Songs of WNY History
A look at Western New York history through music and songs. Each episode will feature one song that either came from or was inspired by an incident in the rich history of Buffalo and Western New York.
Listen on:
Episodes
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Victor Herbert's "Panamericana" from the Hall of Music at the Pan American Exposition in 1901.
Friday Oct 07, 2022
Friday Oct 07, 2022
A Civil War song from Sergeant J. Byron Brown of the 154th New York Volunteers.
Sunday Sep 11, 2022
Sunday Sep 11, 2022
Our inaugural podcast introduces the host, Scott Frank and features the song that we will be using as a theme for future episodes. "Carroll's Thoughts on Eternity" was written by a fifer named John Carroll who was stationed at Fort Niagara in the years before the War of 1812. The story behind the song is a colorful bit of local lore.
Songs of WNY History
Based in the rich heritage of Buffalo and Western New York, this podcast will feature a different song in each episode. I am not really a historian or a musician, but I do like songs that tell good stories and stories that lead to good songs. Over the years, I’ve done a little bit of exploring in local history, and I’ve found a number of interesting examples that I’d like to share here. Some are primary sources, from the time of the event itself. Others are newer, modern songs written to shine a light on a story or an aspect of Buffalo and Western New York history. Sometimes these are well known stories, and sometimes they would otherwise be forgotten except for the music that they inspired.