Another Kind of American Idol

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Smithsonian image, Star Spangled Banner
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The impressive Star-Spangled Banner, America's almost 200-year old, 34-by-34-foot flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the national anthem, is a highlight exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

But as important as the flag and the anthem are to our national identity, it's no secret that singing the anthem is not for the faint-of-voice or for the monotone, although it's publicly sung in every imaginable venue by choirs, opera singers, pop and rap performers, and many, many, many more. Now, the Smithsonian offers visitors to the online Star-Spangled Banner exhibit a chance to show the world how it ought to be sung on YouTube.

The Smithsonian invites you to

Sing the national anthem your way! Upload your video to our YouTube group and enter to win the Star-Spangled Banner singing contest sponsored by the National Museum of American History and USA WEEKEND. The Grand Prize winner will be invited to perform the national anthem at the Museum in Washington, DC and at the Baltimore Orioles vs. Atlanta Braves game, both on Flag Day (June 14, 2009). The prize includes a trip for two to Washington, DC, including airfare and two nights hotel accommodations; tickets and transportation to a Baltimore Orioles baseball game; and $400 in spending money.

Sample entries are posted; just hit the Go button and start singing!

The exhibit explores the Star-Spangled Banner as history, as artifact, and as symbol.

But first, tour other elements of this online exhibit. The Star-Spangled Banner site looks at the flag as history, as artifact, and as symbol. It weaves narratives of the past with present-day meaning. The exhibit tells the story of the flag and invites viewers to explore the physical features and dimensions of this carefully-preserved remnant. Close-up zooms focus on the fabric, weave, and color and explain history and conservation efforts over the years.

Mini-essays and quizzes give context to the War of 1812 and explain why the Star-Spangled Banner and subsequent versions of the flag came to hold such meaning for Americans. Read the history of the American flag, and investigate rules and rituals surrounding its display and use.

The interactive feature, Share Your Story, encourages individuals to talk about the meaning of the flag in their own lives and to upload photographs illustrating that meaning.

Music Passed from Ear to Ear Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/22/2009 - 14:23
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Emily James, an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, discusses the place of music in slaves' lives, looking at the double meanings of many of the songs' lyrics.

To listen to this podcast, select "All 2006 Podcasts," and scroll to the June fifth program.

Scholars in Action: Analyzing Blues Songs

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Scholars in Action presents case studies that demonstrate how scholars interpret different kinds of historical evidence. "Two White Horses Standin' in Line" (sung by Smith Cason) and "Worry Blues" (sung by Jesse Lockett), both recorded in 1939 by folklorist Alan Lomax, are known as "blues" songs.

The blues emerged as a musical form among African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and gained the attention of folklorists and record companies. Historians have studied blues and other African American musical forms to gain insight into the experiences and perspectives of poor and working-class African Americans who left few written records about their lives.

Website
Scholars in Action: Analyzing Blues Songs
Making Sense of American Popular Songs Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/17/2008 - 16:26
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Tunes, lyrics, recordings, sheet music—all are components of popular songs, and all can serve as evidence of peoples, places, and attitudes of the past. Written by Ronald J. Walters and John Spitzer, the guide "Making Sense of American Popular Song" provides a place for students and teachers to begin working with songs as a way of understanding the past.

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http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/songs/

Goldband Records: "Every One a Musical Treat"

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Cover, Recording, Swampland Jewels
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An exhibit devoted to the Goldband Recording Corporation, a Southern regional recording company, located in Lake Charles, LA. From its inception in the mid-1940s, Goldband produced recordings in "some of the South's most important and distinctive musical styles and sounds, including Cajun, zydeco, blues, rhythm and blues, rockabilly, and swamp pop."

The site includes 23 selections in both streaming MP3 and Real Audio formats; short biographical notes of 100–200 words in length on 24 artists who recorded at Goldband studio—including Freddie Fender and Dolly Parton at age 13; 32 photographs; and a 1,600-word essay on musical genres.

Provides three links to related sites, a 10-title bibliography, and an inventory of the full collection of corporate materials available at the UNC Library. Valuable for those studying Southern culture, music history, and postwar American popular culture.

Music
Photographs
music
songs
Audio
Images
Text
Postwar US, 1945-Early 1970s
Contemporary US, 1968-Present
African Americans
Consumer Culture
Immigration
Popular Culture, Leisure
Rural Life
Southern States
Women
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