Politics

Sure, the Library of Congress has a National Film Registry, and sure, President Obama stays up to date on popular music, but can you imagine the White House housing its own private record collection? For a time, it did, and John Chuldenko — grandson of President Jimmy Carter — unearthed it. Chuldenko, a writer, director, and producer, learned of the vinyl collection from his uncle Jeff, who, as Carter’s youngest son, spun the music himself when he was living at the White House. The selection came to be in the 1970s, when the Recording Industry Association of America approached the White House about creating a library for music the same way the American Booksellers Association had done for books. Songwriter Johnny Mercer curated the library’s initial installation, and over 1,800 LPs were pr...