“I still get absolutely shocked,” says Spektor (in London in February 2006) of her rising popularity, “and that a very particularly amazing feeling.” Her virtuosity and singular style are attracting legions of fans, both mature and teen.

Russian Idol

Moscow-born Regina Spektor draws on classical music roots to create and perform pop songs of rare originality

Jukebox

Ode to a Federal Entitlement

The Curiosity of Cats

When the musical opened on Broadway, 25 years ago, few predicted its amazing success—or what it would mean for composer Andrew Lloyd Webber

A Summer of Blockbusters and Sleeper Hits

Radio City Music Hall at Rockefeller Center in New York City

Encore, Encore: Brand-Name Broadway

Landon Nordeman, who is 33 and based in New York City, says he first got interested in Elvis' afterlife when he saw Ryan Pelton give a performance so riveting it transformed the auditorium into a time capsule.

Elvis Lives!

Thirty years after the King’s death, there’s still a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on, thanks to legions of “tribute artists”

Jeff Marx and Bobby Lopez at work on Avenue Q.

Broadway, Inc.

With shows like Legally Blonde and Wicked, the era of the name-brand musical is in full swing

Bruce Willis donates John McClane's undershirt to the National Museum of American History, as museum director Brent Glass looks on.

Die Hard Donation

Bruce Willis gives John McClane’s blood-smeared undershirt to the Smithsonian. Yippee-ki-yay…

Mariza is gaining a reputation as the new queen of fado.

Portugal’s Soulful Sound

Often compared to American blues, fado is gaining global appeal

Blues legend John Cephas

Blues Legend John Cephas On His Music

Piedmont-style blues guitarist John Cephas played at the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Although loosely based on The Supremes (above), the movie Dreamgirls is a work of fiction. The real story of the 1960s girl groups, however, changed American music forever.

The Real Dreamgirls

How girl groups changed American music

Second Time Around

Invented by Ben Franklin but lost to history, the glass harmonica has been resurrected by modern musicians

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Q&A: Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless, star of Xena: Warrior Princess, which aired from 1995 to 2001, has given her signature costume to the Museum of American History

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35 Who Made a Difference: Steven Spielberg

A renowned director contemplates the lessons of history

35 Who Made a Difference: Wynton Marsalis

In Katrina’s aftermath, the trumpeter has rallied support for his native New Orleans

Louis Armstrong (at about 26 c. 1927) "as showing the world what jazz was all about," Driggs says.

Jazz Man

Louis Armstrong before he was Satchmo? A youthful Ella? For photographs of musicians great or obscure, just about everyone turns to Frank Driggs

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Going for the Gold

A pop-music confection known as The Village People belted out disco hits in the 1970s that morphed into American standards

"Babai" Photographer: Kochi, 13 Kochi lives in a Calcutta boarding school, where she has learned English. "I feel shy taking pictures outside," she says. "People taunt us. They say, 'Where did they bring those cameras from?'"

Young Eyes on Calcutta

Zana Briski and collaborator Ross Kauffman’s Academy Award winning documentary chronicals the resilience of children in a Calcutta red-light district

Peterson, who has recorded more than 400 albums, "never had a breakout hit," says Downbeat critic John McDonough. Still, many fans consider "Tenderly" his signature song.

Return of a Virtuoso

Following a debilitating stroke, the incomparable jazz pianist Oscar Peterson had to start over

Pete Seeger, 1986.

“All Music Is Folk Music”

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings may soon be coming to a computer near you

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