Musicians
A Peek Inside the World's Greatest Record Store
A lovable grouch, obsessed with the magic of American sidewalk harmony, runs the Philadelphia shop
David Bowie Painting Purchased at Landfill for $4 Expected to Fetch Thousands
The rock star created the semi-abstract portrait—up for auction through June 24—in 1997
Newly Discovered Gainsborough Portrait Reveals Likeness of Overlooked Composer
The acclaimed British artist's painting of Czech musician Antonín Kammel may be worth upward of $1.3 million
How a Stint in Hamburg Helped Catapult the Beatles to Superstardom
A trove of letters and photographs associated with the band's time in Germany is set to go up for auction next month
A Brief History of the Harmonica
How the world’s handiest instrument took over American music
A New Museum in Nashville Chronicles 400 Years of Black Music
The culmination of two decades of planning, the National Museum of African American Music opened its doors last month
How Black Composers Shaped the Sound of American Classical Music
A new project seeks to elevate artists like Harry T. Burleigh and Florence Price, whose work has been ignored by white audiences
Why the Newly Released 1980s Album 'Sons of Ethiopia,' by the Ethiopian D.C. Band Admas, Is Going Viral
Admas draws from and rearranges “golden era” Ethiopian music with then-fairly-new synthesizer and drum-machine rhythms.
From the 'Sidedoor' Podcast: How a Woman-Led Record Label Spread Songs of Protest and Revolution
This episode from the sixth season of the Smithsonian's "Sidedoor" podcast delves into the history of Barbara Dane's revolutionary Paredon Records
The True History Behind 'One Night in Miami'
Regina King's directorial debut dramatizes a 1964 meeting between Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown
Kid Ory Finally Gets the Encore He Deserves
The childhood home of the musician who put New Orleans jazz on the map will soon open to the public
'The Great Gatsby,' Songs by Ma Rainey and Other Classic Works Are Now in the Public Domain
Canonical books, songs and films became free to use in 2021
How Elvis Helped America Eliminate Polio
The rock star's much-publicized vaccination inspired reluctant U.S. teens to get inoculated
How Young America Came to Love Beethoven
On the 250th anniversary of the famous composer’s birth, the story of how his music first took hold across the Atlantic
The Soviet Spy Who Invented the First Major Electronic Instrument
Created by a Russian engineer, the theremin has delighted and confounded audiences since 1920
What Happened on John Lennon's Last Day
The former Beatle had a packed schedule as he finalized a new song and posed for some final photographs that would become iconic
Long-Hidden Trove of Bob Dylan Letters, Handwritten Lyrics Heads to Auction
The archives of harmonica player and close Dylan friend Tony Glover act as a "time capsule" of 20th-century music, says RR Auction
The Exotic Vest That Introduced America to Jimi Hendrix
The fashionable garment conjures the guitarist's dazzling performance at the Monterey County Fairgrounds
Listen to a Lost Ella Fitzgerald Recording
In 1962, the singer returned to Berlin to reprise a famous 1960 concert. The tapes were forgotten—until now
Fifty Years After the Beatles Broke Up, Trove of Memorabilia Goes on Auction
Sotheby's sale includes records, posters and a high school detention sheet decrying John Lennon's "continuous silly behaviour in class"
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