indeed a "Find"
     
    Stevie G, Oct 29, 2023
    Stevie G, Oct 29, 2023
    #2
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  3. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    You’re more than welcome Stevie.
     
    Pugguy, Oct 29, 2023
    Pugguy, Oct 29, 2023
    #3
  4. Eddie Ezzard

    Eddie Ezzard Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Typical Johnson. He sounds mad as a bag of frogs.
     
    Eddie Ezzard, Oct 30, 2023
    Eddie Ezzard, Oct 30, 2023
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  5. guilalah

    guilalah Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I wonder whether the medium influenced the delivery, i.e., about so-much to speak, and so-and-so minutes to a recorded side, so you wanted the record to look like it was 'full' of Johnson commentary, so perhaps he was encouraged to stretch it out? Also, Johnson might have been more used to unamplified oration, using more space to maintain intelligibility (though I don't think that alone would fully account for the delivery). He does sound to have had a very fully and resonant orating voice.
     
    guilalah, Oct 30, 2023
    guilalah, Oct 30, 2023
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  6. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 Bob N Weave Full Member

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    You can also find a clip of him singing out there. Neat find.
     
    Journeyman92, Oct 30, 2023
    Journeyman92, Oct 30, 2023
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  7. Walcott

    Walcott Active Member Full Member

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    Is this authentic, that sounds awfully white. Lol
     
    Walcott, Oct 30, 2023
    Walcott, Oct 30, 2023
    #7
  8. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    mcvey, Oct 31, 2023
    mcvey, Oct 31, 2023
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  9. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    You can compare it to his speech when he sparred with Joe Jeannette for War Bonds in WW2 .The speech pattern is similar.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2023
    mcvey, Oct 31, 2023
    mcvey, Oct 31, 2023
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  10. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    My pleasure Mac.
     
    Pugguy, Oct 31, 2023
    Pugguy, Oct 31, 2023
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  11. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    Interesting considerations.

    Possible also that the medium and/or the device it was played back on distorted the delivery - similar to old films that made people everyone move like Charlie Chaplin.

    As @mcvey stated, it sounds very much similar to Johnson speaking at the 1945 War Bond Rally - only that much slower - perhaps deliberately slowed using modern tech so as to be more intelligible? Or, as you said, simply Jack speaking very slow deliberately so as to be very clear.

    Notably, while Johnson did have a lisp, it was slight. He was a well spoken, well metered and articulate man. The racist media of the day obviously exaggerated his lisp and downgraded his vocabulary for derogatory purposes.

    I hadn’t confirmed when exactly the recording was made. I found this interesting article and it seems to point to the recording being made in 1910 - very early days of sound recording. It states that Johnson was asked to make several different recordings - including in 1914 re Physical Culture, after the Moran fight.


    https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-visio...heavyweight-boxing-champion-of-the-world.html
     
    Pugguy, Oct 31, 2023
    Pugguy, Oct 31, 2023
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  12. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    Well, amazing what you can find when one rare find leads you to another.

    Here is some more background on the Physical Culture recordings Johnson made in 1914 - and it describes some technicalities of the recording procedure and Johnson’s delivery style.

    Fortunately, it seems 1 copy of the original Physical Culture recordings still exists.

    Okay, I tested and the link in the post reads as if broken but it’s not.

    If you copy the URL below into notes on your phone - then click the link copied into notes, hopefully it will take you there. What a pain in the ***! Lol.

    This content is protected


    https://peckhampeculiar.tumblr.com/post/169995079095/when-jack-came-to-town/amp
     
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2023
    Pugguy, Oct 31, 2023
    Pugguy, Oct 31, 2023
    #12
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  13. KernowWarrior

    KernowWarrior Bob Fitzsimmons much bigger brother. Full Member

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    A thank you from me, another little nugget of gold for we fans of boxing history.
     
    KernowWarrior, Oct 31, 2023
    KernowWarrior, Oct 31, 2023
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  14. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 Bob N Weave Full Member

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    About distorted audio - I read that if you want to listen to the way Robert Johnson actually sang you’d need to play it at 1.25x or 1.5x I forget. It had something to do with the way it was recorded, could be similar.
     
    Journeyman92, Oct 31, 2023
    Journeyman92, Oct 31, 2023
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  15. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    Exactly and your welcome.
     
    Pugguy, Oct 31, 2023
    Pugguy, Oct 31, 2023
    #15
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