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 [...]
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have made indelible, but underappreciated, contributions to the Tennessee musical landscape for over one hundred years. In this [...]
Starday Records was the largest independent country music record label throughout the 1950s and ’60s, serving as a springboard for future stars (George Jones, [...]
Country and soul emerged from the same songwriters, musicians, and producers in the recording studios of Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. [...]
String band and country blues musician Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong’s life spanned most of the 20th century. Armstrong’s career took him from his boyhood [...]
In this session, we learn about the history and genres of Mexican music performed in Tennessee. Dr. Gregory Reish is director of the Center [...]
Hip hop originated in The Bronx, but found its way to Tennessee by the mid-1980s. DJ Spanish Fly, the Godfather of Memphis Rap, has [...]
