Musicians

Sinatra on the radio

Listen to Never-Before-Released Tracks From Frank Sinatra’s Earliest Years on the Radio

You haven’t heard Ol’ Blue Eyes quite like this

Russia Wants Rachmaninoff’s Remains Back

Should a composer who abandoned his home forever be returned there 72 years after his death?

Jon Batiste and Stay Human perform at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Why Jon Batiste Is the Perfect Choice to Be the “Late Night” Bandleader

The tall, lanky jazz musician will bring his unique talents to television this fall

Meryl Streep's a better actress than singer, but that works to her advantage in the film.

What “Ricki and the Flash” Gets Wrong About the Life of a Musician

The new Meryl Streep vehicle is the latest in a long history of movies about bar singers

Australians Are Building a Skyscraper Inspired by Beyoncé

Architects envision a rippling structure that takes a page from the singer’s famous look

Turning New York City's Subway Into a Symphony

Musician James Murphy wants to replace the beeps of the system's turnstiles with beautiful music

Ronnie Wood (far left) has taken on the role in Rolling Stones originally filled by Brian Jones.

Is a Band Without Its Original Members Still the Same Band?

What gives a musical group its identity? Is it the name on the poster or the people on the stage?

When Did Americans Lose Their British Accents And More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Louis Armstrong playing in Rome in 1959. You can visit his house in Queens, New York, and see how he lived for the last 30 years of his life.

Where to Celebrate the History of American Jazz

These six spots are just a short riff on what makes the musical genre particular to the United States

Portrait in New York, in Lead Belly’s final days, 1948-49

The Incomparable Legacy of Lead Belly

This week a new Smithsonian Folkways compilation and a Smithsonian Channel show highlight the seminal blues man of the century

The world's six known punked out snail species, which have mohawk-like spikes, acidic-dyed psychedelic colors and hardcore shells that are falling apart.

New Deep-Sea Snails Are Nature’s Own Punk Rockers

The spikes on one hardcore species inspired scientists to name it after Joe Strummer of the Clash, who was also an ardent environmentalist

The Lennon Wall, a public art landmark in Prague. This picture was taken in 2010, and shows the wall before it was painted almost completely white on November 17, 2014.

Prague's Famous John Lennon Wall: Is It Over, or Reborn?

Art students painted over the famous landmark to make space for the next generation of artists—and people are already festooning the wall with new graffiti

The 2014 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award Winners

These 10 innovators in science, history, society and the arts are a testament to the imagination and hard work that define the nation's spirit

Ridley's film focuses on Hendrix in the years before he became famous, 1966-1967.

The Oscar-Winning Writer John Ridley, Talks About His New Jimi Hendrix Movie

The writer and director of <i>Jimi: All Is by My Side</i> speaks about making living history from legend

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its classic catalog of songs about the Spanish Civil War.

Revisiting the Timeless Tracks of the Spanish Civil War

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its catalog of Spanish Civil War songs

The same week that Ella Jenkins turns 90, Smithsonian Folkways is releasing her 40th album.

At 90, Ella Jenkins, the First Lady of Children’s Music Has a New Album

Celebrate her birthday with her latest, a compilation of children's songs from around the world

Samba school Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel performs at the sambodromo during the carnival of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 03 March 2014.

Samba and Sway to These Brazilian Songs Compiled By Smithsonian Folkways

Take a virtual tour through the country's diverse musical traditions

Itinerant African American musicians played to so many different audiences that they had to be as versatile as a jukebox.

Before There was the Blues Man, There Was the Songster

A new release from Smithsonian Folkways celebrates the diverse sounds of turn-of-the-century itinerant musicians

The von Trapp family overlooking Portland, Oregon.

The Von Trapps Are Back With a New Musical Sound

The hills are alive again with a new American generation of the singing family made famous by the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical

The Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership is a 1,200-pound aluminum stage prop that once stole the show at funk singer George Clinton's concerts. Now, it's a part of the Smithsonian's permanent collections.

Watch George Clinton's P-Funk Mothership Get Reassembled For Its Museum Debut

A timelapse video shows Smithsonian curators rebuilding one of music's most iconic stage props—the Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership

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