Popular Entertainment

Elvis Presley Record

This Museum's popular entertainment collections hold some of the Smithsonian's most beloved artifacts. The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz reside here, along with the Muppet character Kermit the Frog, and props from popular television series such as M*A*S*H and All in the Family. But as in many of the Museum's collections, the best-known objects are a small part of the story.

The collection also encompasses many other artifacts of 19th- and 20th-century commercial theater, film, radio, and TV—some 50,000 sound recordings dating back to 1903; posters, publicity stills, and programs from films and performances; puppets; numerous items from World's Fairs from 1851 to 1992; and audiovisual materials on Groucho Marx, to name only a few.

Topic: Photography

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

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

Black Crook Series

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 1860s
ID Number
2016.0201.02
accession number
2016.0201
catalog number
2016.0201.02

Black Crook Series

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 1860s
ID Number
2016.0201.01
accession number
2016.0201
catalog number
2016.0201.01

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

Liza Minnelli and a man dancing

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
depicted (sitter)
Minnelli, Liza
ID Number
2013.0327.1263
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1263

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

Alice in Wonderland

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
VIEW-MASTER
ID Number
2017.0097.0014
accession number
2017.0097
catalog number
2017.0097.0014

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

DeFord Bailey

Deford Bailey spent fifteen years as a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry (1926-1941). In that time he established himself as one of the show's most popular performers and an influential harmonica player.
Description
Deford Bailey spent fifteen years as a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry (1926-1941). In that time he established himself as one of the show's most popular performers and an influential harmonica player. As a master of blues, jazz, and old-time country, Bailey was a vital link between older and more modern music styles. In 1974, he returned to the Opry stage as part of the "Old Timers' Reunion." He is most well-known for "Pan American Blues," a harmonica piece that sounds like a passing locomotive.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.043
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.043

Charlie Monroe

Charlie Monroe, Bill Monroe's older brother, helped lay the groundwork for bluegrass music during their few years together. The brothers separated in 1938, after recording for only two years. Charlie continued to perform until he retired in 1957.
Description
Charlie Monroe, Bill Monroe's older brother, helped lay the groundwork for bluegrass music during their few years together. The brothers separated in 1938, after recording for only two years. Charlie continued to perform until he retired in 1957. Thanks to Jimmy Martin's persuasion, Monroe re-emerged in 1972 and performed again until his death in 1975.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
Associated Name
Monroe, Charlie
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.105
catalog number
2003.0169.105
accession number
2003.0169

Bob Dylan in the Solarium at the Castle

With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
depicted (sitter)
Dylan, Bob
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0138.08
accession number
1998.0138
catalog number
1998.0138.08

Holy Modal Rounders

The Holy Modal Rounders, a folk/country band, was formed in 1961 by guitarist Steve Weber (right) and banjoist and fiddler Peter Stampfel in New York City's Greenwich Villiage.
Description
The Holy Modal Rounders, a folk/country band, was formed in 1961 by guitarist Steve Weber (right) and banjoist and fiddler Peter Stampfel in New York City's Greenwich Villiage. The popular music label, Rounder Records, owes its name to this innovative and controversial band.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.032
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.032

Mack Magaha

Mach Magaha (1929-2003) was a sought-after bluegrass fiddler. A member of Don Reno and Red Smiley's Tennessee Cut-Ups in the 1950s and 1960s, he next worked with Porter Wagoner for nearly twenty years.Currently not on view
Description
Mach Magaha (1929-2003) was a sought-after bluegrass fiddler. A member of Don Reno and Red Smiley's Tennessee Cut-Ups in the 1950s and 1960s, he next worked with Porter Wagoner for nearly twenty years.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1975
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.037
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.037

Stoney and Wilma Lee Cooper

The Coopers welcomed Henry Horestein in their home, a great example of the accessibility of stars just thirty years ago. Wilma Lee (Leigh Leary, b. 1921) and Stoney Cooper (Dale Troy, 1918-1977) ranked as one of the great husband-wife teams in country music.
Description
The Coopers welcomed Henry Horestein in their home, a great example of the accessibility of stars just thirty years ago. Wilma Lee (Leigh Leary, b. 1921) and Stoney Cooper (Dale Troy, 1918-1977) ranked as one of the great husband-wife teams in country music. Their musical careers helped to bridge older and newer styles.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.038
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.038

Tex Ritter and Fans

Fans stand in line waiting for Tex Ritter's autograph.Currently not on view
Description
Fans stand in line waiting for Tex Ritter's autograph.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.065
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.065

Ernest Tubb signing autographs

For much of his career, Ernest Tubb, the "Texas Troubadour" was considered the ultimate honky tonk vocalist and stylist. Inspired by Jimmie Rodgers in the 1920s, Tubb sustained a musical career that at times also branched into film and television.
Description
For much of his career, Ernest Tubb, the "Texas Troubadour" was considered the ultimate honky tonk vocalist and stylist. Inspired by Jimmie Rodgers in the 1920s, Tubb sustained a musical career that at times also branched into film and television. No artist toured as much, or for as long as Ernest Tubb, who worked 150 to 200 shows each year between the early 1960s and 1982. No artist was kinder to his fans, and no fans were more loyal to their star. Ernest Tubb had one national fan club with a single president for its entire existence between 1944 and its deactivation in the early 1990s.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.086
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.086

Bashful Brother Oswald

For nearly 60 years, Breecher Ray "Bashful Brother Oswald" Kirby (1911-2002) was one of the most influential and talented dobro players in country music.Currently not on view
Description
For nearly 60 years, Breecher Ray "Bashful Brother Oswald" Kirby (1911-2002) was one of the most influential and talented dobro players in country music.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.048
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.048

Ann Ford

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.119
catalog number
2014.0112.119
accession number
2014.0112

Grant Turner

Known to millions as both the "Voice" and the "Dean" of the Grand Ole Opry, Grant Turner (1912-1991) worked for WSM radio for nearly 50 years.Currently not on view
Description
Known to millions as both the "Voice" and the "Dean" of the Grand Ole Opry, Grant Turner (1912-1991) worked for WSM radio for nearly 50 years.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.056
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.056

Ernest Tubb performing

Henry Horenstein's photographs of fans swarming Ernest Tubb (1914-1984) was a familiar scene. Fans had many opportunities to see, hear, and hug Tubb. Between the early 1960s and 1982, he worked 150 to 200 shows each year.Currently not on view
Description
Henry Horenstein's photographs of fans swarming Ernest Tubb (1914-1984) was a familiar scene. Fans had many opportunities to see, hear, and hug Tubb. Between the early 1960s and 1982, he worked 150 to 200 shows each year.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.083
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.083

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.