Music

Terje Isungset on the ice horn

These Musical Instruments Are All Made of Ice

Chill out at Norway's Ice Music Festival this February

Cover art for sheet music from the original Tabasco opera, 1894.

Long-Forgotten Opera About Tabasco Sauce Heats Up Stage Again After Almost 125 Years

Thanks to some musical sleuthing, George W. Chadwick's ode to the now ubiquitous hot sauce brand has been revitalized by the New Orleans Opera

Music might be more universal than we thought.

Your Brain Knows What Songs Are For, No Matter Where They Came From

Researchers find that people easily recognize lullabies and dance songs from around the world

This Recently Discovered 1,700-Year-Old Mouth Harp Can Still Hold a Tune

The mouth harp, found in Siberia’s Altai Republic, produces music when you strike or pluck it with a finger

No public domain etchings by Jessie Traill available for this American teen.

Why Americans Missed Out on Public Domain Day (Again)

Aleister Crowley, Dorothy Parker, and René Magritte joined the public domain in 2018, but not in the United States

Drummers in Benin

Big Data Traces the World's Most Distinctive Musical Traditions

An analysis of 8,200 recordings from 137 nations shows nations in sub-Saharan Africa have the most unique rhythms and melodies

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

John Lennon chats with Mike Love (far right, in dark blue) as the Beatles sit for a photo with Maharishi and other course participants.

The Ashram Where the Beatles Sought Enlightenment

Beach Boys singer Mike Love recalls what it was like to be at the Indian locale, which remains a destination for fans of music and meditation

Rose Marie posing with her iconic black bow.

Rose Marie's Sprawling Legacy as Told Through the Artifacts She Left Behind

The late actress sang for mobsters, toured New York nightclubs and wisecracked her way through a career that spanned nine decades

Nine Innovators to Watch in 2018

Meet a group of trailblazers in medicine, education, art, transportation, artificial intelligence and more

Turing standing next to the Mark I

Listen to Alan Turing's First Computer-Generated Christmas Carols

In 1951, the BBC played two carols from Turing's computer, which have now been recreated by New Zealand researchers

Mónico Márquez plays a Hohner button accordion with Venezuelan band Mestros del Joropo Oriental at the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

The Remarkable Rebirth of the Button Accordion

Musician Gilberto Reyes redesigned the instrument to meet the needs of Latino musicians

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

Hurricane Maria, September 2017

Turning Hurricane Data Into Music

Can listening to storms help us understand them better? A meteorologist and a music technologist think so

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery is home to a photograph of Travolta by Douglas Kirkland, (above, detail), striking his characteristic dance pose.

John Travolta’s Breakout Hit Was America’s Best Dance Party

It’s been 40 years since ‘Saturday Night Fever’—a gritty film powered by music, machismo and masterful footwork—became a cultural phenomenon

John Legend

What Makes John Legend America's Most Versatile Artist

Songwriter, singer, actor, producer, virtual reality maven. John Legend is an entertainment all-star

The Ten Best Photography Books of 2017

These eye-opening works invite us to find ourselves in history and nature

Among the artifacts was a pair of John Lennon's glasses, complete with his optometrist's prescription.

100 Stolen John Lennon Items Found in Berlin

The trove of memorabilia, which was stolen from Yoko Ono, includes Lennon’s diaries, glasses and handwritten music scores

Arlo Guthrie

A Brief History of “Alice’s Restaurant”

The Arlo Guthrie classic starts off retelling the true story of what happened more than 50 years ago

Elmar Juchem, Managing Editor of the Kurt Weill Edition, was able to identify Kurt Weill's manuscript while doing archival work in Berlin.

Composer Kurt Weill's Long-Forgotten “Song of the White Cheese" Discovered in Berlin Archive

Listen to the 1931 ditty, which had gone unnoticed in the collection of a little-known actress

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