Field of excellence
Black Music
From spirituals and blues to jazz, gospel, soul, funk, and hip-hop.
On the timeline
- September 28, 1912W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues"
One of the first published blues compositions helps launch a new American art form.
- November 23, 1936Robert Johnson's recordings
In two brief sessions, Robert Johnson records the songs that become the foundation of the blues canon.
- 1944Sister Rosetta Tharpe's gospel-rock crossover
"Strange Things Happening Every Day" becomes a proto-rock-and-roll landmark — gospel electrified.
- January 7, 1955Marian Anderson at the Metropolitan Opera
Anderson becomes the first Black singer at the Met.
- July 30, 1955Chuck Berry's "Maybellene"
Berry helps invent rock and roll.
- October 2, 1971"Soul Train" goes national
Don Cornelius's show becomes a showcase for Black music and style.
Resources
A seven-part series on the blues, the root of so much American music.
The museum's exhibition tracing African American music across its history.
Profiles of every inductee with playlists and footage.
How Black music sits at the center of American musical history.
The web
Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.
- inspired (incoming)·PersonSister Rosetta Tharpe
Her electric gospel guitar lit the fuse for rock and roll.