Death Tape

The death tape or "Q042", is the final tape recorded by Jim Jones before the mass suicide of the residents of Jonestown in Guyana, in 1978. This recording includes Jones urging the members of the Jonestown community to come forward to receive the poison - first for their children, then for themselves - as Jones describes the horrors of what would await those who did not commit what he described as "revolutionary suicide".

Some debate has been raised as to the authenticity of the tape, owing largely to the number of edits audible; however, given the fact that other tapes generated by Peoples Temple also contain numerous edits, and given the fact that the tape refers to events quite specific to 18 November 1978, it seems likely that the tape is genuine in the sense that it was recorded on 18 November 1978. In the background of the tape there is what appears on casual listening to be organ music and/or choir singing; however, the tape has been analyzed carefully, and as it turns out, the music actually consists of several Delfonics songs (e.g., "I'm Sorry") copied onto the tape (played back at a much slower speed). Since the recording was stopped and started many times, the amount of time covered is somewhat longer than the length of the recording itself.

In 1984 Temple Records released a vinyl LP of the tape under the title Thee Last Supper.