Music & Musical Instruments

Jesse Fuller's Silvertone Guitar

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.

Date: 2000s

Jethro Burns

Jethro Burns (1920-1989) was half of the Grammy-winning country comedy duo, Homer and Jethro, which performed from 1936 to 1971.
Description
Jethro Burns (1920-1989) was half of the Grammy-winning country comedy duo, Homer and Jethro, which performed from 1936 to 1971. Such hits as "I've Got Tears in My Ears from Lying on My Back in Bed While I Cry Over You," reveal his sense of humor more than his exceptional and influential mandolin playing.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1976
print
2003
Associated Name
Burns, Jethro
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.102
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.102

Tex Ritter and Fans

Henry Horenstein's photograph of this multigenerational crowd shows that fans of country music are not defined by age, but rather by choice of performers and styles of country music.
Description
Henry Horenstein's photograph of this multigenerational crowd shows that fans of country music are not defined by age, but rather by choice of performers and styles of country music. Although Tex Ritter (Woodward Maurice Ritter, 1905-1975) attained most of his fame as a Hollywood singing cowboy in the 1930s and 1940s, he still performed into the 1970s. Ritter won an Academy Award in 1953 for the best theme song, "High Noon," for the movie of the same name.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.063
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.063

Kitty Wells

The "Queen of Country Music," Kitty Wells, (Ellen Muriel Deason, b. 1918) emerged in 1952 as the first female country vocalist to win and sustain major stardom.
Description
The "Queen of Country Music," Kitty Wells, (Ellen Muriel Deason, b. 1918) emerged in 1952 as the first female country vocalist to win and sustain major stardom. Her release, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,"--a lyrical response to Hank Thompson's "The Wild Side of Life"--was a hit. Wells and her husband, Johnny Wright, continued to work a full schedule well into the 1990s.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1983
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.073
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.073

Big Band

date made
2005
ID Number
2015.0102.01
accession number
2015.0102
catalog number
2015.0102.01

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis (b. 1935) one of the first rockabilly artists, was known for his hit songs "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (1957) and "Great Balls of Fire" (1961).
Description
Jerry Lee Lewis (b. 1935) one of the first rockabilly artists, was known for his hit songs "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (1957) and "Great Balls of Fire" (1961). Lewis's flamboyant style and sound grew out of his Louisiana upbringing, a mix of traditional country and gospel, boogie woogie on the radio, and music he heard at his uncle's honky-tonk.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1975
print
2003
Associated Name
Lewis, Jerry Lee
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.101
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.101

Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Button

This button is from the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Festival, in 2006. It is a made of white paper with multi-color printing covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is an adhesive-backed name tag on the front of the badge.
Description

This button is from the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Festival, in 2006. It is a made of white paper with multi-color printing covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is an adhesive-backed name tag on the front of the badge. The button is printed:

[image of riverboat]
2006 SACRAMENTO
JAZZ JUBILEE
Lucille Levin
Sounds Like
FUN!
www.sacjazz.com

The Sacramento Music Festival (formerly the Old Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee) was an annual event held every Memorial Day weekend in Sacramento, California. Organized by the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, the festival was launched in 1974 and presented its final festival in 2017.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
2006
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.108
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.108

Program Seller

The program seller, "Black Cat" was a familiar face to many in Nashville.Currently not on view
Description
The program seller, "Black Cat" was a familiar face to many in Nashville.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.059
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.059

Fiddlin' Sid Harkreader

Sidney J. "Fiddlin' Sid" Harkreader (1898-1988) was well-known as the fiddler and vocalist who accompanied Uncle Dave Macon from the earliest days of the Grand Ole Opry.Currently not on view
Description
Sidney J. "Fiddlin' Sid" Harkreader (1898-1988) was well-known as the fiddler and vocalist who accompanied Uncle Dave Macon from the earliest days of the Grand Ole Opry.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.046
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.046

Billboard Latin Music Award, presented to Mongo Santamaría

This award was presented to Ramon "Mongo" Santamaría by Billboard magazine, in 2001. It is a clear glass panel on a black glass base.
Description (Brief)

This award was presented to Ramon "Mongo" Santamaría by Billboard magazine, in 2001. It is a clear glass panel on a black glass base. The panel is engraved:

PREMIOS
Billboard
DE LA MUSICA
LATINA
2001
HALL
DE LA
FAMA
MONGO SANTAMARIA

The Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame is a rarely presented honor presented by American magazine Billboard at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. The tribute was established in 1994 to recognize musical personalities who have commercially and critically impacted the Latin music industry. Mongo Santamaría was inducted unto the Latin Hall of Fame for “bridging Afro-Cuban grooves, jazz and R&B with his conga performances.”

Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (1917–2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and boogaloo dance crazes of the 1960s. From the 1970s, he recorded mainly salsa and Latin jazz, before retiring in the late 1990s. Santamaria made several recordings as a leader of his own group, as well as a sideman with Fania All-Stars, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ray Charles.

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2001
referenced
Santamaria, Ramon "Mongo"
ID Number
2005.0030.09
accession number
2005.0030
catalog number
2005.0030.09

Hank Snow

Born Clarence Eugene Snow (1914-1999) and known as "The Singing Ranger," Hank Snow possessed one of the most distinctive voices and styles in country music.
Description
Born Clarence Eugene Snow (1914-1999) and known as "The Singing Ranger," Hank Snow possessed one of the most distinctive voices and styles in country music. Rooted in the folk songs of his native Canada, Snow's music included the "blue yodels" of his idol Jimmie Rodgers, cowboy songs, Tin Pan Alley standards, and songs written by himself and other Nashville tunesmiths. In 1951, he and Anita Carter hit the record charts with "Bluebird Island" and its B-side, "Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts."
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.053
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.053

badge

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2003
ID Number
2016.0032.115
accession number
2016.0032
catalog number
2016.0032.115

Jazz Clarinet

Few aspects of the harm done to New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 are more poignant than the losses suffered by the musical community. The New Orleans jazz scene was especially vulnerable, since many jazz performers lived in areas inundated by the flood waters.
Description
Few aspects of the harm done to New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 are more poignant than the losses suffered by the musical community. The New Orleans jazz scene was especially vulnerable, since many jazz performers lived in areas inundated by the flood waters. One such performer was Dr. Michael White.
White's house on Pratt Drive filled with eight feet of water when the London Avenue Canal levee failed behind his neighborhood. That water sat for several weeks before pumps could drain the area, destroying White's furniture, his rooms, his priceless collection of jazz sheet music, his recordings, and a lifetime's collection of jazz clarinets. Over sixty rare wood and metal clarinets, some from the 19th century, were lost. One of them, this 1930s marching band clarinet from Elkhart, Indiana, found its way from White's devastated house to the Smithsonian to acknowledge the hit taken by the New Orleans musical community but also the resilience of this community in the face of setbacks and hardship. Katrina has given new meaning to the blues. The struggle to overcome this loss adds a powerful chapter to this city's storied record of musical achievement.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1930s
Associated Date
August - September 2005
referenced
White, Michael
ID Number
2006.0062.01
catalog number
2006.0062.01
accession number
2006.0062

Playbill: The Lion King

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2005
ID Number
2016.3009.308
nonaccession number
2016.3009
catalog number
2016.3009.308

Mardi Gras Freso Dixieland Society Badge

This badge is from The Fresno Dixieland Society Mardi Gras festival in Fresno, California, in 2002. It is made of white paper with multi-color ink, laminated in plastic. With a blue cord.
Description

This badge is from The Fresno Dixieland Society Mardi Gras festival in Fresno, California, in 2002. It is made of white paper with multi-color ink, laminated in plastic. With a blue cord. The badge is printed:

Mardi Gras
2002
[image of jester]
Fresno Dixieland Society
Fri Sat Sun

The Fresno Dixieland Society sponsors an annual weekend-long Mardi Gras festival with parades, performances, and dances featuring traditional jazz. The festival is held at several venues throughout Fresno.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
2002
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.122
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.122

Violoncello Case

This case was made by an unknown maker, 20th century. It is made of brown molded plastic, with metal fittings, and red plush lining. This case was accessioned with violoncello (Cat. #1980.0909.01).Currently not on view
Description
This case was made by an unknown maker, 20th century. It is made of brown molded plastic, with metal fittings, and red plush lining. This case was accessioned with violoncello (Cat. #1980.0909.01).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
20th century
ID Number
1980.0909.01.01
catalog number
1980.0909.01.01
accession number
1980.0909

badge

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2001
ID Number
2016.0032.114
accession number
2016.0032
catalog number
2016.0032.114

Lester Flatt

Lester Flatt ranks as one of the all-time preeminent lead singers in bluegrass music.
Description
Lester Flatt ranks as one of the all-time preeminent lead singers in bluegrass music. He spent the major years of his career, from 1948 to 1969, as half of the legendary team of Flatt & Scruggs, but also had some notable earlier experience as a sideman, including as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, and led his own group in the 1970s. He regularly performed on the Grand Ole Opry and appeared often on the festival circuit.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.045
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.045

"Hot Nuts" Fred's Lounge, Mamou, Louisiana

Fred's Lounge was a well-known honky-tonk in the heart of Cajun country. The bar opened at 7 a.m. on Saturday mornings to host the droves of visitors who came to hear the local bands that played from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Currently not on view
Description
Fred's Lounge was a well-known honky-tonk in the heart of Cajun country. The bar opened at 7 a.m. on Saturday mornings to host the droves of visitors who came to hear the local bands that played from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1977
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.039
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.039

Henry Horenstein with Maybelle Carter

Photographer Henry Horenstein stands with Mother Maybelle Carter for photograph.Currently not on view
Description
Photographer Henry Horenstein stands with Mother Maybelle Carter for photograph.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
Associated Name
Horenstein, Henry
Carter, Mother Maybelle
maker
Horenstein, Henry
Rosenburg, Lewis
ID Number
2003.0169.093
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.093

The March of Jazz Medallion

This medallion is from Arbors Records in Clearwater, Florida. It is a round clear plastic disc with a smaller disc attached to each side. There is an image of Flip Phillips on the reverse side.
Description

This medallion is from Arbors Records in Clearwater, Florida. It is a round clear plastic disc with a smaller disc attached to each side. There is an image of Flip Phillips on the reverse side. The obverse is printed:

CELEBRATING
FLIP PHILLIPS'
85TH BIRTHDAY
THE
MARCH
OF JAZZ
2000

Flip Phillips, born Joseph Edward Filipelli (1915-2001), was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player.

Arbors Records is an independent label founded by Mat and Rachel Domber in Clearwater, Florida, in 1989. The label focuses on swing music and Dixieland jazz, and has added contemporary and classic jazz to its roster.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
2000
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.104
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.104

Tootsie at Closing Time

Tootsie [Hattie Louise Tatum Bess, d. 1978] took out her whistle at closing time. If that didn't work to get customers out the door, she used a jeweled hair pin--given to her by singer Charlie Pride--to give them a prod.
Description
Tootsie [Hattie Louise Tatum Bess, d. 1978] took out her whistle at closing time. If that didn't work to get customers out the door, she used a jeweled hair pin--given to her by singer Charlie Pride--to give them a prod. Her contribution to country music has been immortalized in song. "She's Known the greats and nearly greats and some that never made it./If there's a thing of paying dues, well Tootsie's surely paid it. She's got all of their pictures hanging all around./But, what's Tootsie gonna do when they tear the Ryman down?" "What's Tootsie Gonna Do (When They Tear the Ryman Down)" By Bill Sterling and John E. Denny
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
Associated Name
Bess, "Tootsie" Hattie Louise Tatum
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.106
catalog number
2003.0169.106
accession number
2003.0169

Schunk Bajazzo Tremolo Harmonica

This harmonica was made by Johann Schunk in Germany, mid-20th century. It is a Bajazzo (Harlequin) Tremolo model, with 12 double holes and 24 reeds. It has a blue and red painted wooden comb, ornately painted metal covers attached to the sides.
Description

This harmonica was made by Johann Schunk in Germany, mid-20th century. It is a Bajazzo (Harlequin) Tremolo model, with 12 double holes and 24 reeds. It has a blue and red painted wooden comb, ornately painted metal covers attached to the sides. Accessioned with original paper box. The harmonica is printed:

TRADE [image of castle] MARK
HARLEQUIN
JOHANN SCHUNK
CATSTLE BEAND
GERMANY

(and printed on box):

BAJAZZO
ARTIST HARP

Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid-20th century
maker
Schunk, Johann
ID Number
1991.0828.01
accession number
1991.0828
catalog number
1991.0828.01

Osborne Brothers

After performing individually with Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, and other headliners in the 1940s, Sonny (b.1937) and Bobby (b. 1931) Osborne became one of the most popular and innovative bluegrass groups of the postwar era.
Description
After performing individually with Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, and other headliners in the 1940s, Sonny (b.1937) and Bobby (b. 1931) Osborne became one of the most popular and innovative bluegrass groups of the postwar era. Experimenting in the mid-1960s, they added piano, steel guitar, and electric instruments. While these ventures angered traditionalists, their innovative sound attracted a new younger audience to country music.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.040
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.040

Carol Lee Cooper

Carol Lee Cooper (b.1942) provided vocal backup with her Carol Lee Singers for almost all the Grand Ole Opry acts beginning in the 1960s. Often without sheet music to work from and no time for a rehearsal, she devised a special system of hand signals for conducting the singers.
Description
Carol Lee Cooper (b.1942) provided vocal backup with her Carol Lee Singers for almost all the Grand Ole Opry acts beginning in the 1960s. Often without sheet music to work from and no time for a rehearsal, she devised a special system of hand signals for conducting the singers. On the dressing table is a lyric book in which she wrote the words of the songs and made notes. The photographer can be seen on the far right in the mirror.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.044
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.044

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