Joe Smith donates interviews to LoC

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON: Legendary label head and celebrated raconteur Joe Smith has donated taped conversations he recorded with 200 of the most important musicians and record industry figures of the 20th century to the Library of Congress, our pal Mike Sigman reported in the Huffington Post. Smith recorded his dialogues with the likes of Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, George Harrison, Little Richard, Barbra Streisand, Paul Simon, Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tony Bennett, B.B. King, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Les Paul and Ella Fitzgerald for his 1988 book, Off The Record. The 238 hours of recordings will be accessible in the Library's Capitol Hill reading room, and some are slated for streaming later this year on its website. (7/23a)