My dear wife was looking for a suitable version of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day. I searched iTunes and found a version by the Irish Tenors, several by Bing Crosby and even more by artists I’m unfamiliar with.
The track I downloaded was from John McCormack. I was amused by downloading music recorded for Victrola distribution via the same channel that made Lady Gaga a star.
I recall my mother telling me that my grandfather Murphy enjoyed John McCormack recordings when they were most popular. I enjoy the idea that his great-grandchildren will at least hear the recordings he enjoyed, perhaps they will enjoy them as well. They are part McCormack on my father’s side, so perhaps there is a familial connection as well.
After I found the music on iTunes, I realized the site www.archive.org has a very deep catalog of historic recordings of 78s and similar media. It is an incredible web site and you can spend hours browsing the collection. I highly recommend if you have any interest at all in music history you check it out. (They also host the Wayback Machine that will reveal what many websites used to look like)
Enjoy the Collected Works of John McCormack at Archive.org > http://www.archive.org/details/JohnMcCormack