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'St. Louis tinfoil' | Historic sound recording inducted into Library of Congress registry

The recording was made on a phonograph on June 22, 1878 by Thomas Edison

ST. LOUIS — A famous audio recording created in St. Louis will soon by inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

The recording, which has been named “St. Louis tinfoil”, was made on a phonograph on June 22, 1878 by Thomas Edison. Yes, the audio was in fact recorded on a piece of tinfoil.

It’s known as the oldest playable recording of an American voice and the earliest known recording of a musical performance.

In October 2012 computing made it possible to listen to the recording, since a stylus would tear and potentially destroy the sound integrity.

According to the Library of Congress, the “St. Louis tinfoil” is one of 25 “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time.”

If you’d like to see the iconic artifact in person, the Missouri History Museum will have it on display this summer in a new exhibit called "St. Louis Sound". It will open to the public on Aug. 28. Admission is free.

The exhibit will explore the history of popular music in St. Louis from the dawn of recorded sound in the late 1800s to the turn of the 21st century. 

Some of the other artifacts on display will include a dress worn by Tina Turner on the "Tonight Show" and trumpets that belonged to Miles Davis and Clark Terry.

In addition to the artifacts, the exhibit will feature interactive maps of St. Louis musical hotspots, listenable song selections for every artist covered, archival film footage and a trivia game for visitors to test their music history knowledge.

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