Monday, February 9, 2015

I Can Hear It Now ~ Gamal Abdel Nasser

12" LP, 33-1/3 RPM vinyl album
album cover photo by Charles J. Mack
photo of album cover by Styrous® 


I Can Hear It Now ~ Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein is part of the spoken word section of my vinyl collection which includes poetry, plays, interviews, reading by famous authors and many types of non-music albums. The entire collection is for sale. Contact me by email, please, not by a comment. 
~ ~ ~
On this date, September 28, in 1970, President Abdel Nasser died of a heart attack in Egypt. I remember when he died as well as other events as I had quit my full-time job that year to return to school to study court reporting; one of my major bad decisions in life. 
But that's another story.                                  

Nasser was born Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر حسين‎, IPA: [ɡæˈmæːl ʕæbdenˈnɑːsˤeɾ ħeˈseːn]) on the 15th of January in 1918 and was the second President of Egypt, serving from 1956 until his death. Nasser was a pivotal figure in the recent history of the Middle East and played a highly prominent role in the 1956 Suez Crisis. Nasser has been described as the first leader of an Arab nation who challenged what was perceived as the western dominance of the Middle East. Nasser remains a highly revered figure in both Egypt and the Arab world. 


12" LP, 33-1/3 RPM vinyl album
album back cover photos by Charles J. Mack
photo of album cover back by Styrous®

One of the most popular and best selling records of 1948 was the Columbia Records album I Can Hear It Now 1933-1945. The record was a collaboration between Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly. The record interwove historical events with speeches and Murrow's narration and marked the beginning of one of the most famous pairings in journalism history. The huge success of the record (and two follow-up albums released in 1949 and 1950) prompted the pair to parlay it into a weekly radio show for CBS, called Hear It Now. Originally, the series was to have been titled Report to the Nation. Before its premiere, though, CBS retitled it Hear It Now to capitalize on the popularity of Murrow's albums.

12" LP, 33-1/3 RPM vinyl album
album back cover photos by Charles J. Mack
photo of album cover back by Styrous®

Hear It Now, began in December 1950 and ended in June 1951. Even though the series lasted only 6 month its impact was profound. Hosted by Murrow and produced by Murrow and Friendly, it ran for one hour on Fridays at 9 pm Eastern Time.



12" LP, 33-1/3 RPM vinyl album
album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®


The Nasser Interview, by Howard K. Smith, was one of the, I Can Hear It Now, Masterworks series issued on Columbia Records. It was edited by Murrow and Friendly. It was filmed on February 7, 1956, at a government house near Cairo and was part of the special See It Now documentary on Egypt and Israel on the CBS Television Network, March 13. The interview was unrehearsed and appears on the recording in its unabridged form as taken from the sound track. A companion record, Interview with Prime Minister Ben-Gurion of Israel will be presented here on the Viewfinder at a later date.


12" LP, 33-1/3 RPM vinyl album
album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®



I Can Hear It Now ~ Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein 
12" LP, 33-1/3 RPM vinyl album
album cover photos by Charles J. Mack
detail photo by Styrous®


There is an Interview in English on YouTube (link below). This Interview took place in 1969 in New York, and Nasser died the following year in 1970. Nasser comes across as very calm, very gentle, easy going and very reasonable.


I Can Hear It Now ~ Gamal Abdel Nasser

Side 1: Interview Part 1 
detail photo by Styrous®
Side 2: Interview Part 2 
detail photo by Styrous®


Original first pressing
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Genre: Spoken Word
Format: 12" LP -
33 1/3 RPM vinyl phonograph disc  
Year Pressed: 1956
Record Label: COLUMBIA RECORDS
Catalog # ML 5110
Country: United States
Inventory # 12-S-58



Gamal Abdel Nasser, 1969 interview in New York on YouTube


The entire collection is for sale. Interested? Contact me.

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