Music & Musical Instruments

The Museum's music collections contain more than 5,000 instruments of American and European heritage. These include a quartet of 18th-century Stradivari stringed instruments, Tito Puente's autographed timbales, and the Yellow Cloud guitar that belonged to Prince, to name only a few. Music collections also include jukeboxes and synthesizers, square-dancing outfits and sheet music, archival materials, oral histories, and recordings of performances at the museum. The vast Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated Sheet Music is a remarkable window into the American past in words, music, and visual imagery. The Duke Ellington and Ruth Ellington Boatwright collections contain handwritten music compositions, sound recordings, business records, and other materials documenting the career of this renowned musician. In various ways, our collections find expression in performances of the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and in other public programs.

The Sputniks. side 1: HEY, MARYANN; side 2: MY LOVE IS GONE (Class 217)45 rpm.Musical groups in Scandinavia, Brazil, East Germany, and the United States took the name "The Sputniks." This doo-wop recording is by a short-lived American group.
Description

The Sputniks. side 1: HEY, MARYANN; side 2: MY LOVE IS GONE (Class 217)
45 rpm.

Musical groups in Scandinavia, Brazil, East Germany, and the United States took the name "The Sputniks." This doo-wop recording is by a short-lived American group. Side two is a recording of "My Love is Gone."

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1958
composer
Nathan, N.
Vikki, J.
recording artist
Sputniks, The
manufacturer
Class
ID Number
1996.0153.20014
label number
217
accession number
1996.0153
catalog number
1996.0153.20014
Billy Mitchell and The Basie-ites. side 1: Pickin' on the Wrong Chicken; side 2: Satellite Beep Bop (Imperial X5520)45 rpm.Tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell of Detroit made these recordings with several other members of Count Basie's legendary jazz orchestra.Currently not on view
Description

Billy Mitchell and The Basie-ites. side 1: Pickin' on the Wrong Chicken; side 2: Satellite Beep Bop (Imperial X5520)
45 rpm.

Tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell of Detroit made these recordings with several other members of Count Basie's legendary jazz orchestra.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1958
composer
Michael
Korgich
recording artist
The Basie-ites
Mitchell, Billy
composer
Young
Bruhn
manufacturer
Imperial
ID Number
1996.0153.18237
catalog number
1996.0153.18237
label number
X5520
accession number
1996.0153
The Equadors. side 1: Sputnik Dance / I'll Be the One; side 2: A Vision / Stay a Little Longer (RCA EPA 4286).45 rpm.Alan Turner, the lead singer in The Equadors, a Philadelphia rhythm and blues band, composed the song "Sputnik Dance," which the group recorded in early 1958.
Description

The Equadors. side 1: Sputnik Dance / I'll Be the One; side 2: A Vision / Stay a Little Longer (RCA EPA 4286).
45 rpm.

Alan Turner, the lead singer in The Equadors, a Philadelphia rhythm and blues band, composed the song "Sputnik Dance," which the group recorded in early 1958. Track 2 on this side was the song "I'll Be the One." The other side had songs "A Vision" and "Stay a Little Longer." The Equadors later renamed the group The Modern Ink Spots, and sang for several years.

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1958
maker
RCA Victor
ID Number
2007.0048.01
accession number
2007.0048
catalog number
2007.0048.01
maker number
EPA 4286
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978
depicted (sitter)
Kennedy, Edward M.
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.584
catalog number
2014.0112.584
accession number
2014.0112
Rock-Krister.
Description

Rock-Krister. side 1: Sputnick Rock and Roll [track 1] Hallo-Man Beat [track 2]; side 2: Don the Bop [track 1] I Got You [track 2] (Jan 45-080)
45 rpm.

The Swedish rock musician Rock-Krister initially recorded this song in 1958 and included it on this retrospective recording of 1965. On the same side of the recording is "Hallo-man Beat." Side two has "Do the Bop" [rack 1] and "I Got You" [track 2].

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
recording artist
Rock - Krister
manufacturer
Jan
ID Number
1996.0153.19337
catalog number
1996.0153.19337
label number
45-080
accession number
1996.0153

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