Musical History

Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid.

'The Little Mermaid' Has Been Subverting Expectations for Decades

The 1989 Disney movie musical may have saved the Disney corporation, but it also sent important messages about identity to its young audiences

The app includes roughly five million tracks.

Can Apple Solve Classical Music's Streaming Problems?

The tech giant has created a new app with a search engine tailor-made for the genre

An elaborate dance sequence from the 1943 production, choreographed by Agnes de Mille

Behind 'Oklahoma!' Lies the Remarkable Story of a Gay Cherokee Playwright

Lynn Riggs wrote the play that served as the basis of the hit 1943 musical

Metallica band members Robert Trujillo, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett performing in Los Angeles last year

Metallica Just Bought Its Own Vinyl Record Factory

As demand spikes, the heavy metal band has purchased Furnace Record Pressing in Virginia

Vinyl record sales have growing for the past 15 years.

Vinyl Records Outsell CDs for First Time Since 1987

Music lovers in the United States bought 41 million vinyl albums and 33 million CDs in 2022

Two lucky visitors will spend the night inside the Palais Garnier, exploring the historic opera house and enjoying private tours and other perks.

Parisian Opera House That Inspired 'Phantom of the Opera' Becomes an Airbnb

For just one night, two travelers will spend the night in the Palais Garnier’s Box of Honor

David Crosby playing in Tokyo in December 1975

David Crosby, Folk-Rock Legend, Dies at 81

The counterculture icon was a founding member of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash

Stephen Sondheim sitting in a recording control room in 1987

Stephen Sondheim’s Lost College Musical Was Found Hidden in Plain Sight

Live recordings from "Phinney's Rainbow" had been sitting on a journalist's bookshelf for years

Beethoven’s handwritten manuscript for the fourth movement of his String Quartet in B-flat Major

Nazi-Looted Beethoven Manuscript Returned to Original Owners

The Czech Republic's Moravian Museum gave the document to the heirs of the Petschek family

The dilapidated jet has been sitting at the Roswell Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico, for decades.

Elvis Presley's Private Jet Is Going Up for Auction

The famous singer bought the JetStar in 1976, a year before his death

Before changing his name to Bob Dylan, the popular singer-songwriter was Robert Zimmerman.

What Bob Dylan Wrote in His High School Love Letters

A collection of notes from the musician to his girlfriend sold for nearly $670,000 at auction

Celia Cruz (above in 2001 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.) was "a phenomenon," says the Smithsonian's Ashley Mayor, one of the organizers of the new exhibition "Entertainment Nation," opening in December at the National Museum of American History.

The Enduring Legacy of Celia Cruz, the 'Queen of Salsa'

The performer's vivacious life takes the stage as part of the new Smithsonian exhibition, "Entertainment Nation"

Rhea L. Combs (left) and Ava DuVernay (right) share a laugh in front of DuVernay’s portrait during the National Portrait Gallery's 2022 Portrait of a Nation Gala on Saturday, November 12, 2022.

See Stunning Portraits of Ava DuVernay, José Andrés and the Williams Sisters

The National Portrait Gallery's 2022 Portrait of a Nation Award honors seven changemakers, from Anthony Fauci to Clive Davis

Bob Dylan performing in San Francisco

Bob Dylan Analyzes 66 Songs in New Essay Collection

"The Philosophy of Modern Song" offers a peek into the artist's approach to songwriting

In 1966, the Beatles released Revolver, an album that was scores more experimental than their previous work.

The Beatles' 'Revolver' Reissue Is Here—With a Little Help From A.I.

New technology offers new insights into the 1966 album's 14 tracks and 2 singles

NOFX's Mike "Fat Mike" Burkett, one of the new museum's founders, performing in August 

A Punk Rock Museum Is Coming to Las Vegas

Thousands of instruments, set lists, flyers and other ephemera will tell the genre's story

Freddie Mercury on stage in 1986

Queen Releases Newly Discovered Song With Vocals From Freddie Mercury

Once believed to be lost, the track comes from a 1988 recording session

The Beatles’ George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and original drummer Pete Best play a gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

See Rare Photos of the Beatles Before They Were Famous

The images show the band playing a local gig in Liverpool in 1961

Singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn was applauded—and sometimes banned—for her daring songs about women's lives. 

Country Legend Loretta Lynn Braved Controversy to Tell the Truth About Women's Experiences

The self-taught singer-songwriter died on October 4 at her home in Tennessee

Lizzo plays President James Madison’s flute at the Library of Congress

Lizzo Played a 200-Year-Old Glass Flute Given to James Madison

The Library of Congress invited the musician, a classically trained flutist, to play the instrument at her concert this week

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