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Painting of the rocky mountains

How ‘America the Beautiful’ was Born

The United States’ unofficial anthem, a hymn of love of country.
Photo of Dolly Parton smiling.

The United States of Dolly Parton

A voice for working-class women and an icon for all kinds of women, Parton has maintained her star power throughout life phases and political cycles.
Photo of KRS-One superimposed on photo of NY subway station in the Bronx

How KRS-One’s ‘Sound of Da Police’ Went From Anti-Cop Anthem to Theme Song and Back Again

The 1993 song reinvigorated the rap legend’s career — and against all odds became a Hollywood (and police) favorite
Rapper YG, one of a crowd of people at a protest over the death of George Floyd.

Hip-hop is The Soundtrack to Black Lives Matter Protests

Songs from Public Enemy and Ludacris have been heard at marches, continuing a tradition that dates back to the blues.
Billie Holiday performs on stage.

A Brief History of the Policing of Black Music

Harmony Holiday dreams of a Black sound unfettered by white desire.
New York Police Department logo on the side of a car.

Why Are NYPD Cruisers Playing the Ice Cream Truck Jingle?

The melody occupies a niche space at the intersection of ice cream, entertainment, and Black history.
NOLA Resistance Oral History Project title card featuring images of the civil rights movement.

NOLA Resistance Oral History Project

This oral history project records testimony from individuals who were active in the fight for racial equality in New Orleans between 1954 and 1976.
Cartoon by Joey Perr; a man in a top hat and holding a monacle studies a sign broadcasting Ella Fitzgerald as music notes fill the air.

What’s Going On

The vexed history of "Night Life" in the New Yorker.
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Coronavirus Has a Playlist. Songs About Disease Go Way Back.

Coronavirus songwriting has gone as global as the pandemic itself, creating a new genre called pandemic pop. It’s a tradition with a long history.

The Unquiet Hymnbook in the Early United States

This post is a part of our “Faith in Revolution” series, which explores the ways that religious ideologies and communities shaped the revolutionary era.
Caricature of Oscar Wilde in between a sunflower in a vase with the U.S. dollar symbol on it, and a lion with sunflower petals for a mane.

The Wilde Woman and the Sunflower Apostle: Oscar Wilde in the United States

Victoria Dailey looks back at Oscar Wilde’s wild ride through the United States in the early 1880s.

‘Impeachment Polka’: How a Composer in 1868 Sought to Capitalize on America’s Political Obsession

A pianist performs a piece of music forgotten for 150 years.

‘Baby, It's Cold Outside' Was Controversial From the Beginning

Here’s what to know about consent in the 1940s, when the song was written.
A microphone surrounded by multiple pairs of eyes against a brick background.

Cut Me Loose

A personal account of how one young woman travels to South Carolina in search of her family history and freedom narrative.

Why MLK Believed Jazz Was the Perfect Soundtrack for Civil Rights

Jazz, King declared, was the ability to take the “hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.”

A Lifetime Of Labor: Maybelle Carter At Work

Maybelle Carter witnessed the dawn of the recording era and helped create country music as one of the genre's biggest acts.

The Breaks of History

We might say that these books are recording a life with music, and that they are worth listening to.

An Ives Fourth

Nostalgia or nightmare?

The Sounds of Independence

How was the Fourth of July celebrated during the Revolutionary War?

The “Star-Spangled Banner” Hysteria of 1917

The Boston Symphony’s refusal to play the national anthem in its one concerts triggered a xenophobic panic that led an arrest.

William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock ‘n’ Roll

From Bob Dylan to David Bowie to The Beatles, the legendary Beat writer’s influence reached beyond literature into music in surprising ways.

Odetta Holmes’ Album One Grain of Sand

Odetta’s artistry was a weapon in the Civil Rights struggle, and was crucial to the era’s politics.

Rhiannon Giddens and What Folk Music Means

The roots musician is inspired by the evolving legacy of the black string band.

Tom Petty: A Cool, Gray Neo-Confederate?

Michael Washburn explains what we can glean from the failure of Tom Petty's 1985 concept album "Southern Accents."

How a Small-Town Navy Vet Created Rock’s Most Iconic Surrealist Posters

The story of one of rock's most prolific poster artists.

Punjabi Convoy

A history of trucking in America, told through the music that has kept truckers company on the lonely road.

Vessel of Antiquity

Influence, invention, and the legacy of Leon Redbone.
Poster for minstrelsy cake walk
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The Faces of Racism

A history of blackface and minstrelsy in American culture.

1968: Soul Music and the Year of Black Power

The summer's hit songs offered a glimpse into the changing views of Black America.

Baby, Christmas Songs Have Always Been Controversial

Long before “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” holiday songs played a part in the War on Christmas.

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