(TIME-WARPED FORWARD FROM AN EARLIER POSTING FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF FRIDAY BREKKIE LISTENERS)
I’ve always been in awe of livestock auctioneers. These guys reel off machine-gun-speed streams of syllables that seem barely comprehensible to the untrained ear, and through them, they manage an entire marketplace of feverish commercial activity… In the case of truly exceptional practitioners like Stenson Clontz, they can even turn the whole process into an almost musical display of vocal dexterity.
The Clontz recording (1985), along with other memorable performances by Steve Liptay (1976) and Cecil Ward (1964), are currently hosted on the WFMU blog site. If you want more, you can find a wide array of samples on the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship site (where you can also purchase videos and CDs). (via WFMU's Beware Of The Blog)
Posted by Warren at June 23, 2005 11:19 PM | Auctioneers