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The Okeh Laughing Record
Sound Beat
English - November 27, 2023 10:57 - 5 MB - ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsSociety & Culture History sound history recorded belfer wax cylinders syracuse university audio archive Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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This one’s good for a laugh.
Yup there it is. You know that feeling you get whether you’re in church, or a meeting, or somewhere where you really shouldn’t be laughing? Where you just can’t…quite…stop?
The Okeh Laughing Record was recorded in Germany and released in 1923, and was an immediate seller, hitting the Billboard charts and reached number eight. It wasn’t listed as a foreign language record because, well, everyone understands laughter. And, it’s particularly unique in that the eh, performers, were not credited, making it the first and only anonymous record to ever chart.
Image: “Chatterbox”, used through Creative Commons license, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0.