Social historians and musicologists both agree: Music can tell us much about society's aspirations, mores and other such matters. In that spirit of inquiry and edification, the Library of Congress's "Music, Theater & Dance" digital initiative brings this marvelous exploration of music in the life of 19th century Ohio families to the curious public. This collection is primarily focused on...

The intersection between popular performers and politics is a curious one at times, and this online exhibition explores the "history of the involvement of entertainers in politics." Created by the Library of Congress to complement an in-situ exhibition, this exhibit was made possible by a contribution from the family of Bob and Dolores Hope. The exhibition is divided into three main sections:...

One thing is clear: Grammy award-winning artist Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, known by his stage name Kid Cudi, loves to hum. In proving this point, Connor Rothschild's project flexes coding, data analysis, and statistics skills. Hip-hop fans will appreciate the project for its discography analysis, but even those less familiar with Kid Cudi's music can benefit from the methodology and apply it to a...

People in Indiana know a fair bit about four-part harmony. For that matter, they know about all types of harmony, and this digital collection pays homage to their musical traditions. The IN Harmony Sheet Music collection was created as part of a partnership between the Indiana State Library, the University Lilly Library, the Indiana Historical Society, and the Indiana State Museum. The sheet music...

The world of musical entertainment offers a variety of diverse voices, but often individuals are overlooked and not awarded for their contribution. Individuals and organizations involved in music production, or simply any musicophiles, will appreciate this report, Inclusion in the Recording Studio? Gender and Race/Ethnicity of Artists, Songwriters & Producers across 900 Popular Songs from...

The road to creating a popular song can take decades and often includes a number of incarnations before the listening public finally becomes interested. Such is the complex and at times painful story of the song "Mbube" (which is perhaps best known in the United States by the version titled "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"), which was first recorded by Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds in 1939 in South...

Each week, INDIGEFI brings listeners an hour of Indigenous music. Alexis Sallee hosts the show, connecting listeners with established and up-and-coming Native artists, as well as interviewing musicians on "the unique Indigenous background and passions that inform the artist's work." The Archive page highlights featured artists from the show, with a brief biography and links to their discographies...

We featured this fabulous collection of digitized 78rpm records in August 2017, shortly after the Internet Archive released this collection. Since then, this collection has grown to include over 60,000 recordings. We love this collection not only because it is a delight to browse, but also because it documents a number of important movements in twentieth-century music history including early girl...

The Inventions of Note Sheet Music Collection was created in 1997 by the Lewis Music Library at MIT. It includes popular songs and piano compositions that portray technologies as revealed through song texts and cover art. As the introductory notes state, "The initial appearance of inventions such as the automobile, airplane, radio, and telephone created a myriad of responses in American society...

The University of Iowa Libraries hosts a number of fabulous digital collections. Classical music lovers will want to check out the Ignaz Pleyel Early Editions collection, which features, "over 200 early printed and manuscript scores that represent the work of French composer and music publisher, Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831)." This collection was curated by Rita Benton, a musicologist who authored the...