Music
The Hidden History of a Rock ’n’ Roll Hitmaker
Bassist Carol Kaye blazed her own trail, as the only female studio musician to record some of the greatest songs of the ’60s and ’70s
February 28, 2012 |
By Kent Hartman
Musicians Wage War Against Evil Robots
When synchronized sound ended the era of silent films, live musicians were no longer hired to play in movie theaters. They fought back with an ad campaign against soulless machines.
February 10, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
A Mobile Phone From 1922? Not Quite
History often plays linguistic tricks on us, especially when it comes to rapidly changing technologies
January 17, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Keeping it Weird in Austin, Texas
Aren't the residents of the proudly hip city of Austin, Texas, just traditionalists at heart?
January 2012 |
By ZZ Packer
Santa’s Trusty Robot Reindeer
A special visit from the Ghost of Christmas Retro-Future
December 23, 2011 |
By Matt Novak
The Sentimental Ballad of the Civil War
Forget “Dixie,” it was one New Yorker’s “Home Sweet Home” that was the song most beloved by Union and Confederate soldiers
November 30, 2011 |
By John Hanc
Joe Temperley’s Ageless Sax
The Scottish baritone saxophone musician recalls his 60-year career and the famous singers he’s accompanied
October 13, 2011 |
By Jeff Greenwald
The Mickey Hart Collection in Rhythm with the World
Former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart's curates a 25-album series of world music for Smithsonian Folkways that drops next week
October 05, 2011 |
By Jeff Campagna
The Cowboy in Country Music
In his new book, music historian Don Cusic recounts the enduring icons of western music and their indelible mark on pop culture
September 08, 2011 |
By Katy June-Friesen
New Orleans Beyond Bourbon Street
From out-of-the-way jazz joints to po' boy shacks, a native son shares his favorite haunts in the Big Easy
September 2011 |
By Randy Fertel
A Musical Tour Along the Crooked Road
Grab a partner. Bluegrass and country tunes that tell America's story are all the rage in hilly southern Virginia
September 2011 |
By Abigail Tucker
Remembering David “Honeyboy” Edwards
Delta blues musician "Honeyboy" Edwards is dead at 96; Hear some of his music from the Smithsonian Folkways archives
August 30, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Levon Helm’s Rocking Rambles
The '60s rock great died today. Last July, our writer visited Helm for one of his famous Saturday night music throwdowns
July 19, 2011 |
By Anne Miller
Q and A with Eddie Van Halen
The rock guitarist talks about his custom-made Frankenstein 2 that is now in the collections of the American History museum
June 2011 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
The Top 10 Moments of Bob Dylan’s Career
In honor of the folk singer’s 70th birthday, we have selected 10 of the many pivotal events that have shaped his tumultuous life
May 20, 2011 |
By Jim Morrison
Smithsonian Folkways Releases "Civil War Naval Songs"
In timing with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, Smithsonian Folkways has released a new collection, Civil War Naval Songs: Period Ballads from the Union and Confederate Navies, and the Home Front. The album consists of 13 lively 19th-century tunes that sailors sung on ships or, when docked i...
April 22, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Happy Birthday, Billie!
It’s fitting that legendary jazz songstress-extraordinaire Billie Holiday’s (1915-1959) birthday today falls during Smithsonian’s Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM). “Lady Day,” as she was known, made songs her own, lazily wrapping her emotive voice like wisps of smoke around passages with distinctive h...
April 07, 2011 |
By Jeff Campagna
Jazz: The Smithsonian Collection: 111 Tracks of Music History
For the past three decades, when historians, critics and educators asked, “What is Jazz?” they turned to the 1973 Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, the landmark album by the late critic and Smithsonian historian Martin Williams. That six vinyl LP—an unprecedented collage of the "genre that re...
March 29, 2011 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Maria Anna Mozart: The Family’s First Prodigy
She was considered to be one of the finest pianists in Europe, until her younger brother Wolfgang came along
March 28, 2011 |
By Elizabeth Rusch
