Audio and Video from the Fair


During their visits to the Fair guests were treated to a variety of songs heard as background music over the public address system. I was fortunate to have been able to buy several of the actual tapes used at the Fair, and have added them here as free downloads. The tapes were professionally restored, and have been converted into several CDs.

Please note that I do not know the names of some of the songs, so if you know any of them please let me know.

The original tapes were in mono, and are presented here in that format.

I hope you enjoy this musical trip back to the Fair!

Tape 1 - Hour 1 Tape 2 - Hour 1
Tape 1 - Hour 2 Tape 2 - Hour 2
Tape 1 - Hour 3 Tape 2 - Hour 3
Tape 1 - Hour 4 Tape 2 - Hour 4

Want even more background music?

Here's another set of background music. The tape was loaned to me by Joseph Petrucelli. The tape box was labeled "Recorded in the programmer room - 1965". These shows were played at the Fountain of the Planets show in the evenings. There were five shows listed on the box but two of them (The College Songs Show and The Great Masters Show) were missing from the tape. The shows run about 20 minutes, so these are large files to download.

The Broadway Show

(please note that the original tape ended abruptly and was missing the last 2-3 seconds of music)

  No Business Like Show Business - Irving Berlin
Always - Irving Berlin
I Love a Piano - Irving Berlin
Alexander's Ragtime Band - Irving Berlin
Tea For Two - Vincent Youmans
Rose Marie - Rudolf Friml
Ol' Man River - Jerome Kern
Make Believe - Jerome Kern
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Jerome Kern
Hallelujah - Vincent Youmans
I've Got Rhythm - George Gershwin
Fascinating Rhythm - George Gershwin
Lady Be Good - George Gershwin
Falling In Love - Rodgers and Hart
Dancing in Dark - Arthur Schwartz
Easy to Love - Cole Porter
Without a Song - Vincent Youmans
With A Song in My Heart - Rodgers and Hart
Strike Up the Band - George Gershwin
Over the Rainbow - Harold Arlen
Someone to Watch Over Me - George Gershwin
They Say That Falling in Love is Wonderful - Irving Berlin
Around the World in 80 Days - Victor Young
You and the Night and the Music - Arthur Schwartz
Begin the Beguine - Cole Porter
Night and Day - Cole Porter
What a Beautiful Morning - Rodgers and Hammerstein
Some Enchanted Evening - Rodgers and Hammerstein
If I Loved You - Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rhapsody in Blue - George Gershwin

The Familiar Melodies Show

  Prelude - "Lohengrin" - Wagner
New World Symphony - Dvorak
Lost Chord - Sir Arthur Sullivan
Evening Star - Tannhauser - Wagner
Meditation from "Thais" - Massenet
Scherzo from 6th Symphony - Tchaikowsky
Traumerei - Schumann
Pastorale Symphony - Beethoven
Finlandia - Sibelius
Symphony No. 1 - Brahms
Arioso - Bach
Pilgrim's Chrous - "Tannhauser" - Wagner

The Patriotic Show

  Yankee Doodle Mademoiselle from Armentiers
  Spirit of '76 Madelon
  Hail Columbia Keep the Home Fires Burning
  Washington's March How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning
  Hail to the Chief It's a Long Way to Tipperary
  Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean Over There
  Johnny Comes Marching Home American Patrol
  Yellow Rose of Texas Semper Fidelis
  Tramp, Tramp, Tramp National Emblem
  Dixie Stars & Stripes Forever
  Glory, Glory, Hallelujah Halls of Montezuma
  Yankee Doodle Dandy Caissons Go Rolling Along
  It's a Grand Old Flag Anchors Aweigh
  Rose of Picardy Semper Paratis
  K-K-K-Katy Wide Blue Yonder
  Long, Long Trail My Land, Your Land
  There are Smiles God Bless America
  Pack Up Your Troubles  

Here's a note that Joe had sent me that was very interesting:

I was the Project Manager for a company called "Commercial Radio and Sound Corp." My boss was Art Schneider, a leader in the industry and way ahead of his time. We designed, engineered, fabricated, supervised the installation, did all check outs for many of the Exhibits.

As Project Manager I was responsible for the design and insuring that the work was done and operational prior to the fair opening. If memory serves me right we started the engineering 2 yrs prior to the fair opening and were involved until the closing of the fair. I was the PM for the Fairgrounds Sound System, the Ford Exhibit, Travelers and the daddy of them all, "The Fountain of the Planets" with its synchronized sound, water, fire works display. Many a night I spent out there to insure all was working. We had our share of problems but the Fair opened on time. To me it was a "Labor of Love".

I even worked on the Unisphere model that was made for publicity purposes prior to the fair opening where we had scrolling lights on the rings around the Unisphere. I think Hamel and Langer were the Consulting Engineers? I know that my boss was working with Robert Moses on this project. I also think that my company did the 1939-1940 Worlds Fair (way before my time, but I do remember attending with my Dad).




Pope Paul VI visits the World's Fair

On October 4, 1965 Pope Paul VI made a historic visit to New York, the first trip for any pope to the United States. On the way back home he stopped for a brief visit at the Vatican Pavilion. Click here to listen to the audio of the NBC television feed. The segment runs slightly over 23 minutes, so it's a large file (33 MB). You can also listen to the report of his departure from Kennedy airport (28 minutes, 68 MB).



Video from the Fair


I've created two collections of vintage photos from the Fair. They are in Windows Media Player format. There are also links to the videos on YouTube.

I Had the Time of My Life at the New York World's Fair

... the title says it all for me!

  Large (640x480, 26.6 MB)
Small (320x480, 10.2 MB)
YouTube.com

What a Wonderful World

... more photos, set to Louis Armstrong's classic song

  Large (640x480, 26.6 MB)
Small (320x480, 10.2 MB)
YouTube.com


A World's Fair Diary

This NBC Special starring Edwin Newman aired on July 30, 1964. It runs almost an hour so it's a large file (84MB) but well worth downloading. There's some great footage I don't recall seeing in any other shows. Click here to download the file, which is in MP4 format.