Gilbert Scott-Heron (1949–2011) was an American jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, who spent his formative years in Jackson, Tennessee. His albums of the [...]
During the late twentieth century, the music industry branded country as the sound of wholesome, family-friendly white conservatism, disregarding its multiracial and multiethnic roots. [...]
Black musicians have changed the country music landscape and brought light to Black creativity and innovation. In this session, Dr. Francesca T. Royster will [...]
From 1992 to 1998, Lucy’s Record Shop served as a source for independent music and an all-ages punk club. Located on Church Street in [...]
During the hundred years of racial segregation that followed the Civil War, African Americans built a strong network of entertainment spaces to support the [...]
The Tennessee music box, or box dulcimer, is one of the most enigmatic musical instruments ever discovered. Little is known about its origins, but [...]
What did it mean for Confederates to sing patriotic music during the American Civil War? This talk draws on evidence of sixty cases of [...]
From its roots in West Africa and early American militia drumming to its prominence in African American communities during the time of Reconstruction, fife [...]
Murder ballads, a subset of the ballad tradition, are narrative songs that depict homicides. Many American murder ballads are based loosely on real-life events. [...]
Nashville dance bandleader Francis Craig (1900–1966) cultivated a regional and national audience from the 1920s through the 1940s via broadcasts on WSM radio, a [...]
