Jonathan Scott is our cheerful tour guide . . . and The Vinyl
Frontier is our comprehensive and comprehensible itinerary. - Los
Angeles Times
In 1977, a team led by the great Carl Sagan was put together to create a
record that would travel to the stars on the back of NASA's Voyager
probe. They were responsible for creating a playlist of music, sounds
and pictures that would represent not just humanity, but would also
paint a picture of Earth for any future alien races that may come into
contact with the probe. The Vinyl Frontier tells the whole story of
how the record was created, from when NASA first proposed the idea to
Carl to when they were finally able watch the Golden Record rocket off
into space on Voyager.
The final playlist contains music written and performed by well-known
names such as Bach, Beethoven, Glenn Gould, Chuck Berry and Blind Willie
Johnson, as well as music from China, India and more remote cultures
such as a community in Small Malaita in the Solomon Islands. It also
contained a message of peace from US president Jimmy Carter, a variety
of scientific figures and dimensions, and instructions on how to use it
for a variety of alien lifeforms. Each song, sound and picture that made
the final cut onto the record has a story to tell.
Through interviews with all of the key players involved with the record,
this book pieces together the whole story of the Golden Record. It
addresses the myth that the Beatles were left off of the record because
of copyright reasons and will include new information about US president
Jimmy Carter's role in the record, as well as many other fascinating
insights that have never been reported before. It also tells the love
story between Carl Sagan and the project's creative director Ann Druyan
that flourishes as the record is being created.
The Golden Record is more than just a time capsule. It is a unique
combination of science and art, and a testament to the genius of its
driving force, the great polymath Carl Sagan.
