Musicians

Portrait in New York, in Lead Belly’s final days, 1948-49

The Incomparable Legacy of Lead Belly

This week a new Smithsonian Folkways compilation and a Smithsonian Channel show highlight the seminal blues man of the century

The world's six known punked out snail species, which have mohawk-like spikes, acidic-dyed psychedelic colors and hardcore shells that are falling apart.

New Deep-Sea Snails Are Nature’s Own Punk Rockers

The spikes on one hardcore species inspired scientists to name it after Joe Strummer of the Clash, who was also an ardent environmentalist

The Lennon Wall, a public art landmark in Prague. This picture was taken in 2010, and shows the wall before it was painted almost completely white on November 17, 2014.

Prague's Famous John Lennon Wall: Is It Over, or Reborn?

Art students painted over the famous landmark to make space for the next generation of artists—and people are already festooning the wall with new graffiti

The 2014 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award Winners

These 10 innovators in science, history, society and the arts are a testament to the imagination and hard work that define the nation's spirit

Ridley's film focuses on Hendrix in the years before he became famous, 1966-1967.

The Oscar-Winning Writer John Ridley, Talks About His New Jimi Hendrix Movie

The writer and director of <i>Jimi: All Is by My Side</i> speaks about making living history from legend

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its classic catalog of songs about the Spanish Civil War.

Revisiting the Timeless Tracks of the Spanish Civil War

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its catalog of Spanish Civil War songs

The same week that Ella Jenkins turns 90, Smithsonian Folkways is releasing her 40th album.

At 90, Ella Jenkins, the First Lady of Children’s Music Has a New Album

Celebrate her birthday with her latest, a compilation of children's songs from around the world

Samba school Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel performs at the sambodromo during the carnival of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 03 March 2014.

Samba and Sway to These Brazilian Songs Compiled By Smithsonian Folkways

Take a virtual tour through the country's diverse musical traditions

Itinerant African American musicians played to so many different audiences that they had to be as versatile as a jukebox.

Before There was the Blues Man, There Was the Songster

A new release from Smithsonian Folkways celebrates the diverse sounds of turn-of-the-century itinerant musicians

The von Trapp family overlooking Portland, Oregon.

The Von Trapps Are Back With a New Musical Sound

The hills are alive again with a new American generation of the singing family made famous by the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical

The Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership is a 1,200-pound aluminum stage prop that once stole the show at funk singer George Clinton's concerts. Now, it's a part of the Smithsonian's permanent collections.

Watch George Clinton's P-Funk Mothership Get Reassembled For Its Museum Debut

A timelapse video shows Smithsonian curators rebuilding one of music's most iconic stage props—the Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership

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You Otter Believe These Zoo Animals Can Play the Piano, the Harmonica and the Xylophone

D.C.'s hottest summer concert is brought to us by an unlikely source: a bevy of animal musicians

Elvis back stage after a show at the New Frontier Hotel

Elvis’ First Big Vegas Show Was a Total Flop

Playing to the middle-aged crowd at the New Frontier Hotel, Elvis' first Vegas show didn't go over so well

The Seldom Scene's album, "Long Time. . . Seldom Scene," the band's first recording since 2007, features a mix of classic fan favorites, a litany of guest stars and one brand-new song.

Seldom Scene, Often Heard: A Bluegrass Band Returns to its Roots With a New Album

The current members of the legendary Washington, D.C.-based bluegrass band celebrate four decades of making music

Michael Jackson: Singer, Songwriter, American Inventor

The King of Pop invented more than just amazing dance moves

Angel Haze, whose album dropped in December after months of fighting with her label.

The Number of Female Rappers Signed to Major Labels Dropped From 40 to Just Three

Female MC’s, rappers and producers haven’t gone away; they just aren’t getting contracts with major labels anymore

Pete Seeger in concert in February, 1986.

Spend the Morning With Pete Seeger's Voice

“A good song makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you think," Seeger once said

The Star Spangled Banner. 1814. Manuscript by Francis Scott Key.

Document Deep Dive: The Musical History of "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Was the national anthem really set to the melody of a drinking tune? Take a closer look at the original manuscript of Francis Scott Key's song

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

The shanties were erected with materials salvaged mainly from an 18th-century Creole cottage that collapsed on the site in 2009—everything from mahogany paneling to rattraps.

You've Never Heard A Music Box Like This

In a funky New Orleans experiment, musicians turn a ramshackle house into a cacophony of sounds

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