Special Collections and Archives Finding Aids

Scope and Contents The Arthur B. Church – KMBC Radio Collection was donated to the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1996 by Arthur B. Church, Jr. The collection relates to KMBC radio and television stations in Kansas City and its owner and operator, Arthur B. Church, dating primarily between the 1920s and the early 1950s.The collection is broken down into seven series. A timeline provides day-to-day and year-to-year information about the operation of the station. Business correspondence, ledgers...

Scope and Contents The Bob Wills Tiffany Transcriptions Collection was gifted to the UMKC Libraries in 1999. The collection consists of Bob Wills Tiffany Transcription audio discs as well as related promotional print material. Bob Pinson of the Country Music Foundation recommended and directed to UMKC an extant set in the possession of a producer’s wife.Print material is housed in LaBudde Special Collections and includes a leasing contract for radio stations, cued radio scripts, sheet music and a...

Scope and Contents The “Cactus” Charlie Menees Collection was donated to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library by his family in 1994. The collection, focusing on big band and traditional jazz between 1917 and 1980, consists of personal and professional material, awards, news clippings, books, periodicals, sheet music, posters and graphics, memorabilia, several hundred photographs, over 25,000 sound recordings on LP, 78 and 45 formats, as well as additional audio/visual material. The manuscript collection is housed...

Scope and Contents

The Catalog Collection is an artificial collection comprised of various catalogs grouped by topic and spans from 1881-2006. The majority of items in this collection deal with film, books, and music. Other types of catalogs include but are not limited to toys, clothing, home furniture, electronics, collectibles, and theatre.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists mostly of recordings of radio broadcast programming from Kansas City that specialized in the jazz genre.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains many unique items recorded in the Kansas City area, including political speeches, musical performances, religious services, and advertisements for businesses and organizations. The Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kansas City Conservatory of Music are strongly represented with numerous recordings of each entity. Finally, the collection also holds some national radio programs, such as "The Guiding Light," "Hymns of All Churches," and "Michael Shayne."

Scope and Contents The Fred Calland Collection was donated to the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri-Kansas City by Calland’s sister, Ann Calland, in 2000. The manuscript collection is housed in LaBudde Special Collections and holds material related to Calland’s radio career and is divided into seven series: biographical/personal, correspondence, radio material, opera material, opera programs, miscellaneous and photographs. The audiovisual collection is housed in the Marr Sound Archives and...

Scope and Contents

The audiovisual materials in this collection contain radio programs produced and recorded by Gary Shivers, including, “Jazz Scene,” “Gary Shivers Show,” and “Gary Shivers on Jazz.” The collection also holds recordings of interviews, music performances, and home recordings.

Scope and Contents The Gaylord Marr Collection was a gift of Olga Marr in the summer of 2011. The expansive nature of this collection is a reflection of Professor Marr’s long and prestigious career in academia. A series of personal documents feature Marr’s private diaries and many manuscripts of his own writings, as well as material from his college years and other items related to his day to day life and career. Marr’s teaching life is represented here by many documents and course materials related to his...

Scope and Contents The Gordon Spencer Collection was a gift of Hannelore Rogers in September 2019. It contains personal card, correspondence, a curriculum vitae with letters of recommendation, notes, planners, other documents, and theater programs. Writings include novels, short stories, radio scripts, sketches, and poems. Of note are Spencer’s interviews in Note Book with Louis Armstrong in the May 1983 issue; his interview with Phillip Glass in the June 1983 issue; an interview with Billie Holiday;...

Scope and Contents The collection is searchable in the UMKC Libraries catalog. Cataloged Sound Recordings from the J. David Goldin CollectionThe collection includes nearly 15,000 radio programs on lacquer and vinyl transcription discs that were broadcast from the 1930s through the 1950s. The programs include variety shows, radio plays, political...

Scope and Contents The James F. Condell Collection was gifted to LaBudde Special Collections and Marr Sound Archives by Dr. Yvonne C. Condell, wife of the late Dr. James F. Condell. The collection focuses on Condell’s longtime interest and scholarly pursuits in the field of jazz from 1980-1998, although some items date back to his time in Spain in the early 1970s.Included in the manuscript collection is information on his radio programs, A Little Jazz Music and Condell’s Corner, which aired on KCCM...

Scope and Contents The Judy Chaikin Collection was gifted to the UMKC University Libraries by Chaikin in October 2016. The collection contains materials related to the creation and production of Chaikin’s 2011 documentary film, The Girls in the Band. The film tells the story of female jazz musicians, from the genre’s inception to contemporary times, detailing prominent figures and the struggles they faced competing in a male-dominated world.Among the collection, there are biographical notes on...

Scope and Contents The collection consists of KCUR radio broadcast on analog and digital tapes, dating from 1953 to 2005, as well as CD-Rs and digital files, dating from 2002 to 2017. The materials document the social, cultural, and political history of Kansas City and the Midwest, providing researchers with context and insights into midwesterners’ viewpoints on national issues. The broadcasts contain interviews, recorded events, and news coverage on issues of race, abortion, education standards, crime,...

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of audio recordings of KANU radio broadcasts as well as other nationally broadcast recordings. Some notable broadcasts include Hubert Humphrey in Kansas City, coverage of events held at UMKC, and interviews with Frank Lloyd Wright, Gertrude Stein, Ed Dorn, Adela Rogers St. Johns, Louise Nevelson, Mary Churchill, Bernard Lovell, and Mary McCarthy.

Scope and Contents

Contains recordings of the radio program "Bad Music Hour," hosted by Michelle Boulé on KCUR-FM, 1992-1996.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains lacquer disc recordings of Jenkins family recordings, events in Kansas City, radio broadcast recordings, advertisements for radio broadcast, and copies of classical and popular music.

Scope and Contents The Raymond Scott Collection was donated to the University of Missouri-Kansas City by Mitzi Scott, Raymond Scott’s widow, in 1993.Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the original manuscript collection, which encompasses much of Scott’s career until 1980, is organized into 11 series: manuscript music scores; published music; correspondence; news clippings; journals, diaries and scrapbooks; production notes; personal; engineering and inventions; miscellaneous; oversized...

Scope and Contents The Richard and Mary Jane Miller (KWKI Radio) Collection was transferred in May 2015 to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library from Frank Absher, executive director of the St. Louis Media History Foundation. The bulk of the collection consists of company memos related to KWKI 93.3 FM Kansas City during its stint as a soul music radio station from 1971-73. Most of the memos originate from Richard J. Miller, president of the St. Louis-based parent company Communications Fund Inc. (CFI), which at the...

Scope and Contents

The majority of the materials consists of broadcast recordings of Robert "Old Uncle Bob" Mossman's jazz program on KKFI, Kansas City.

Scope and Contents The Stephen R. Johnson Collection was gifted to the UMKC University Libraries by Debra F. Johnson and Russell Johnson in March 2016.Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the manuscript collection contains a diverse assortment of materials from the music video and television director, animator, painter, and writer’s personal and professional life. There are awards and accolades, storyboards and screenplays, and newspaper clippings about Johnson’s work. There are photographs of...

Scope and Contents The Vic Damon Collection was donated to LaBudde Special Collections by his son, George Damon, in the 1990s.The manuscripts collection consists of the handwritten logbook kept by Damon documenting recording sessions produced by his Kansas City studio; related correspondence and notes; 17 photographs; and a trophy awarded by Cash Box for the success of the 1948 song My Happiness, produced by Damon. Mounted captions used for a Vic Damon exhibit previously on display in the UMKC Miller...