Lloyd Newell, professor at Brigham Young University and voice of the broadcast “Music and the Spoken Word,” will speak Thursday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. at the Harold B. Library’s House of Learning Lecture in the library auditorium on the first level.
“An Enduring Legacy: Richard L. Evans and the Spoken Word” will be the topic as Newell discusses the original voice of the program that has endured for 77 years. Through recession and prosperity, wartime and peacetime, the radio and television program is the longest-running show ever, now heard or seen on 2,000 stations in 20 countries.
Evans wrote and produced the program for 41 years, starting out as a 24-year-old announcer who began introducing each musical number performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
“The music is the program,” Newell said, “but Richard Evans is the one who shaped the broadcast into what it is.”
The shows made the choir a household name and Evans became one of the best-known members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the mid-20th century. Newell, who this year begins his 16th season with the broadcast, will remember his predecessor as he discusses Evans’ contributions and lasting impact on the program today.
The lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer session. For more details, visit the library’s Web site at www.library.byu.edu.
Writer: Angela Fischer
