The LoC has music and film to rival the depth and historical complexity of its image archives:
Fiddle Tunes of the Old Frontier is a field collection of traditional fiddle tunes performed by Henry Reed. Browse it by Musical Genres for tunes that evoke the history and spirit of Virginia's Appalachian frontier. Some strains lay dormant, in the repertory of a few elder musicians, until they are rediscovered by the next generation and pass back into wider circulation. Hear, for example, Reed's version of "Salt River," a tune recorded by Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys in 1964 under the title "Salt Creek," and the piece "Breakdown in A" which joined the modern bluegrass repertory after Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys recorded it as "Clinch Mountain Backstep."Both selections from Today in History: April 28
-
Cameraman G.W. "Billy" Bitzer filmed Professor Leonidas and his troupe of dogs and cats in the film short Stealing a Dinner on April 28, 1899. The film was shot at the Biograph studio at 841 Broadway in New York City. The film is described in the 1902 Biograph catalog:One of the dogs is shown stealing his dinner from the table in the master's absence. In order to cover his own crime, the dog places a cat on the table, where she is found when the master comes in. The master shoots the cat, and is promptly arrested by a large dog dressed in policeman's clothes.
-
