1975 JRR Tolkien Reads and Sings His The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring

Release Date: 1975.03
Reader: J.R.R. Tolkien
Language: English
Organisation: Caedemon Records
Catalog: TC 1477
Duration: 58 minutes
Unabridged: n/a
Country: USA
Licenced: Yes
Formats: Vinyl, CD, Digital

While released in 1975, the audio was actually recorded in August 1952. Tolkien was staying with his friend George Sayer in Malvern. Sayer owned a Ferrograph tape recorder – a novel piece of technology at the time. Tolkien had never seen a tape recorder and was suspicious of it. He jokingly said he should “cast out any devil that might be in it” by recording the Lord’s Prayer in Gothic.

Sayer placed the microphone very close to Tolkien to compensate for his naturally thin, rapid speaking voice. This created an intimate and powerful audio profile that wasn’t entirely representative of his public speaking voice. Sayer noted that Caedmon did not attempt to reduce background noise for the 1975 release. You can clearly hear the hiss of the original 1952 magnetic tape.

The LP is famous for Tolkien’s “Gollum voice,” which is raspy and distinct, providing the blueprint for many later interpretations. Tragically, Caedmon cut out the Lord’s Prayer in Gothic and the conversational chatter between Tolkien and Sayer.

Contents

Side A: The Hobbit

  • Chapter V: Riddles in the Dark (29:47)
    • Tolkien’s voice for Gollum is wet, sibilant, and tragic – vastly different from the more “guttural” modern interpretations, but the direct inspiration for them.

Side B: The Fellowship of the Ring

A collection of excerpts and songs where Tolkien chants the poems to the melodies he heard in his head while writing.

  • The Song of Durin (“The world was young, the mountains green…”)
  • The Ring Verse (“Three Rings for the Elven-kings…”)
  • A Walking Song (“Upon the hearth the fire is red…”)
  • A Elbereth Gilthoniel (Chanted in Sindarin)
  • The Song of Beren and Lúthien (A 3-minute recitation)
  • Namárië (The Lament of Galadriel in Quenya)

Release History

Release is thought to be around March of 1975 and was followed by TC 1478 JRR Tolkien reads and sings his The Lord of the Rings.

Coming soon…