Music

Gladys Bentley’s powerful voice, fiery energy on the piano and bold lyrics made her a star of New York City nightclubs.

The Great Blues Singer Gladys Bentley Broke All the Rules

For the Smithsonian’s Sidedoor podcast, host Haleema Shah tells the story of an unapologetically gay African-American performer in 1920s and 30s

The team's findings could have implications for the treatment of human communication disorders

Meet the Singing Mice of Central America

The vocal critters could help scientists better understand the mechanics of human conversation

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Attention Music Lovers, Here's Why You Need to Visit Kentucky This Spring

Home to the 144-mile U.S. 23 Country Music Highway, eastern Kentucky has produced more country music stars per capita than any other U.S. region.

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A Smithsonian Year of Music

A special report pulling together our coverage of music within the Smithsonian collections and around the world

Giddens with her beloved cherry, maple and rosewood minstrel banjo, a replica of a design by the 19th-century Baltimore luthier Levi Brown.

Rhiannon Giddens' 21st-Century Sound Has a Long History

Inspired by long-lost folk melodies, gospel, opera and bluegrass, the electrifying singer and banjo player gives fresh voice to old American traditions

At Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney Phil is proudly lifted like Simba high overhead by his top-hatted Groundhog Club handler. Will it be six more weeks of winter or an early spring? Only the groundhog knows.

Play a Groundhog Day Song on a Continuous Loop

Like Bill Murray, wake up to Groundhog Day everyday with the Smithsonian Folkways' groundhog playlist

Amazing Grace captivates, says the Smithsonian's Christopher Wilson from the National Museum of American History. It is 90-minutes of "living the genius of Aretha and the passion of the tradition she embraced and represented."

Aretha Franklin’s Decades-Old Documentary Finally Comes to Theaters in 2019

The 2019 nationwide release, 47 years after it was made, means audiences at last will see the Queen of Soul’s transcendent masterpiece

Good luck getting this out of your head.

Before the 'Baby Shark' Song Made the Hot 100, 'Silly Symphonies' Were All the Rage

The “musical novelty” series of shorts achieved critical and popular success, too

Elvis tribute artist Alfred Kaz, also known as 'Bollywood Elvis' poses at Central Station ahead of boarding the 'Elvis Express' on January 10, 2019 in Sydney, Australia.

Once a Year, Over 27,000 Elvis Fans Flood This Small Australian Town

The Parkes Elvis Festival draws thousands from around the globe each January to celebrate the King's birthday

Toto's 'Africa' Will Play Forever—Or at Least Until the Next Windstorm—in the Namib Desert

An art installation is playing an endless loop of the 1982 earworm in an undisclosed location in the desert along Africa's southwest coast

Marina Amaral can often find clues to inform her colorization in the shades of gray in the original image

No Color Photos of Jazz Singer Mildred Bailey Existed... Until Now

An artist shows us that the past was not black-and-white

These new songs will not be performed by a children's Christmas choir.

The Titles of These AI-Generated Christmas Carols Are Pure Cinnamon Hollybells

🎶 We wish you a Merry Jinglelog 🎶

"Let’s Get Lost" by linn meyers at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Museum Visitors Can Play This Wall Art Like an Instrument

An artist, musician, experience designer and app developer meet for coffee. This multi-sensory installation is the result

View of the Silent Night Chapel

A Brief History of 'Silent Night'

The classic Christmas tune was first composed as a poem, and it was set to music for the first time in the winter of 1818

The great James Chambers aka Jimmy Cliff performing in 2012.

Reggae Officially Declared Global Cultural Treasure

The music, which emerged from Jamaica in the 1960s, was added to Unesco's global Intangible Cultural Heritage list

All your favorite songs from the neighborhood are back

Now Streaming: The Entire Catalogue of "Sesame Street" Songs

The show has re-launched its record label with songs both old and new

The Most Beautiful Time of Life (Die Schönste Zeit des Lebens), as adapted from the manuscript found at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum archive

Listen Live: The First Public Performance of Music by Auschwitz I Men's Orchestra Since the War

A University of Michigan scholar unearthed the musical manuscript penned by three Polish prisoners in the archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

“I love all kinds of music and I really just want to continue to stretch my hands wide open, hold hands with other artists, and build these bridges, and just to be able to create new lanes of music,” says Steve Aoki, whose equipment recently went on view at the Smithsonian.

Why This Body-Surfing, Sound-Blasting, Cake-Throwing DJ Belongs in a Museum

Just as his new release tops the charts, Electronic Dance Music DJ Steve Aoki says he is "blown away" to have his turntable technology in the collections

Janelle Monáe at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on her summer Dirty Computer tour

What Makes Janelle Monáe America's Most Revolutionary Artist

The musical virtuoso leaves her old persona behind with her third album, <em>Dirty Computer</em>

The Telharmonium is considered to be the first electromechanical musical instrument.

The World's First Synthesizer Was a 200-Ton Behemoth

Thaddeus Cahill's Telharmonium may not have been a huge success, but it was an important achievement in music history

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