Mission

As a leading curator of audio history, the American Musical Heritage Foundation collects and archives phonograph records and related historical documents from all periods and genres for the preservation and dissemination of diverse cultural and musical histories.

American Musical Heritage Foundation is a  501 (c) 3 non-profit  

HISTORY

The American Musical Heritage Foundation was founded in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (FEIN# 95-1121026) to preserve Glenn Howard’s music library which been known since the 1960s as The Musician’s Reference Library. Glenn described in a 2008 letter his inspiration for his business model came from collector and radio host Phil Elwood:

I started listening to his radio show in the 60’s and I can honestly sat I learned more from “Elwood’s Archives” in my formative years than from any other source. He would play a record and talk about it. When you think about it that is the only way you can learn. A book means nothing if you can’t hear the music they are discussing.

Although he really didn’t know it… he was my main role model and was already one of my heroes when I was first introduced to him… The genesis of my business The Musician’s Reference Library, which supplies musicians with access to the old records, was directly cribbed from what [Phil Elwood] was doing. I saw how useful a tool a large record collection (with a knowledgeable guide) was for musicians who were always looking to the old stuff for inspiration.

Subsequently, I have spent my life building my own collection into a comprehensive archive and eventually founding the American Musical Heritage Foundation a 501(c)(3) non-profit music archive dedicated to preserving the work of collectors like Phil.

Despite the reissue of some historic records, and the access provided by the various internet streaming stations to the general populous, there are more records that are not available than are. The limits of AI and other pattern recognition software in recommending music provides a poor substitute for professional musicologists and knowledgeable curators of the as yet reissued past. Providing access to curated sound and video clips that amaze and entertain, makes learning music history an aural experience that builds musicianship with every cut.

RECENT EVENTS

Glenn’s death on September 11, 2023 led Executive Director Katherine Armer to revive the AMHF Board of Directors to preserve Glenn’s lifetime work, which had been at a partial standstill in the last years of his life due to poor health. Former fellow board members Joby Pritzker and David Katznelson have been pleased to bring their considerable business acumen back to the project. Brinley Bowes has officially joined the board, formalizing nearly a decade of volunteer work at the AMHF’s California office. Laura DeFreyne has returned to the project, under direction of the board, as curator and treasurer. The work ahead is much and varied. The entire 750,000 albums, roughly 90,000 pounds of recorded materials, are now in immediate need of a new home.