An archivist wear many hats. We are audio editors, researchers, catalogers, and historians, among other things. But personally I enjoy the investigator hat a lot! We often get inquiries in the
SABC Radio Archives asking for details of signature tunes, which might sound simple at first, but if the request starts with: Years ago, I am not sure when, there was a program, I am not sure on which station, and I think the presenter was...., then the investigative hat gets dusted and worn. I recently had such a request, and by following every smallest lead, we cracked the code. The client couldn't give me enough detail to put me on a definite trial, but played what he could remember of the tune on the piano and e-mailed me the mp3. This I took to Frans Erasmus, of the Springbok Radio Preservation Society, and he immediately recognized the tune, since he, well, knows almost everything regarding Old Time Radio in our country. We then compared it with what he definitely knew were some of the tunes of the mentioned show, and alas, we found a match and I could give our client the right details.
One thing I learnt from this venture, is that there is always somebody who remembers, you just need to keep on asking and searching!
Retha Buys
Tel: +27 11 714 2772
www.springbokradio.co.za
