The Sounds of American Culture
'Head Hunters' Found A New Direction In Jazz()
December 28, 2008 Herbie Hancock's album is now considered one of the defining moments in jazz fusion. The Library of Congress is preserving the album in its musical collection as one of the country's most culturally significant audio recordings. Hancock and producer David Rubinson reflect on the album's creation and long-lasting impact.
Kitty Wells: Don't Blame The 'Honky-Tonk'()
December 14, 2008 Singer Emmylou Harris says a 33-year-old housewife named Kitty Wells turned both country music and the country on its head with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." With that song, Wells captured the tensions of the time and paved the way for more female musicians.
Mercy: Behind Roy Orbison's 'Pretty Woman'()
December 6, 2008 One day, Roy Orbison's first wife walked down the street to the store. By the time she returned, the rock 'n' roll pioneer had already written his most enduring hit. "Oh, Pretty Woman" is one of the newest additions to the National Recording Registry.
NYC Mayor LaGuardia's Legendary Radio Readings()
November 30, 2008 The year is 1945. The world is at war, and New York City's newspaper delivery men are on strike. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia solves the problem. Independent producer Ben Manilla shares the story behind LaGuardia's legendary radio readings of comic strips like Little Orphan Annie.
T-Bone Walker's 'Stormy Monday'()
November 9, 2008 T-Bone Walker swung the blues, made his guitar cry like no one else and wrote a classic in "Call It Stormy Monday." The Library of Congress agrees.
Revisiting Cole Porter's 'Top'()
December 30, 2007 What does Cole Porter's song, You're the Top have to do with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the end of Prohibition?
'Button-Down Mind' Changed Modern Comedy()
December 23, 2007 In 1960, Bob Newhart stood before one of the first live nightclub audiences he'd ever faced. That performance resulted in the beloved comedy album, "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart," which the Library of Congress selected for its National Recording Registry.
Sam Cooke's Swan Song of Protest()
December 16, 2007 Though only a modest hit by his standards, Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" became an anthem of the 1960s civil rights movement, and would come to be heralded as his magnum opus.
Bob Marley's Reggae Landmark()
December 9, 2007 In 1973, a reggae group on the verge of breaking up released an album — its second that year — filled with militant anthems inspired by life in the Jamaican slums. Burnin' turned out to be Bob Marley's big break.
The Fight of the Century: Louis vs. Schmeling()
November 25, 2006 The 1938 boxing rematch between American Joe Louis and German Max Schmeling is believed to have had the largest audience in history for a single radio broadcast. In 2005, the Library of Congress selected it for the National Recording Registry.
