Social Justice & Popular Music: Archival Materials

This collection includes seven concert posters for performances held at the auditorium in Bluefield, West Viriginia, and illustrate how shows were promoted to segregated audiences. Performers included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Ruth Brown, The Coasters, Fats Domino, The Five Satins, Ernie Freeman, Etta James, Little Richard, and "Big" Joe Turner.

The Bomp! Records Collection roughly spans the years 1944 to 2007. Series II: Periodicals is of primary interest here, as it contains zines and newspapers that document youth and counterculture during the 1960s, as well as the indie underground culture of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in the United States.

The Gayle Wald Riot Grrrl Collection spans the years 1991 to 1994 and consists mainly of correspondence, flyers, radio show playlists, stickers, zines, and other miscellaneous materials related to the Riot Grrrl movement. More specifically, the materials relate to the New York City, Chicago, and D.C. chapters of Riot Grrrl. The collection provides a unique look into the Riot Grrrl movement from the perspective of the performers and record labels to the fans and critics

The Immaculate Funk Collection contains video interviews and transcripts, dating from 1996 to 1999, that were used to create the documentary film, Immaculate Funk: The Jerry Wexler Story. The Immaculate Funk Collection documents the influence of Wexler on the development of mainstream rhythm & blues. Whether it was his insistence on scrapping the "race records" tag for vintage soul music in favor for "rhythm and blues," or his use of the largely white Muscle Shoals team as support on Aretha Franklin's career-defining hits, Wexler is viewed as an avid music enthusiast who shattered color boundaries in music at a time when race relations in this country were reaching a boiling point..

The Kill Rock Stars Collection spans the years 1991 to 2010 and contains artist and office files related to the indie Kill Rock Stars (KRS) record label, which includes a number of Riot Grrrl artists, like Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney. Artist files consist of press releases, clippings, photographs, tour dates, radio reports, biographical information, artist proofs, and poster art.

The Sing Out! Records document folk music and its related genres throughout the decades of the 1940s to the present. The collection documents music as it serves "the common cause of humanity," and therefore, contains information and imagery related to a variety of social and political issues, including the civil and women’s rights movements, labor rights, economic and social justice, freedom of assembly, and the anti-nuclear and anti-war movements. The collection is particularly rich in its documentation of women and minorities in music.

Civil Rights leader and politician Julian Bond speaks briefly and then introduces keynote speaker and rock, soul, and blues scholar Peter Guralnick. Bond discusses Guralnick’s importance in terms of discussing issues of race in the music of Sam Cooke. Guralnick speaks about Sam Cooke as a creative artist, including his determination and songwriting.

A panel consisting of Woody Guthrie and labor scholar Ron Cohen, musician and activist Billy Bragg, folk music promoter and Weavers manager Harold Leventhal, Guthrie's longtime friend Jimmy Longhi, and music author and editor Dave Marsh discuss the politics of Woody Guthrie. Topics include grass roots movements, peace and war, civil rights, and labor unions.

Clague argues that as an ongoing process of commentary, the many versions of Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner" move deftly between protest and patriotism. At once, Hendrix’s reconceptions show great sensitivity to Francis Scott Key’s lyrics while exploding this text to question who is American and how one should practice the art of citizenship. By Woodstock, Hendrix’s Banner had coalesced as a set of compositional possibilities, offering an eloquent statement that resonated deeply with the counter-cultural energies of Woodstock as youth utopia.

Includes multiple panels and performances on hip-hop as culture, hip-hop journalism and fashion, the history of early hip-hop, the production of hip-hop music, and the art and poetry of the MC (with Nelson George).

Ann Powers speaks about the intersection of sexuality and popular music. Highlights include an analysis of the evolution of the shimmy and a discussion of rock music's history of racial imitation.

Education Department Program Manager Susan Oehler lectures on the topic of women in rock, focusing on issues of gender and the contributions of women within the history of rock and roll.

Arlo Guthrie performs and tells stories about his life and music.

Interview with rhythm and blues pioneer Darlene Love, who discusses rock and roll, performing with The Blossoms, recording with Phil Spector, and her reaction to the Rock Hall's Women Who Rock exhibit.

Ann and Nancy Wilson of the band Heart are interviewed on being female artists in a male-dominated rock world, including navigating stylistic changes and feminism.