Music

Bob Fosse was a mean dancer himself–here he is playing the snake in 1974's "The Little Prince."

Choreographer Bob Fosse Is the Forgotten Author of Modern Musicals

Fosse's signature style influenced everything from Michael Jackson to today's musicals

When The Slants filed for trademark protection, they got more than they bargained for.

Offensive Terms Are No Longer Exempt From Trademark Protection

A Supreme Court ruling affirms a reclaimed slur

“I felt that I was always connected to the world and the people of the world, and that activism was in me from a very young age,” Ono says.

The Long and Winding Road of Yoko Ono’s Art

A Hirshhorn exhibition of four works opens the same week Ono is credited, 46 years later, as a co-writer of the chart-topping ballad “Imagine.”

Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac Shakur in All Eyez On Me.

The Musical Legacy Behind the Tupac Biopic 'All Eyez on Me'

Curator Dwandalyn Reece from the Smithsonian’s African American Museum investigates

iForest is an immersive sound experience located at The Wild Center in the Adirondacks.

This Forest Will Sing to You

iForest at The Wild Center combines an immersive sound experience with the lush beauty of the Adirondacks

Bob Dylan has finally delivered his Nobel Prize lecture.

Dylan Finally Delivers on Nobel Prize Lecture

The reclusive singer-songwriter muses on literature and music in characteristic style

Why Does Every American Graduation Play ‘Pomp and Circumstance’?

The song was written for a British king’s coronation and its name is a Shakespeare reference. What gives?

The interior of the 1876 Glaciarium

The First Artificial Skating Rinks Looked Pretty But Smelled Terrible

Before the technology to reliably freeze water existed, the first rinks used pig fat and salts

In 1971, Folkways Recordings released the album Raimon: Catalonian Protest Songs, and in the liner notes, Pete Seeger wrote: “Censors, in every corner of this world, tend to be shallow, literal-minded people. Raimon is a poet. There is no need to say more.”

This Catalan Folk Singer Refused to Bow to Oppression

The director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage recognizes the lifetime work of the singer activist Raimon

The MP3 Format is Music History's Latest Casualty

The Institute that licenses MP3 tech recently stopped, but the format that began the digital music era may live on indefinitely

Sidney Bechet, one of the early jazz greats, made his name on the clarinet, not the cornet or trumpet.

Listen to This First 1920s Recording By One of the Kings of Jazz

Sidney Bechet was one of the first big jazz soloists, and brought the soprano saxophone into the jazz fold

Irving Berlin and Ellin Mackay Berlin.

Songwriter Irving Berlin's Interfaith Marriage Caused 1920s Gossip

The songwriter made headlines when he and writer Ellin Mackay got married against her millionaire father's wishes

Is this violin the best in all the land? A new study says no.

Study Challenges the Supremacy of Stradivarius Violins

A French researcher set out to solve a long-standing fiddle riddle: do these infamous violins project sound better than new ones?

Ukraine's Jamala (right) at the press conference after she won Eurovision 2016 with "1944."

The Eurovision Song Contest Rocks Europe This Week. Here’s How It All Got Started

It was the idea of the European Broadcasting Union, who wanted to put the relatively new technology of television through its paces

Illustration of the cat piano from 1657.

Music or Animal Abuse? A Brief History of the Cat Piano

In the early 1800s, the katzenklavier was hailed as a treatment for distracted people

Latest National Report Card Shows Little Student Improvement in Music and Art

This is the third time that the National Center for Educational Statistics has assessed eight-graders in music and visual arts

The "Black Sunday" dust storm was 1,000 miles long and lasted for hours. It blacked out the sky, killed animals, and even blinded a man.

This 1000-Mile Long Storm Showed the Horror of Life in the Dust Bowl

In the American history of extreme weather events, ‘Black Sunday’ sticks out

Naomi Weisstein was a feminist activist, a neuropsychologist and, for a brief time, a rock 'n roll musician.

This Feminist Psychologist-Turned-Rock-Star Led a Full Life of Resistance

Naomi Weisstein fought against the idea of women as objects in both the fields of psychology and rock 'n roll

April 25, 2017, marks the centennial birthday of Ella Fitzgerald (above, in a triple-exposure undated photograph).

Never Mind Her Stellar Jazz Career, Young Ella Fitzgerald Just Wanted to Dance

The preeminent vocalist didn't actually start out as a singer

"Straight Outta Compton" just landed a spot in the National Recording Registry.

N.W.A., NPR Among This Year’s National Recording Registry Inductees

The latest class of 25 also includes Judy Garland and Vin Scully

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