First recordings of Prabhupada’s songs and the morning walks

Gargamuni Dasa: So I was the first one to record Prabhupada’s singing by himself on the harmonium. When he came back in 1967 December from India, he brought a little harmonium with him, called a Dulcetina. It had a beautiful sound, and all of a sudden, Prabhupada started playing, we never saw him play harmonium before, but he was expert at it because he learned it as a child. So there's a conversation with me and Prabhupada in San Francisco.

And so, Prabhupada says, “So Gargamuni wants that prayer in solo?” Solo means Prabhupada singing himself, and I said, “Yes.” “You also like that?” He says to Yamuna, and Yamuna says, “Oh yes, if it's not too much energy Swamiji, that would be very beautiful.” 
Prabhupada was singing the Chintamani prayers, and I was the first to record them. And Prabhupada said, “Alright.” And Gargamuni says, “Would you used to sing in New York Vande’ham you would add on Chintamani, govindam adi-purusam,' and Prabhupada said, “Yes, sometimes, i shall pray like that?” And Gargamuni says, “Yes, that's nice, that song.” So Yamuna says, “What does that mean Swamiji, that new prayer?” And Prabhupada says, “Chintamani, that is description of Krishnaloka.” “From the Brahma-samhita?” And Gargamuni says, “Yes, because I read the Brahma-samhita.” And Prabhupada asked, “Do you have a copy?” And Yamuna said, “Yes, I have a copy of it.”

So Prabhupada said, “Sit down, why do you keep there…?” See, I moved the microphones back because if somebody play the kartals, it will be too loud. “So why do you keep the microphones back, why do you keep there?” And Gargamuni says, “So it's not too loud.” And Prabhupada says, “Oh.”

And then Prabhupada chants Chintamani and other prayers. Now it says this was in a studio, but it wasn't in a studio, it was in his house. I don't know why they went “studio”. It was March 13th, 1968, was the first time I recorded Prabhupada, because I had purchased a new tape recorder, that was small tape not the big ones, and it could run on batteries also. So March 13th is the first time I recorded Prabhupada in the songs. But on March 8th, I was the first one to record Prabhupada on morning walks at Stowe Lake, nobody had every record because there was no such thing as a tape recorder on batteries, you see, that came later.

And Prabhupada looked at my tape and he liked it. He said, “Oh, what is the name?” I said, “Concord.” He said, “Oh that's very good.” So I was the first to record the songs and first to record the morning walks, you can see it in the Vedabase where the very first morning walk is March 8th, 1968.