Three 8-Track Cartridges of Martin Luther King, Jr.

1) The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In Search of Freedom. Mercury MC-8 61170. 1968. Four programs, including I’ve Been to the Mountain Top (excerpt from speech the day before his death), April 3, 1968, Addresses to American Jewish Committee, New York, May 21, 1965, Eulogy (A Preacher Leading His Flock), Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, February 4, 1968, and I Have a Dream, Washington, August 28, 1963. Label pastedowns intact. 2) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Free At Last. [Gordy/Mowtown?], [1968]. Follows LP released same year, with contents including Dr. King’s Desired Eulogy, Welcome to Memphis, Something Happenin’ in Our World, Good Samaritan, Harlem Incident, I’ve Been to the Mountain Top, I Have a Dream/Free at Last. Soiled pictorial label, loose on one side. 3) Martin Luther King, Keep The Dream Alive. The January 15th Benefit Concert for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Change. Recorded Live at the Omni, Atlanta, Georgia. RCA (P8S-5155), 1973. Twin Pack Program (contains the equivalent of two complete stereo records). Contents include speeches from Mrs. Coretta King, music from Wilson Pickett, Jose Feliciano, and The Jimmy Castor Bunch, and a comedy routine featuring Flip Wilson (and Geraldine and Mayor Sam Massell). Labels with a touch of rubbing, housed in an RCA paper slipcase.

In 1966, Ford introduced the 8-track player as an option in their cars, and within three years 8 track players were being sold for home use. Popularity of 8 tracks waned in the mid 1970s, and by the mid 1980s, they were no longer being produced (see NPR, Stephen Becker, “8 -Track Tapes Belong in a Museum”).

An intriguing grouping of three hard-to-find 8-tracks with speeches by Martin Luther King Jr., a reminder of how the words of King resonated in a variety of formats at this moment of struggle. Item #668

Price: $325.00