Apparently, this is “an authentic wax cylinder recording of Whitman reading from his late poem ‘America’ that appeared in 1888 …”
Rare Recording of Walt Whitman Reading From His Poem “America”
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[…] Rare Recording of Walt Whitman Reading […]
What you have linked here is not the Walt Whitman cylinder recording, but the soundtrack of the Levi’s commercial that used it, with added music and sound effects.
For a thorough rundown on the controversial recording (is it a hoax?) see my blog at http://redhermwheelbarrow.blogspot.com/2011/03/voice-of-poet.html
[…] First we have Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 – 1892), Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during Queen Victoria’s reign, reading “The Charge of the Light Brigade” on the wax cylinder in 1890. Mass marketed during the 1880s, this early recording device also captured the voice of Walt Whitman. […]