The Watergate Scandal in Music and on Record in the Keesing collections at the University of Maryland

The "Watergate scandal" centered on two break-ins to the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in 1972 with the involvement of the Nixon administration as part of a conspiracy to sway president Richard Nixon's 1972 reelection campaign. While initial media coverage of the burglary did not change the outcome of the election, reporting increasingly uncovered the administration's knowledge of the operation and complicity in obstructing investigation into the break-ins. As public awareness of the scandal grew, popular musicians increasingly released music that commented on Watergate and the later Nixon presidency more broadly. Contemporaneous recordings at Maryland addressing Watergate include novelty songs, spoken word, stand-up comedy and songs recorded by major figures in popular music

All records below come from the Hugo Keesing collection on popular music and culture and the Hugo Keesing collection on music and the vietnam war, Special Collections in Performing Arts, University of Maryland Libraries. Records can be listened to in person in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library's Irving and Margery Morgan Lowens Room. To make an appointment to access the records or to ask any other questions related to the materials, please contact SCPA.