Nashville, Music City (part 3 of 3)
The live music scene in Nashville is obviously an incredible one, but where do musicians go when it's time to record a few tracks without a live audience in attendance? RCA Studio A, which opened in...
View ArticleBirthplace of the Archtop Guitar
Join us at Rudy's Music in Soho, New York City to explore the invention of the archtop guitar with historian Rudy Pensa and world renowned archtop builder John Monteleone.You can also view this video,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Go-go, the funky, percussive music invented in Washington, D.C.
Little Benny and the Masters (Rory "DC" Felton on saxophone and MeShell Ndegeocello on bass) at the Metro Club, 1986. Photograph by Thomas Sayers Ellis, used with permission.In the early 1970s, musical...
View ArticleBirthplace Of Country Swing
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys were the house band at Cains Ballroom. Their style of music, known as country swing, was the catalyst for today's country music.
View ArticleSlayer: The Origins of Thrash in San Francisco, CA
What kind of place stimulates creative minds and sparks a surge of invention and innovation? As part of our Places of (Musical) Invention video series we traveled across the country to San Francisco,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Saying Goodbye to Columbia House
I read some upsetting news this week. A piece of my adolescence has died. The parent company of Columbia House—home of the legendary Record and Tape Club—has filed for bankruptcy. Once boasting more...
View ArticleKorean Pop
It orginated in the 1990s but has roots to the 1960s. It is currently spreading worldwide at a rapid pace.[Editor's note: According to Spin, Korean Pop, or K-Pop "is, by design, music that demands to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Full Color Sound
Draper Spark!Lab has been open for two months now. Our current invention theme is Things that Roll. The next theme, due to begin in November, will be Things that Make Sound. For me the thought of sound...
View ArticleReggae Music
Reggae music invented from Ska, Rocksteady, drum and bass, and African influences.[Editor's note: According to JamaicansMusic.com, "Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s....
View ArticleAnthrax: Thrash and Hip Hop come together in New York City
Controls:PlayPauseVolume:MutePosition:00:00Duration:––:––What kind of place stimulates creative minds and sparks a surge of invention and innovation? As part of our Places of (Musical) Invention video...
View ArticleGangsta Rap
Hardcore Rap was born in Compton.[Editor's Note: Hip-hop culture was born in the Bronx, NY in the 1970s. Some early east coast pioneers, incuding the Bronx's Boogie Down Productions (KRS-One, D-Nice,...
View ArticleThe Olwell Flute
Patrick Olwell was interested in historical flutes, so he came to the Library of Congress over 20 years ago and measured all the flutes. He took the information back to his home and, through trial and...
View ArticleMotown Music
The Motown sound came from Detroit. [Editor's Note: According to Time magazine, Founded on Jan. 12, 1959, Motown quickly became another Detroit factory; where the Big Three produced automobiles, Motown...
View ArticleCleveland: Birthplace of Rock and Roll
I am from Cleveland, Ohio, where Rock and Roll was born and where the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located. Rock is one of the most important musical genres in our nation's...
View ArticleRock n' Roll
Charles Berry was a young musician from St. Louis. The two most popular forms of music, blues and country, both lacked appeal. Berry combined them and released "Johnny B. Goode," the first rock n' roll...
View ArticleInvention of the Minneapolis Sound
In Minneapolis in the Eighties, Prince and many other collaborators fused New Wave, rock, and funk and pioneered groundbreaking production techniques. They also stretched the idea of gender.[Editors...
View ArticleBirthplace of Rock and Roll
Memphis is where the blues and rockabilly combined to make rock and roll.[Editor's note: According to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, "Memphis is the birthplace of rock and roll. Situated on the...
View ArticleGuitar-Drum-Microphone Invention
My brother invented a 3-in-1 instrument. He invented a guitar, drum, and a microphone. I can't believe that my brother invented an instrument!Help us improve this map! Please take our quick feedback...
View ArticleHallyu
Hallyu was not just one person, but an invention of many. Created by entertainments such as YG, SM, JYP, etc., creating groups such as NCT , EXO, 2ne1, SNSD, Big Bang, and many more, spreading across...
View ArticleInvention of the Paper Towel Roll Speaker
I live in San Francisco, California where many things were invented like Levi's Jeans. I was at my house one day listening to music with my phone when I wanted the music to be louder then the full...
View Article
