Hoosier History Live is an independently produced new media project about Indiana history, integrating podcasts, website www.HoosierHistoryLive.org, weekly enewsletter, and social media. Its original content comes initially from a live with call in weekly talk radio show hosted by author and historian Nelson Price. You can hear the show live Saturdays from noon to 1 pm ET at WICR 88.7 fm or stream the show live at the WICR HD1 app on your phone, or at our website.

July 13, 2024

Vinyl era of Indiana music: a follow-up

Rock and roll icon Chuck Berry was the headliner at a concert at Bush Stadium in 1972, the first of a long-forgotten series of music festivals at the former baseball stadium in Indianapolis. A poster for that 1972 concert is now part of the collection of the Indiana Music History Project.

So are rare vinyl LP's and 45's featuring Indiana musicians. And so are four Indiana University yearbooks from each year that Hoagy Carmichael was a student in the 1920s, although the music history project generally focuses on the "vinyl era"; that's usually defined as stretching from 1950 to 1990.

The 1972 poster, vinyl LP's and yearbooks are among more than 5,000 pieces of memorabilia, ranging from a record player, photos and cassettes to flyers for concerts, that have been donated during the last year to the music history project, an initiative of the Indiana Entertainment Foundation.

So Rick Wilkerson, the executive director of both the entertainment foundation and the music history project, will return to share updates since he was Nelson's guest last July about the vinyl era of Indiana music. Rick, who formerly owned vinyl record stores in Indianapolis, attended the Chuck Berry concert in 1972, although the poster was donated by musician and photographer Neil Sharrow.

The Indiana Music History Project has a gallery in Broad Ripple at Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Center, 1305 Broad Ripple Ave., that's free and open to the public. The project spotlights all genres of music with an Indiana connection, from country, bluegrass and folk to rock, jazz and gospel. During the last year, its memorabilia has been exhibited at venues ranging from the Indiana State Museum to the Indianapolis International Airport, where it contributed to an exhibit honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Some items from the music history project are currently included in a display about Indiana Avenue's heritage at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library.

The project hopes to expand Indiana Musicpedia, a Wikipedia-like online resource about bands, singers, venues with an Indiana connection during the vinyl era. The project also has a streaming radio service, which can be accessed for free at Indiana Music Radio; it is dedicated to featuring "100 percent Indiana music 24/7" from the vinyl era.

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More about our Hoosier History Live online collection

Remember that Hoosier History Live's most valuable asset is its online material. The Hoosier History Live ARCHIVES  is essentially our collection of previously aired shows that have been turned into podcasts, as well as their accompanying newsletters. And yes, we do control our online product! And yes, we do want you to share our enewsletters, podcasts, and Facebook posts.

And here is another great show to listen to about the first cookbook published in Indiana with guest Sheryl Vanderstel:

First cookbook published in Indiana and food fashions of 1840s and ‘50s

Hoosier History Live spotlights the trail-blazing woman who wrote the first cookbook published in Indiana in this show. Also on the menu: We will explore food fashions of the mid-18th century era when the cookbook came out.

The author was Angelina Collins (1805-1885), who was living in New Albany, Ind., when her popular cookbook was published in 1851. Titled "Mrs. Collins' Table Receipts" (and retitled "The Great Western Cookbook" when it was reprinted in New York later during the 1850s), the cookbook "is an excellent reflection of the dishes served in middle class homes in mid-century Indiana", our guest says. (The word "receipts", as in the title of the book, was often used during the era to refer to recipes.)

Our guest on this show is Indianapolis-based food historian Sheryl Vanderstel, an expert on foodways of late 18th century America through the pre-Civil War era. With more than 20 years of experience as a historic consultant to museums and historical societies in researching and developing programs, Sheryl helped launch the hearthside dinners at Conner Prairie Interactive History Park. 

In doing research, Sheryl says she became captivated by the colorful life of Angelina Collins, whose recipes indicate that she was paying attention to current events and was broad-minded. One of her recipes was titled "Succotash a La Tecumseh", a reference to the great Native American leader who was based in Indiana. Sheryl notes that, during the early 19th century, Tecumseh, a Shawnee who almost succeeded in uniting diverse Native American tribes in a confederation, "was vehemently hated by the western and southern whites . . . The fact that she used his name in the title of the recipe indicated he had moved out of hated status and into a hero".

The recipe is for what Sheryl calls a "classic succotash" of lima beans and corn cooked together. Angelina Collins concludes the recipe with the comment: "This is a real western dish".

Other recipes in "Mrs. Collins' Table Receipts" include one for "Sausage Hoosier Fashion". Sheryl describes the dish as "a casserole of potatoes, sausage, ham and bread layered, covered with water and butter, and stewed slowly." The cookbook also includes a recipe titled "Indiana Sauce"; it is made of horseradish, mustard, salt, celery seed, cayenne and minced onion in vinegar.

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