The collection consists of Sosnik's files of television and radio music which he composed, arranged, or conducted from 1940 through the mid-1960's. It illustrates his development as a composer, arranger, and producer, as well as the growth and importance of commercial music in the media. His files were comprised mainly of music scores and instrumental parts, and a few scripts, some of which were composed by Sosnik, while others Sosnik arranged or conducted. Often it is difficult to determine whether he arranged a work, merely conducted it, or kept it as a reference. The pieces themselves range from short bridges and tags to complete scores for television shows and musical comedies.
The collection retains much of Sosnik's original arrangement. The series are Radio; Television; C Series; V Series; Number Series; Bridges, Tags, and Playoffs; Miscellaneous Music; and Disc Recordings.
There is very little music from RADIO, and a much longer section of music and a few scripts from TELEVISION. The TELEVISION music is arranged alphabetically by the title of the series or special. Of interest in this series is the music for the Emmy Awards special, which Sosnik composed in 1958; the Ford Show, some of which was composed by Sosnik; several episodes of Musical Comedy Time (in Sosnik's files arranged numerically as the “M--Series”); the Philco Television Playhouse, also composed by Sosnik; Twenty-Five Years of Life; and Your Hit Parade, the most numerous television files. When possible within the programs, songs were arranged chronologically, but more often they were undated and were listed alphabetically. On tape are two pieces from Playwrights '56 and two from the 1954 Rodgers and Hammerstein Special. The television series is completed by a brief section of Television Commercial music.
The C SERIES, V SERIES, and NUMBER SERIES follow, and are arranged alphabetically by song title. Each item in these series was given a numerical or alphanumerical designation by Sosnik; these have been noted in the Contents List. (When it was determined that a C, V, or Number Series song was written, arranged, or used for a particular television show, the song was placed in the Television series and its numerical designation retained.) The C, V, and Number Series were so named by Sosnik, who when contacted in 1969 about their contents, was no longer certain what the categories meant. He suggested that “V” stood for “vocal,” and “C” possibly for music used on the Jack Carter Show. The C Series songs appear to be arrangements and full scores for conducting individual numbers. V Series files include full orchestra parts for vocal numbers arranged and conducted by Sosnik, but not composed by him. Some individual files within the Number Series were labeled Treasury, Treasury Hour, Beat the Band, Jack Carter Show, Ernie Kovacs Show or Holiday on Ice, and may have been arranged or used for those shows. These are mainly Sosnik's arrangements with a few of his own compositions. Songs in the C, V, and Number Series are indexed on cards in the two file boxes, filed at the end of the Miscellaneous Music series. The index cards occasionally also include some indication about when the songs were used on television programs.
BRIDGES, TAGS, AND PLAYOFFS, also so designated by Sosnik, consists of very short pieces, which were arranged alphabetically, since there were often no indications what programs they were composed for, or whether they were used on radio or television. These materials were used as introductions, lead-ins, or incidental background music for television or radio shows. There is finally a section of MISCELLANEOUS MUSIC, consisting mostly of very short pieces not included with his group of Bridges, Tags, and Playoffs, and sheet music composed both by Sosnik and by others but annotated presumably by him. The very last folder contains the few non-musical items in the collection, consisting of a few memos and letters, newspaper clippings, and lists.
The DISC RECORDINGS include 176 recordings of programs in the form of air checks, many representing the WNBC-TV program Musical Comedy Time; 319 pressings of Decca recordings arranged and conducted by Sosnik, 1936-1945, featuring such performers as Rudy Vallee, Dick Powell, Bing Crosby, and Judy Garland; and 46 symphonic recordings collected by Sosnik.
A reboxing of the collection occurred in March 1989 resulting in an increased number of boxes and the odd allocation of folder numbers from the original boxing which is reflected in the contents list below.
