Rock Musicians

“All evidence suggests that this was the first cloud guitar ever built for Prince,” says John Troutman, curator of American music at the National Museum of American History.

Here's the Guitar That Prince Revolutionized Music With in 'Purple Rain'

The artist gave the "cloud" guitar to the Smithsonian in 1993, but only now do we know it's the same instrument used in the iconic movie

Catching some shut eye at Woodstock.

Archaeologists Are Finding Woodstock Really Did Take On Life of Its Own

If it seems weird to survey a site that’s only 50 years old, it is. But it's not as unusual as you’d think

The 92-second clip that shows the Fab Four playing their song “Paperback Writer.”

Lost Footage of One of the Beatles' Last Live Performances Found in Attic

A man filmed the missing 1966 'Top of the Pops' appearance from his TV set

Installation view of "Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll"

From Buddy Holly to Lady Gaga, the Met's New 'Play It Loud' Exhibit Features the Instruments of Rock and Roll Greats

The show includes more than 130 guitars, drum kits and keyboards, as well as vintage costumes, posters and concert footage

Skrillex's Grammy-winning “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” could help researchers discourage the spread of mosquito-borne diseases

Playing Skrillex May Help Ward Off Mosquito Bites

The EDM artist’s mix of very high and low frequency beats discourages the insects from biting victims, having sex

Scientists Played Music to Cheese as It Aged. Hip-Hop Produced the Funkiest Flavor

Researchers played nonstop loops of Led Zeppelin, A Tribe Called Quest and Mozart to cheese wheels to find out how sound waves impacted flavor

Toto's 'Africa' Will Play Forever—Or at Least Until the Next Windstorm—in the Namib Desert

An art installation is playing an endless loop of the 1982 earworm in an undisclosed location in the desert along Africa's southwest coast

To Mourn Beloved, 17-Year-Old Cat, Artist Made Genre-Spanning, Star-Studded Tribute Album

Pharrell, Bono, Laurie Anderson, Michael Stipe, The National and others penned songs for Souris, artist Sophie Calle's animal companion

McCartney has long claimed that he wrote the melody to "In My Life," but Lennon stated that his songwriting partner had only contributed to the middle section of the tune. This study suggests they were both wrong

Statistics Offer Answer to Decades-Long Dispute Over Authorship of Beatles Hit

Researchers say there is less than a one in 50 chance that Paul McCartney composed the melody of "In My Life"

July 1983 illustration of David Bowie for TIME magazine

David Bowie’s First Studio Recording Discovered in a Bread Basket

The demo failed to impress recording executives in the early 1960s

Clarence Clemons and Bruce Springsteen, Cleveland, Ohio by David Gahr, 1977

Ten Rarely Seen Springsteen Photographs That Capture the Exhilarating Power of The Boss

A new book reveals the work of David Gahr, who documented the music legend as he rose to worldwide fame

In December 1957, Lymon appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” to sing “Goody Goody,” nearly two years after “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” was a hit debut single.

Teen Idol Frankie Lymon's Tragic Rise and Fall Tells the Truth About 1950s America

The mirage of the singer's soaring success echoes the mirage of post-war tranquility at home

Jimi Hendrix was “a central figure in the history of African-American music,” says Kevin Strait, a historian and curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, home to this gold-brocade vest that the musician wore.

Gone at 27 and Eternally Youthful For the Ages, Jimi Hendrix Would Have Been 75 This Year

A gold-brocade vest at the Smithsonian evokes the innovative musician’s enduring legacy

The Abbey Road crosswalk, which has been moved slightly since 1969, in modern times.

A Short History of the Crosswalk

Pedestrian crosswalks and roads have a complicated relationship

The creative output of Fats Domino, who died October 25, 2017 at the age of 89, was consistently compelling, and fans were delighted to eat it all up.

Fats Domino's Infectious Rhythms Set a Nation in Motion

This Rock ’n’ Roll maverick was a true New Orleans original

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in concert, Toronto, Canada, 1995

Tom Petty, Standard-Bearer for Classic Rock, Dies at Age 66

In <i>Smithsonian Rock and Roll: Live and Unseen</i>, Bill Bentley remembers the singer-guitarist who forged a unique place in American rock

In a First, Archival-Quality Performances Are Preserved in DNA

Songs by Miles Davis and Deep Purple at the Montreux Jazz Festival will live on in the ultra-compact, long-lasting format

J. Ralph (left) and Sting (right), the night's honorees. Visible in the foreground is Sting's 1978 Stratocaster guitar, which is now a part of the Smithsonian collections.

Acclaimed Musicians Sting and J. Ralph Spread Social Justice Through Song

The Smithsonian honors two composers whose work and philanthropy are inextricably linked

Jenny Lind was massively popular in Europe and England, but she was a virtual unknown in America before 1849.

Why 30,000 People Came Out to See a Swedish Singer Arrive in New York

Most of them had never even heard Jenny Lind sing

Mercury wrote or cowrote a number of Queen's biggest hits.

Freddie Mercury, Musical Genius and Stamp Collector

The singer-songwriter's childhood stamp album offers an insight to his character

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