The Mystery of Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”
More than 200 years have passed since Beethoven wrote a passionate letter to his "Immortal Beloved." We still don't know her name.
The Nineteenth-Century Banjo
Derived from an instrument brought to America by enslaved Africans, the banjo experienced a surge of popularity during the New Woman movement of the late 1800s.
It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
Rock and R&B have been considered separate genres for decades. But why?
Jane Birkin’s Famous Love (Sex) Song
How the songs of the 1960s and ’70s captured the sexual liberation of women.
The Concert That Promised a Thousand Years of Peace
Guru Maharaj Ji, the teenage leader of the Divine Light Mission, was poised to usher in a new era. His huge Houston gathering proved to do anything but.
The Serpentine Career of Loïe Fuller
Rising from the ranks of touring comedies and Wild West shows, the American dancer dreamed of a future of light, movement, and metamorphosis.
A Teen Celebrity in 1804
When thirteen-year-old actor William Henry West Betty arrived in London from Ireland, crowds mobbed theaters and camped outside his home.
The Griffin Sisters Helped Build Black Vaudeville
The sisters were not only a singing duo, they were successful businesswomen and advocates for Black-owned enterprises in the entertainment world.
America’s First Ventriloquist
Richard Potter, the first American-born ventriloquist and stage magician, learned his trade after being kidnapped and abandoned as a child in Great Britain.