How Mexican and Cuban Music Influenced the Blues
The pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton once told an ethnomusicologist that real jazz tunes needed "tinges of Spanish."
Parental Advisory: The Story of a Warning Label
Songs weren't always labeled for explicit lyrics. The history of how it all came about includes some unlikely bedfellows.
The First Black Woman to Perform at the Grand Ole Opry
Linda Martell made the switch from R&B to country music in the late 1960s. Her star then shined on country's biggest stage.
When the Truman Campaign Used a Song from an All-Black Show
"I'm Just Wild about Harry" originated with the songwriting team of Sissle and Blake and first appeared in the Broadway musical Shuffle Along.
The Rebellious, Scandalous Origins of Polka
The dance is often associated with the traditions of immigrant communities in America. But it emerged in Europe during a time of radicalism.
The Gospel According to Kanye West
On the making of gospel music, from Gospel Pearls to Jesus Is King.
Goth Won’t Die, but It Wants a Funeral Anyway
Like its celebrated vampires, the Goth subculture has roots in a fascination with death and cultural transgression.
What Did Franco’s Spain Do to Spanish Music?
Contemporary Spanish genres like flamenco and zarzuela still carry the weight of cultural associations with Franco’s fascist regime.
The Fear That Synthesizers Would Ruin Music
A German musicologist complained in 1954 that they reminded him of "barking hell-hounds."
