Jack Mullin: Man of Sound
World War 2
Jack Mullin would join the United States Army just before the country joined the fight. With a background in electrical engineering, he was stationed with the Signal Corps, and in 1944 he was sent to England to help work on radio interference problems. Since Mullin would stay up late to work on his projects, he listened to classical music on German radio through the night. He discovered that the German radios were on-air 24 hours a day, and were broadcasting concerts all night that sounded to good to be pre-recorded. As Jack listened and worked in the night, the Allies were pushing towards Germany and the war would soon be over.
Courtesy of History of Recording
When Jack was stationed in Frankfurt after the war, he ran into a British officer who told him about recordings he heard that had exceptional quality. In Jack's own words, "Either this guy is on to something or he has a tin ear!"
Jack would listen to the officer and stopped by the radio station in Bad Nauheim. What he heard would be revolutionary. As Jack put the tape on the machine and listened, he couldn't tell if it was live or a playback. He had answered his question about the classical music late at night but now he needed to find out more.
Jack would spend the rest of his time in Germany tinkering with the Magnetophones he captured. He sent modified Magnetophons to the Signal Corps and they would eventually find their way back to his home to be rebuilt. As Jack's World War 2 adventures would come to an end, a new page would open into the world of sound manipulation.
Image of signal corpsmen courtesy of Jack Mullin Collection
