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Sound Recordings

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Meet Ella Jenkins, the “First Lady of Children’s Music”

The Grammy winner celebrates her 88th birthday with a new album that reflects her lifelong love of kids’ music

Woody Guthrie, shown here in the 1940s, created great lines in songs and drawings.

Happy 100th Birthday, Woody Guthrie!

New songs by the American folk legend keep turning up, a century after his birth

Rosanne Cash, the daughter of Johnny Cash, is not a country and western singer in the tradition of her famous father. She's American music's theoretical physicist of love.

Rosanne Cash and the Many Meanings of Love

One of the most gifted singer-songwriters of our time talks love, science and the deep space between men and women

For Borderlands, out May 29 from Smithsonian Folkways, Wu Man joined forces with seven Uyghur musicians to improvise on their traditional music.

LISTEN NOW: Wu Man Brings East and West Together in New Album

In Borderlands, the Chinese musician highlights the culture of the Uyghur people

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Los Tres Reyes Remember The Age of the Tríos

The Latin American artists discuss how their career began over 50 years ago

The Golden Record consists of 115 analog-encoded photographs, greetings in 55 languages, a 12-minute montage of sounds on Earth and 90 minutes of music.

What Is on Voyager’s Golden Record?

From a whale song to a kiss, the time capsule sent into space in 1977 had some interesting contents

In a video clip from the 1930s, old Confederate soldiers step up to a microphone and let loose with the howling yelp that was once known as the fearsome "Rebel yell."

The Civil War

Civil War Veterans Come Alive in Audio and Video Recordings

Deep in the collections of the Library of Congress are ghostly images and voices of Union and Confederate soldiers

Doris Day, Miles Davis and Devo all share the stage in the form of old vinyl LPs on the author's shelf.

Together, At Last

Doris Day, Miles Davis and Devo share the stage

Harold Arlen is best known for composing the songs for the film "The Wizard of Oz."

A Depression- Era Playlist

Poet David Lehman provides a list of his favorite songs from the 1930s, including works by Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen and others

“Jewgrass" is the fusion of bluegrass music with Hebrew lyrics and is played by a diverse group of old-time and bluegrass musicians.

Jewish Bluegrass

Lovers of the banjo, fiddle and mandolin blend cultural identity and religious faith to create a uniquely American sound

Parade with banner showing head and shoulder portraits of Grover Cleveland, Adlai E. Stevenson and Gov. John Peter Altgeld.

Musical Mudslinging on the Campaign Trail

Before TV came on the scene, presidential candidates relied on campaign songs for negative advertising

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Jukebox: Memorable Melodies

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Jukebox

Love Song

Lennie Foy

Jukebox

Hot Horns

Jukebox

Young Talent

Cover of the "Singing for Life" album.

Jukebox

Songs to Live By

Trumpeter and bandleader Doc Paulin, being interviewed at 1995 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. His wife to the left of photo; interviewer at right.

Jukebox

Jazz Requiem

Pete Seeger, 1986.

Jukebox

Seeger Singalong

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Sound Sessions

Smithsonian archivist Jeff Place brings old interviews, musical history to the airways

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Jukebox

The Robeson Spirit

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