Music
Dr. John's Prognosis
The blues and rock musician shares stories of his wild past and his concerns for the future.
March 01, 2009 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
Can't Be in New Orleans? Listen to Mardi Gras Music at Your Desk
In honor of today's Mardi Gras festivities happening down in New Orleans, we thought we'd treat our cabin ever with a little bit of Louisiana jazz and zydeco courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways.There is Blowout at Mardi Gras, a collection of Dixieland jazz recorded in 1955 featuring clarinetist Sid Da...
February 24, 2009 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Root for Smithsonian Folkways at the Grammy Awards
Beyonce, Adele and Chris Brown aren't the only stars we're rooting for at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards tonight. Three Smithsonian Folkways artists/groups are also in the running for the gilded gramophone.Fiddler and songwriter Michael Doucet, who produced the album From Now On, will be competing a...
February 08, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
Q and A: Wanda Jackson
In the 1950s, Wanda Jackson was one of the first women to record rock 'n' roll.
November 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
Colombia Dispatch 6: Accordion Rock Stars in Valledupar
Andres 'Turco' Gil's accordion academy trains young children in the music of vallenato, the folk music popular across Latin America
October 29, 2008 |
By Kenneth Fletcher
Colombia Dispatch 7: Turning Guns into Guitars
Musician Cesar Lopez invented a new type of guitar, made from the shell of an automatic weapon
October 29, 2008 |
By Kenneth Fletcher
Musical Mudslinging on the Campaign Trail
Before TV came on the scene, presidential candidates relied on campaign songs for negative advertising
October 2008 |
By Anika Gupta
Rhythm and Identity
A Q&A with Bobby Sanabria, musician, composer and professor of Latin jazz
September 15, 2008 |
By Robin T. Reid
At Moab, Music Among the Red Rocks
The Moab Music Festival features world-class music in an unparalleled natural setting
August 27, 2008 |
By Jamie Bernstein
Blue Ridge Bluegrass
The town of Floyd, Virginia draws jam-ready musicians and some toe-tapping fans
July 28, 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
Folkways Producer Tony Schwartz, Creator of the Daisy Ad, Dies
Something about the way of life during the Cold War era always strikes me as simple—simple in all senses of the word—plain, uncomplicated, even naïve. I mean, why would children learn to "duck and cover," as if crouching under your school desk could save you from a nuclear blast?
Earlier this we...
June 18, 2008 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Squeeze Play
A new Smithsonian Networks Film brings alive the upbeat music of Colombia's cowboy country
June 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
Ivory Merchant
Composer Irving Berlin wrote scores of hits on his custom-built instrument
May 2008 |
By Owen Edwards
The Arranger
From bebop to hip-hop, nobody alive has done more for American music than Quincy Jones
March 2008 |
By Lyndon Stambler
