ASCAP at 100: The Library of Congress Celebrates the Centennial of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers

Anne McLean, Senior Concert Producer, contributed to this post. In addition to host and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers President Paul Williams, last night’s annual ASCAP concert featured, as always, an intriguing variety of composers: Jon Batiste, Alan Bergman, Josh Kear, Randy Newman, Carly Simon, Narada Michael Walden with Shelea Frazier, Jimmy Webb, and Heart’s Ann & Nancy Wilson.

Listen to this podcast in which Music Division Senior Specialist Loras John Schissel discusses ASCAP’s 100^th birthday with host Chloe Veltman. Their conversation touches on ASCAP’s founding, its function, and the long and cordial relationship between ASCAP and the Library of Congress, which is home to collections of ASCAP founder Victor Herbert, original member John Philip Sousa, Irving Caesar, and many others. Documenting “the soundtrack of the American experience,” the Library’s rich ASCAP Foundation Collection sketches a fascinating and diverse outline of American music history over the past one hundred years. The podcast includes a taste of recent musical history with a clip of Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” theme,  performed at the 2013 ASCAP show, now online in its entirety here. Please remember to visit our digital exhibit, ASCAP: 100 Years and Beyond . You can also view ASCAP’s “We Write the Songs” shows, presented in the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium, at www.loc.gov/webcasts.