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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 is a guest post by Reader Service Technician Melanie Guitreaux. While most people were marching off to the Civil War or finding material ways to support the war effort, one fair, anonymous Union lady wrote a war song, titled “The American Banner March.” The cover of this piece …
Posted in: Guest bloggers, Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week, Women in Music
Posted by: Cait Miller
The following is a guest post from Head of Acquisitions & Processing Denise Gallo. This past weekend marked the 198th birthday of Giuseppe Verdi. Born in Le Roncole, Italy, Verdi went from humble origins to become one of the most influential opera composers of his day. And that fame continues, as works like Rigoletto, Aida, …
Posted in: Birthdays, Guest bloggers, Sheet Music of the Week
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: Cait Miller
This week we recognize what would have been President William Taft’s 154th birthday by delving into the Library’s digitized collection of Presidential Campaign Songs. Taft was the 27th President of the United States, serving from 1909-1913. Note that this week’s Sheet Music of the Week, “President Taft, He’s All Right” with words and music by …
Posted in: Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Head of Acquisitions & Processing Denise Gallo. On Sept. 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation stating “That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of …
Posted in: Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Senior Music Cataloger Sharon McKinley. The battle for the right to vote was hard-fought by women in America and elsewhere. The last state to ratify the 19th amendment to the US Constitution was Tennessee, on August 18, 1920. Today it seems unthinkable …
Posted in: Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections, Women in Music