The Sounds of the Bicentennial
Original Airdates: June 26-29, 2026
TVC 740.1: Phil Gries joins Ed for a special Independence Day-themed edition of The Sounds of Lost Television that looks back at how network television covered the Bicentennial celebration of July 4, 1976. Audio, as always, is courtesy Archival Television Audio. Highlights this segment include the first few minutes of In Celebration of US, a sixteen-hour, day-long special produced by CBS News and hosted by Walter Cronkite, that included a cornucopia of festive events that day from venues across the country.
Network TV and the Spirit of ’76
Original Airdates: June 26-29, 2026
TVC 740.2: Phil Gries, founder and owner of Archival Television Audio, and Ed discuss how In Celebration of US, the sixteen-hour CBS special hosted by Walter Cronkite that aired on July 4, 1976, not only was inclusive in tone and presentation, but marked the first time that a network had devoted day-long coverage to a single event since the moon landing of July 20, 1969.
Life in America in 1976
Original Airdates: June 26-29, 2026
TVC 740.3: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio plays a few more audio highlights of In Celebration of US, the day-long CBS special, hosted by Walter Cronkite, that aired on July 4, 1976, including coverage of the largest naturalization ceremony in U.S. history and of the massive parade in Philadelphia that included representatives from the forty-eight continental states plus several other countries. Audio courtesy Archival Television Audio.
Harlem School: 1970, the “direct cinema” documentary that Phil Gries originally filmed, produced, and directed in 1970, will become available on Blu-ray through Kino Lorber on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Image of Louis Armstrong courtesy Britannica.com
Baseball, Cronkite, and Jazz in America
Original Airdates: June 26-29, 2026
TVC 740.4: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio plays more audio highlights of In Celebration of US, including coverage of the jazz festival held on July 4, 1976 that also commemorated the 100th birthday of jazz great Louis Armstrong, plus a few minutes of the Major League Baseball game that day between the Houston Astros and the Cincinnati Reds. Audio courtesy Archival Television Audio.
Walter Cronkite, Danny Kaye, and Beverly Sills
Original Airdates: July 3-5, 2026
TVC 741.1: Phil Gries joins Ed for Part 2 of our special Independence Day-themed edition of The Sounds of Lost Television that looks back at how network television covered the Bicentennial celebration of July 4, 1976, including a few clips from In Celebration of US, the sixteen-hour CBS special, hosted by Walter Cronkite, that aired on July 4, 1976. Highlights this segment include coverage from the opening of the National Air and Space Museum on June 30, 1976; Cronkite and Danny Kaye discussing the history of jazz music in Storyville, the famous red light district of New Orleans; and Cronkite and New York Metropolitan Opera soprano Beverly Sills discussing patriotic music. Audio courtesy Archival Television Audio.
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Image courtesy the Honkytonktown page on Facebook
Walter Cronkite, Johnny Cash, and Thomas Jefferson
Original Airdates: July 3-5, 2026
TVC 741.2: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio plays a few more audio highlights of In Celebration of US, the day-long CBS special that aired on July 4, 1976, including Johnny Cash performing at the Pageant of Freedom festival in Washington, D.C.; coverage of the air show in St. Louis commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic in 1927; Charles Kuralt’s profile of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson; and “Reflections of America,” a music and spoken-word performance by violinist Isaac Stern. Audio courtesy Archival Television Audio.
How NBC and ABC Covered the Bicentennial
Original Airdates: July 3-5, 2026
TVC 741.3: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio and Ed discuss some of the other television offerings on the days and weeks leading up to July 4, 1976, including audio highlights of The Today Show’s weeklong series of programs from Philadelphia. Audio courtesy Archival Television Audio.
Sing, America, Sing and The Bicentennial Minutes
Original Airdates: July 3-5, 2026
TVC 741.6: Phil Gries of Archival Television Audio and Ed discuss Sing, America, Sing, the PBS special from March 1976 written by Oscar Brand (pictured above) that originated from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and a rarely heard Bicentennial Minute featuring Burgess Meredith. Audio courtesy Archival Television Audio. Also in this segment: Phil discusses the upcoming Blu-ray release of Harlem School: 1970, the “direct cinema” documentary that Phil wrote, produced, directed, and filmed when he was an elementary school teacher in Harlem, New York. Harlem School: 1970 will become available on Blu-ray through Kino Lorber on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
