{{Short description|Audiovisual archive in Missouri, United States}} {{Infobox archives | name = Marr Sound Archives | image = | image caption = | creation = 1987 | country = United States | address = 800 E 51st Street | city = Kansas City, Missouri | coordinates = {{coord|39|2|6.1|N|94|34|35.5|W}} | affiliation = [https://library.umkc.edu/mnl/ Miller Nichols Library] | site = {{URL|https://library.umkc.edu/sca/marr/}} }} The '''Marr Sound Archives''' is an audiovisual archive, affiliated with the University of Missouri-Kansas City.<ref name="Komara Lee 2004 p. 605">{{cite book | last1=Komara | first1=E. | last2=Lee | first2=P. | title=The Blues Encyclopedia | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2004 | isbn=978-1-135-95831-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwk3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA605 | access-date=19 January 2024 | page=605}}</ref> The Marr Sound Archives is one of four departments comprising the Special Collections and Archives division<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Becker |first=Becky Briggs |title=Research Guides: UMKC University History: Home |url=https://libguides.library.umkc.edu/universityhistory/home |access-date=2026-03-16 |website=libguides.library.umkc.edu |language=en}}</ref> housed at the Miller Nichols Library.
The collection includes extensive holdings of jazz, blues, country and popular music; historic voices and authors reading their own works; vintage radio programs; classical and opera. The Marr Sound Archives holds a wide range of historic formats including LPs, 78s, 45s, cylinders, transcription discs, instantaneous-cut discs, compact cassette tapes, and open-reel audiotapes. The archives maintain audiovisual materials for a number of archival collections shared with LaBudde Special Collections <ref name="Komara Lee 2004 p. 605" /><ref name="Sturman 2019 p. 4170">{{cite book | last=Sturman | first=J. | title=The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture | publisher=SAGE Publications | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-5063-5337-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L0OKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT4170 | access-date=19 January 2024 | page=4170}}</ref> and The UMKC University Archives.<ref name=":0" />
The archives were created from a donation of 42,000 items by Olga and Gaylord Marr in 1987.<ref name="Komara Lee 2004 p. 605" /> As of 2023, the archives hold over 400,000 recordings.<ref name="UMKC University Libraries 2023 k555">{{cite web | title=Marr Sound Archives | website=UMKC University Libraries | date=10 November 2023 | url=https://library.umkc.edu/sca/marr/ | access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref>
== References == <references />
== Trivia ==
* The Marr Sound Archives was used as a filming location for the Hallmark movie ''A Grand Ole Opry Christmas.''<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2025 |title=Happy Holidays from the UMKC Libraries |url=https://library.umkc.edu/happy-holidays-2025/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 15, 2026 |website=Library News}}</ref> * The Marr Sound Archives contributed original audio recordings of Charlie Parker to "Bird in Kansas City," from Verve Records.<ref>{{Cite news |last=West |first=Kaitlin |date=November 5, 2024 |title=UMKC Marr Sound Archives Contribute to New Charlie Parker Album |url=https://www.umkc.edu/news/posts/2024/november/umkc-marr-sound-archives-contribute-to-new-charlie-parker-album.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 15, 2026 |work=UMKC Today}}</ref>
==External links== * [http://library.umkc.edu/marr Marr Sound Archives Official website]
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Category:Sound archives in the United States