Top of page
Posted by: Pat Padua
2:00 AM is prime time in popular music lyrics, the excitement of staying out late or the anxiety of insomnia prominently figuring in the songcraft of diverse artists from New Kids on the Block to Iron Maiden to Taylor Swift. The hour also plays a part in our seasonal time-shift. In the Muse gently reminds North …
Posted in: Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following was written in part by Senior Cataloging Specialist Sharon McKinley. Oh boy, it’s Hallowe’en! My Lady Gaga costume wowed ‘em when I came in to work this morning, and my candy corn lights are glowing brightly. The frost is on the pumpkin and the sweet tooth is ready to go. What more do …
Posted in: Composers, Holidays, Musicians, Pic of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
The following is a guest post from Senior Music Specialist Ray White. Sixty years ago, on October 15, 1951, America met Lucy and Ricky Ricardo for the first time. She was a housewife with dreams of a career in show business, and her bandleader husband was as determined to keep her out of show business …
Posted in: Exhibitions, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post from Music Division Contract Archivist Janet McKinney. Can you imagine us years from today, Sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange to be seventy… Old friends Seventy years ago today on October 13, 1941, Paul Simon was born. Three weeks later, Arthur Garfunkel was born on November 5th. …
Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Pic of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s new documentary, “Prohibition,” aired this week on PBS and I’m sure that many of you have seen it already (if you haven’t caught it on TV yet, you can watch it online here!). In the film, Burns and Novick explore the rise and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to …
Posted in: Pic of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
This week’s featured sheet music celebrates one of the pioneers of cinema. The aptly named Louis Lumière was born on this day in 1864. In 1895 Louis and his brother Auguste patented the cinématographe, a device that worked as a film camera, developer and projector. This was in contrast to Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope, first demonstrated in 1891, …
Posted in: Birthdays, Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Senior Cataloging specialist Sharon McKinley. Sept. 29 marks the date in 1789 on which the U.S. Army was created by Congress. As a former civilian Army librarian, I have a soft spot in my heart for members of our military and their families. They are wonderful people to …
Posted in: Guest bloggers, Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Senior Cataloging Specialist Sharrron McKinley. AAAARRRR! Ahoy, mateys! It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Luckily you can’t see me, because I’m sporting a bandana, an eye patch, and a fake peg leg. Nah, just kidding! It’s a real peg leg. Almost anyone can relate to the romance …
Posted in: Guest bloggers, Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
This week’s Pic of the Week breaks one of the cardinal rules of Good Photography: show your subject. But if you recognize the face emerging from the ghostly apparition, it makes perfect sense. Jazz singer Mel Tormé was born on this day in 1925. He began his long career as a drummer for Chico Marx, …
Posted in: Birthdays, Jazz, Musicians, Pic of the Week, Special Collections