Rock Musicians

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

Link Wray

'Rumble' Aims to Upset the Rock 'n' Roll Canon

A documentary based on a Smithsonian exhibition is wowing festival audiences

This Cleveland DJ Popularized Rock 'n' Roll

Dancing – and dancing shows – became a teenage craze in the 1950s, spurred by figures like Cleveland DJ, Alan Freed

“Love Symbol #2”

Prince Now Has His Own Shade of Purple

The Pantone Color Institute has debuted “Love Symbol #2,” a deep purple based on the late star's custom-made piano

Forgotten Warhol Silkscreen Found in Alice Cooper’s Storage Locker

The shock rocker acquired and then forgot about the work amid a “swirl of drugs and drinking”

Bob Dylan has finally delivered his Nobel Prize lecture.

Dylan Finally Delivers on Nobel Prize Lecture

The reclusive singer-songwriter muses on literature and music in characteristic style

Naomi Weisstein was a feminist activist, a neuropsychologist and, for a brief time, a rock 'n roll musician.

This Feminist Psychologist-Turned-Rock-Star Led a Full Life of Resistance

Naomi Weisstein fought against the idea of women as objects in both the fields of psychology and rock 'n roll

President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan meet with the Beach Boys a few months after Reagan's Secretary of the Interior announced that rock bands attracted "the wrong element."

The Secretary of the Interior Once Banned Rock Bands From the National Mall

James Watt, who was outed from office in the early 1980s, said the only songs he knew were 'The Star Spangled Banner' and 'Amazing Grace'

Chuck Berry's Eldorado Cadillac in the National Museum of African American History and Culture

How Chuck Berry’s Cadillac and His Guitar, Maybellene, Came to the Smithsonian

Curator Kevin Strait from the African American History Museum details the day he met the great musician

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