The Untold Story of the White House's Record Collection

[Nevilledog]

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Robert Maguire
@RobertMaguire_
“We put that on... and it was just like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m playing the Clash... in the White House!’ I mean, what an incredible protest record. And it’s not like I brought it myself. I am playing the White House’s copy.”

washingtonian.com
The Untold Story of the White House’s Record Collection
Jimmy Carter’s grandson, John Chuldenko, is unlocking White House mysteries. The record collection is an archive of the nation's music taste back in the 70's.
9:45 AM · May 10, 2022

https://www.washingtonian.com/2022/05/03/the-untold-story-of-the-white-houses-weirdly-hip-record-collection/

One of the perks of being Jimmy Carter’s grandson is that you get to attend the family’s annual trip, a gathering for the whole extended Carter clan that’s organized by the former President and First Lady. John Chuldenko—whose stepfather is Carter’s son Jack—loves to attend these events, which might involve fishing in the Gulf of Mexico or lounging on a beach in Panama. Much of the time is passed just hanging out, chatting, exchanging old stories.

It was during one such sojourn that Chuldenko first heard about the record collection. His uncle Jeff was talking about an incident that happened during a White House party back during the Carter administration. Jeff—Jimmy Carter’s youngest son, who was in his twenties at the time—was hanging out upstairs in the residence with some friends, blasting a Rolling Stones album. Suddenly, the door flew open and there stood Rosalynn Carter and Second Lady Joan Mondale, who reacted to the music with—

“Wait, what do you mean there were records there?” Chuldenko wanted to know. “Where did you get records?”

Jeff explained that an official selection of LPs was kept in the residence. “So I’m like, ‘The White House has its own record collection?’ ” Chuldenko recalls. “ ‘Like, permanently?’ ” Jeff said he didn’t know anything more about it, and the conversation moved on. But when Chuldenko returned home to Los Angeles, he couldn’t let it go. “That started me down this rabbit hole,” he says.

Chuldenko is a creative guy with his hands in a lot of projects—a writer, director, and producer who works on everything from commercials to magazine articles to feature films. He’s also a big collector of vinyl. So when he heard about the possible existence of an official White House record library, he got excited. Maybe this could be a documentary film, he thought. But mostly, he was just eager to know more. He found a few brief articles about the collection online; otherwise, information was sparse. Did the White House ever really have such a thing? Which albums were in it? And was it still there?

*snip*

[ultralite001]

1. My heart soars like an eagle...

The White House record collection should be presented like a Ken Burns documentary...

This needs a 21st Century update... Include music videos... Interviews... Photos...

So many possibilities... Capturing the heartbeat of America -- and beyond...

Vinyl... in mint condition... some LPs not even played...

Even Indiana Jones would be onboard for such discovery...

[Midnight Writer]

2. Glad TFG didn't try to flush them down the toilet.

[maxsolomon]

3. Basically, it was assembled and forgotten.

It's in storage, off site.

If it had never existed, who'd miss it?

[SoonerPride]

4. this is so very cool. thank you