A night of spectacular stars and entertainment. Tonight, Grammy honors some of the greatest recordings of all time, and the performers who made them legend. Host: Andy Williams.
Peter Cullen announcer.
Commercials not recorded.
This predominately musical hour is rounded out with a tribute to Bing Crosby by daughter Mary and Bob Hope. Other clips of Judy Garland ("Over the Rainbow") and Nat King Cloe ("Unforgettable").
HIGHLIGHTS:
"Straighten Up and Fly Right,"
"The Christmas Song"----------------------------------Natalie Cole
"White Christmas"------------------------------------Andy Gibb
"Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage" -------------Peter Allen
"One O'clock Jump"--------Count Basie and his Orchestra
"Every Day (I Have the Blues)"----------------------Joe Williams
"Oh, What a Beautiful Morning"----------------------John Rait
"Oklahoma"
"I Can't Say No"------------------------------------Celeste Holm
Big Band Medley------------------------------------Andy Gibb
NOTE:
It is interesting that as late as the 1980's very well produced and important television SPEICALS are considered not extant to todays audiences...its original 2" Quad master tapes erased to be used for other programming. By 1981 this practiced had diminished greatly, especially those production broadcasts on CBS Television. But still there are "victims" of such practices as represented by this first and only tribute to THE GRAMMY HALL OF FAME which aired as a special one time presentation on CBS on May 18, 1981.
Archival Television Audio, Inc. has had this broadcasts in its inventory for many years, but never played back until a client requested it. Sadly, the audio tape had its own problem issues and at first it appeared that it could not be salvaged at all.
This tape was a victim of a condition detailed below. it was in very severe condition with 30% of its oxide layer flake off. However, by "baking" the tape for 13 hours I, Phil Gries, owner of ATA, was able to at least get a transcription discernable dub of this broadcast. It took a number of passes...stop and go...cleaning the tape recorder heads numerous times.
The sound rendition of this baked tape has sections that are very good, sections that have issues with drop outs, some occasional drops in audio, occasional echo effects of audio, etc. I was able to also use Q tips with Isopropyl alcohol in addition to
keep audible tonality as much as possible, keeping content of this broadcast as much possible, retaining 98% of this broadcast.
The end result is that one can listen to this "lost" broadcast in its entirety with enjoyment realizing its limitations.
STICKY-SHED SYNDROME is a condition created by the deterioration of the binders in a magnetic tape, which hold the ferric oxide magnetizable coating to its plastic carrier, or which hold the thinner back-coating on the outside of the tape. This deterioration renders the tape unusable. Some kinds of binder are known to break down over time, due to the absorption of moisture (hydrolysis).
The symptoms of this breakdown can be immediately obvious even when rewinding the tape: tearing sounds and sluggish behavior. If a tape with sticky-shed syndrome is played, the reels will make screeching or squeaking sounds, and the tape will leave dusty, rusty particles on the guides and heads. In some cases, the symptoms are more subtle, causing intermittent dropouts.
This television audio air check seems to be the only existing broadcast record, in this less than pristine playback condition, of this iconic broadcast, not existing in any known archive museum, CBS archives or in any private collection.