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The 2,000 Year Old Man
Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks in their in their iconic "2000 Year Old Man" routine(Photography by William Claxton Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC) This 1961 comedy routine by Mel Brooks and Carl...
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Carmen Miranda: O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem
Carmen Miranda(Courtesy of Naxos Nostalgia)This samba was recorded by the Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda in 1939. Dori Caymmi, the son of the songwriter, and biographer Martha Gil-Montero explain how...
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John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen
John Lee Hooker Our series begins with John Lee Hooker's breakthrough song "Boogie Chillen". Blues veteran Charlie Musselwhite and writer Peter Guralnick explain how Hooker's 1948 song left its mark on...
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George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today
(Sony)One of this year's selections is a song so sad that George Jones was initially reluctant to record it. Yet it became one of the most popular songs in country music. Produced by Ben Manilla and...
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Link Wray: Rumble
(Rhino / Wea)This guitar instrumental altered the course of rock music. The story of Link Wray and "Rumble," from 1958, is told by guitarist Steven Van Zandt, bassist James Hutchinson, and writer Brian...
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Coal Miner's Daughter
Loretta Lynn(Russ Harrington)Every year the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress selects 25 recordings to be preserved for all time. One song chosen this year is Loretta Lynn’s 1970...
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Howlin' Wolf: Smokestack Lightning
Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning" The first song in our series is Howlin’ Wolf’s "Smokestack Lightning," a cornerstone of Chicago Blues. Howlin' Wolf's daughter and his longtime guitarist Hubert...
View ArticleR.E.M.: Radio Free Europe
"Radio Free Europe" was R.E.M.'s first single. It represents a breakthrough moment, when indie rock was splitting away from punk music to become its own sound. Engineer Mitch Easter, radio manager Mike...
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Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner's Daughter
Loretta Lynn(Russ Harrington)This hit country song was written in 1970 by Loretta Lynn. With her plaintive, but proud voice, Lynn tells the story of growing up poor in the Appalachian Mountains of...
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Morton Subotnick: Silver Apples of the Moon
Morton Subotnick's Silver Apples of the Moon Morton Subotnick's Silver Apples of the Moon, was the first album of all-electronic music. Released in 1967, it found favor with electronics geeks, as well...
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Web Extra: Silver Apples of the Moon
Morton Subotnick's Silver Apples of the Moon Another pick by the National Recording Registry this year is Morton Subotnick's Silver Apples of the Moon, the first album of all-electronic music. Released...
View ArticleR.E.M.'s Radio Free Europe
Every year the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress selects 25 recordings to be preserved for all time. One song chosen this year is R.E.M.'s "Radio Free Europe." It was the band's...
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Phonautogram
An 1859 drawing of the phonautograph by French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville(First Sounds at FirstSounds.org)Did you know there are audio recordings that predate Thomas Edison's phonograph...
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Captain Beefheart: Trout Mask Replica
Cover of Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band(Reprise/Ada) A few months ago, the Republican candidate Jon Huntsman tweeted: “I wonder if a tweet where I admit how much I like...
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Professor Longhair: Tipitina
Detail from cover of the Professor Longhair album Red Beans 'N' Rice(Great American Music)The New Orleans piano player Henry Roeland Byrd made a name for himself as Professor Longhair, a former street...
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Sons of the Pioneers: Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Cover of the Sons of the Pioneers' Tumbling Tumbleweeds(Mca Special Projects)The Sons of the Pioneers pioneered one of the strangest branches of American music: singing cowboys. Their 1934 song...
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Gabby Pahinui: Hula Medley
Gabby Pahinui(Panini Records, Inc.)When the producers of The Descendants– starring George Clooney as an unsavory landowner trying to mend relationships with his children – wanted an authentic Hawaiian...
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Love: Forever Changes
Detail of album cover for Love's Forever Changes(Elektra Records) The year 1967 saw the release of two psychedelic pop masterpieces — one globally famous (the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper), the other nearly...
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Vince Guaraldi: A Charlie Brown Christmas
The soundtrack of the holidays is lousy with annoying songs about sleigh rides and snowmen, and beautiful old carols done up as treacly as possible. One of the saving graces this time of year is the...
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Donna Summer: I Feel Love
(Casablanca) In 1977 Donna Summer released a single that changed the sound of dance music forever. It abandoned disco’s funky roots in favor of a driving electronic pulse. Summer’s voice and a...
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