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Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by retired cataloger Sharon McKinley The Library of Congress is home to millions of pieces of sheet music, in large part copyright deposits. Self-selecting as copyright deposits are, much of this music is rather pedestrian in quality, and what catches the researcher’s attention is some other aspect of the …
Posted in: Composers, Sheet Music
Posted by: Pat Padua
With 2016 drawing to a close, anxious music fans may worry that a year that has taken away so many legends may yet give us one more reason to mourn. Starting with the death of Natalie Cole on New Year’s Day, dozens of artists who have provided the soundtracks of our lives died this year. …
Posted in: Composers, In Memoriam, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following post was written by Dylan Kolb, one of 26 college students serving at the Library of Congress as interns in the Knowledge Navigators program. These interns, serving for 10 weeks, come from three institutions: University of Virginia (where Dylan is a rising Junior), Catholic University of America, College of William & Mary. Iconic, …
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers
Posted by: Pat Padua
Gershwin Prize Honoree Billy Joel met Beethoven this week thanks to the Music Division, who showed the six-time Grammy-winning composer manuscripts and artifacts from one of his favorite composers, including a lock of Beethoven’s hair. Joel was an engaged audience, humming along to Gershwin’s “Summertime” when he was showed a holograph from Porgy and Bess, …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
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 …
Posted in: Composers, Podcasts, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
A member of the audience at Tuesday’s Copyright Matters event in the Coolidge Auditorium asked songwriter Jimmy Webb about Donna Summer’s version of his song, “MacArthur Park.” Webb explained that it was his first number one record as well as Summer’s first number one record. “I’m not a fan of disco, but I was crazy …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
It is a long cultural journey from President Teddy Roosevelt to pop singer Anne Murray to art house film director Peter Greenaway. But this is just one of the paths you can take using the new web presentation The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America as a starting point. At the turn of …
Posted in: Composers, Digital Collections, Sheet Music, Sound recordings, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
“I feel this record ties past and present together through all those people and places in the South I knew and thought I had left behind.” Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash is talking about her new album The River and the Thread, which she will premiere during a three-day residency at the Library of Congress that begins …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
The music world lost one of its most influential voices last Sunday. Lou Reed (1942-2013) headed a legendary rock band before embarking on a solo career that led him from glam-rocker to elder rock statesman. The Velvet Underground released a handful of albums, each with a distinct personality that veered from blistering sonic experimentation to …
Posted in: Composers, Musicians, Special Collections