Music
The Soviet Spy Who Invented the First Major Electronic Instrument
Created by a Russian engineer, the theremin has delighted and confounded audiences since 1920
What Happened on John Lennon's Last Day
The former Beatle had a packed schedule as he finalized a new song and posed for some final photographs that would become iconic
The Ten Best Books About Travel of 2020
In a year of travel restrictions, these titles helped us channel our wanderlust
Long-Hidden Trove of Bob Dylan Letters, Handwritten Lyrics Heads to Auction
The archives of harmonica player and close Dylan friend Tony Glover act as a "time capsule" of 20th-century music, says RR Auction
The Exotic Vest That Introduced America to Jimi Hendrix
The fashionable garment conjures the guitarist's dazzling performance at the Monterey County Fairgrounds
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Avid Collectors Find Joy in Their Prized Possessions
At home with their collectibles, many people are expanding, shrinking or reorganizing their treasure troves
Eddie Van Halen on How Necessity Drives Innovation
The rock star, who died on October 6 at age 65, said that perfection is boring and mistakes are the "most exciting element of music"
Listen to a Lost Ella Fitzgerald Recording
In 1962, the singer returned to Berlin to reprise a famous 1960 concert. The tapes were forgotten—until now
Pandemic Temporarily Silences Violins That Survived the Holocaust
Organizers found ways to make the instruments' voices heard after the cancellation of planned concerts in California
Fifty Years After the Beatles Broke Up, Trove of Memorabilia Goes on Auction
Sotheby's sale includes records, posters and a high school detention sheet decrying John Lennon's "continuous silly behaviour in class"
Why Sweden’s Ancient Tradition of Calling Home the Herds Is Women’s Work
The spellbinding refrains of the kulning call reflect a tradition that offered women freedom and independence
Saddle Up With Badger Clark, America's Forgotten Cowboy Poet
The unsung writer, known to many as "Anonymous," led a life of indelible verse
Secretary Lonnie Bunch Discusses Music's Role in African American History and Culture
From Lead Belly to Kendrick Lamar, black musicians have long used song to share stories of struggle and triumph
The Complicated Legacy of 'My Old Kentucky Home'
Sung each year at the Kentucky Derby, the tune's original meaning has long been lost to history
Bronze Age Britons Crafted Instruments, Decorations Out of Relatives' Bones
Ancient humans "treated and interacted with the dead in ways which are inconceivably macabre to us today," says researcher Tom Booth
The Remarkable Life and Work of Guitar Maker Freeman Vines
For nearly half a century, the North Carolina native has created instruments out of found wood—including some from a notorious hanging tree
Why the Black National Anthem Is Lifting Every Voice to Sing
Scholars agree the song, endowed with its deep history of Black pride, speaks to the universal human condition
How a Choral Director and Her Students Found Joy in the Folkways Archives
Watch this uplifting video giving voice to stalwarts of the American songbook
Will Rogers Was One of a Kind
The popular raconteur touched Americans with his humor, newspaper columns, movie star power, philanthropy and as political agitator
Explore the Newly Digitized Diaries and Letters of Marian Anderson
Penn Libraries' online portal includes more than 2,500 artifacts related to the famed opera singer
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