From Pat Boone to the Sex Pistols: Inside the secret White House record collection
It all started on a Carter family vacation, around 2008-09.
John Chuldenko's uncle, Jeff Carter — the son of former President Jimmy Carter — was talking about a night at the White House during his dad's administration in the late 1970s.
Uncle Jeff wasn't sure if it was a state dinner, but it "was something fancy," Chuldenko remembers him saying.
Later in the evening, presumably after the fancy dinner, Uncle Jeff snuck upstairs to the residence with a couple friends and they started playing records and "drinking wine and stuff." They were playing The Rolling Stones, specifically the song "Star Star" off their 1973 album Goats Head Soup.
The song is not rated PG, and it drew the attention of Uncle Jeff's mom, Rosalynn Carter, and then-second lady Joan Mondale. They apparently did not stay long.
Back to Chuldenko and the annual Carter family vacation, which he tells NPR he's pretty sure was in Florida that year. Chuldenko was intrigued by the records and wondered where they came from. Uncle Jeff blew his mind by telling him that the White House had an official record collection.
But was it true? He needed confirmation.
Shortly after the vacation, Chuldenko decided to reach out to the White House curator's office to confirm, and to his surprise, they got back to him a few days later. They confirmed the existence of the White House record collection, but said it was stored in a secure facility at a warehouse that he was not allowed to visit.
But, he persisted and requested to view the record collection at the White House, but that had to be cleared by the office of first lady Michelle Obama. It was.
Chuldenko quickly started planning the trip and reached out to some of the people who curated the collection, like jazz critic Bob Blumenthal and one of his advisers, Kit Rachlis — both of whom ultimately accompanied him to the White House later that year — just days before Christmas in 2010.
"We walk in and they're all in these cardboard boxes," Chuldenko recalls of the visit. "And it's like, Whoa. Here I am in the White House downstairs in the movie theater, digging through these records that are embossed in presidential seal binders. It is the coolest thing ever for a record collector. It is the most exclusive record library in the world, probably."
So, they start laying out their favorites, including: The Woodstock soundtrack, Neil Young's Decade, the self-titled Clash record, Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, and Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde.
So, what record did they play first? One of Chuldenko's favorites: Van Morrison's Astral Weeks.
After hours in the White House screening room, someone from the curator's office came down and said it was time to go.
"We put everything back where it belonged and they came in with these dollies and they started wheeling away these cardboard boxes full of records — and I think it was at that moment when I realized like they're going to take this back to the secure storage facility," Chuldenko says. "No one is going to ever see these again."
Through that visit, research and interviews he learned a fair amount about this mysterious record collection. The first volume, created during the Nixon administration and presented to the first family in 1973, contained more than 1,800 LPs and featured bands from Elton John and The Doors to more easy-listening acts like Don Ho and Pat Boone.
The second volume, presented to the Carters in 1981, was a little more rock and roll and featured records from artists like Chuck Berry, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. Along with some records that Chuldenko refers to as controversial ones. "The first Clash record is in there, the Sex Pistols is in there," he says. "Rocket to Russia is in there from The Ramones. You got Funkadelic in there. There's some stuff that you would not expect to be in the White House record library."
What is also not in the White House record library is anything from 1980 to the present day, and Chuldenko wants to change that by updating the collection with a third volume.
Will he succeed? He just may. He has a call scheduled with someone from the Recording Industry Association of America — the folks responsible for the collection from the 1970s — on Wednesday.
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Transcript
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Who'd have thought the White House had one of the best record collections around back in the day? It's made up of more than 2,000 vinyl records, including Pat Boone, Chuck Berry, The Beatles and The Clash.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "POLICE AND THIEVES")
JOE STRUMMER: (Singing) Police and thieves in the street.
JOHN CHULDENKO: It is the coolest thing ever for a record collector. It is the most exclusive record library in the world, probably.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
That's John Chuldenko. He's one of former President Jimmy Carter's grandsons. He's a writer and director who has been obsessed with telling the world about the music collection that was once kept at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
CHULDENKO: This whole collection was always intended to serve as a window to the outside world to find out the musical state of the nation.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAWRENCE WELK'S "CALCUTTA")
FADEL: The collection was split into two installments. The first recordings were put together by the popular 20th-century songwriter Johnny Mercer. They included acts like Perry Como, Don Ho and Lawrence Welk.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAWRENCE WELK'S "CALCUTTA")
MARTIN: The second collection is a little more rock 'n' roll. It was compiled by record producer John Hammond, who worked with Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RESPECT")
ARETHA FRANKLIN: (Singing) R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Take care, TCB.
FADEL: Chuldenko first heard about the music library from his Uncle Jeff, one of President Carter's sons. He wanted to confirm the authenticity, so he wrote to the White House Curator's Office.
CHULDENKO: I get an email back saying, yes, we do have a record collection. It's in a secure facility, so, unfortunately, you can't come see it. That email had all the right words in it - record collection, secure facility - I mean, all this kind of stuff that you're like, wait, what?
MARTIN: He convinced a curator to let him see the collection. In 2010, he was invited to the White House to comb through boxes and boxes of LPs.
CHULDENKO: All these records are in vinyl binders embossed with the presidential seal and then gold foil type that says the White House Record Library. And it's like, whoa.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TANGLED UP IN BLUE")
BOB DYLAN: (Singing) Tangled up in blue.
FADEL: Chuldenko loved what he found, but realized the collection was really outdated. The last records were added in 1980.
CHULDENKO: There's no rap. There's no hip-hop. There's no Prince or Madonna. There's no Nirvana. There are so many things that have become such cultural touchstones that are not reflected in the White House Record Library and absolutely should be.
MARTIN: Yes. Now Chuldenko is lobbying for the White House to update its music collection. Kendrick Lamar, this could be your moment.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT")
KURT COBAIN: (Singing) Load up on guns. Bring your friends. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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