Two Blues Songs
Written primary sources only tell you so much. To learn about history that was never written down, listen to sources like these two songs.
Amy Burvall's Life as a TechnoTroubadour
Can you use music and creativity to help students structure what they know? Yes, says Hawaiian teacher Amy Burvall.
John Brown's Body
Chandra Manning discusses the song “John Brown’s Body,” and how music can be an important source in discovering the past.
An Ear for the Past: The National Jukebox
Catchy primary sources? You bet! With the Library of Congress’s National Jukebox, get your students humming history.
Drafting Music
Both the North and South instituted drafts during the Civil War. Popular music of the day had something to say on the subject.
American Myths: Popular Music
Each song has a story. What inspired it? When was it made? By whom?
A-mouldering in the Grave
“John Brown’s Body” keeps reappearing. What do you know about the song?
African American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
View 1,300 pieces of sheet music composed by and about African Americans.
Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
What do the songs people sing tell us about their lives?
America Singing: 19th-century Song Sheets
How did people learn the latest music trends without electronics?
River of Song
Follow the evolution of American music along the Mississippi.
Perfessor Bill Edwards Ragtime/Old-time Piano Gallery
Introduce yourself to ragtime music and the time which gave birth to it.
Goldband Records: "Every One a Musical Treat"
What on earth is “swamp pop”?
Popular American Music
What songs were on the “Top 20” in the 1850s? Was it as much of a social concern as it is nowadays to stay musically trendy?
Another Kind of American Idol
Explore the history of America’s most iconic image—the American flag. But remember: lip-syncing is not allowed!
William P. Gottlieb: Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz
Explore writer-photographer William P. Gottlieb photographs of 1938–1948 jazz culture.
Nineteenth-century California Sheet Music
Scanned images from more than 2,700 pieces of sheet music provide insight into life in 1852–1900 California.
The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip
Archives audio files of more than 700 folk tunes recorded in the South in 1939.
Making Sense of American Popular Songs
Don’t overlook song as a way of understanding the past.