Musicians

Brown’s portable instrument, 40 inches high by 50 inches wide, had a signature flourish: silver trim.

The Electric Organ That Gave James Brown His Unstoppable Energy

What was it about the Hammond organ that made the 'Godfather of Soul' say please, please, please?

Mick Moloney leads the Green Fields of America at the 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

How One Impromptu Jam Session Spawned a Sweeping Irish-American Music Revival

For 40 years, Green Fields of America has told traditional Irish stories through song

Terje Isungset on the ice horn

These Musical Instruments Are All Made of Ice

Chill out at Norway's Ice Music Festival this February

Wanderlust

How Graffiti Artists Used iPhones and Paint to Transform the Beatles’ Ashram

Miles Toland describes how he captured Indian street scenes on his phone and recreated them as giant murals that same day

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

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

From left to right: Toni L. Martin (Sephronia), Harriett D. Foy (Nina Simone), Felicia Curry (Sweet Thing) and Theresa Cunningham (Sarah) in Nina Simone: Four Women, running November 10-December 24, 2017 at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.

Maverick Music Takes Center Stage in This New Play on Nina Simone

A Smithsonian expert delves into the song and struggle at the heart of 'Four Women' at D.C.'s Arena Stage

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

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

Sousa around 1915, about a decade after he first decried "mechanical music."

John Philip Sousa Feared ‘The Menace of Mechanical Music’

Wonder what he’d say about Spotify

Charles Brown (far right) with fellow Blazers (from left) Johnny Moore and Eddie Williams.

Who Really Wrote "Merry Christmas, Baby"

The co-author of a classic holiday song still can’t catch a break

The box set will include a 300-page companion volume featuring never-before-seen photographs, scholarly commentary and rigorous liner notes.

This Ambitious Landmark Hip-Hop and Rap Anthology Was Successfully Funded

Smithsonian's nonprofit record label launched a Kickstarter for help and got it

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

Buskers audition for licenses to make their living in the stations of the London Underground

How to Busk the London Underground

It's a lucrative gig, but it means passing a strenuous process of auditions to find the very best subway musicians

Young Aboriginal dancers keeping their tradition alive at the Leura Festival in Australia.

How We Can Support the World's Rich Musical Diversity

Some music thrives, while other musical traditions are on the verge of disappearing

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

Esperanza Spalding’s Pop Culture Loves

She may not own a television, but the Grammy-award winning musician definitely has her favorite books and films

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