Illustrated Sound Recordings
Performances of song and concerts from the Library of Congress are available on this site as well as interviews with performers and composers.
The themes of selected American songs are presented in these sound recordings illustrated with images from the Library of Congress' collections. See pictures of the doomed Titanic and its passengers in the ethnographic recording of "God Moves on the Water," sung by Lightnin' Washington. Experience the tragedy of Lincoln's assassination in the 1949 recording of "Booth Killed Lincoln." Feel the emotions of the civil rights movement in mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani's version of "At the River," recorded in concert at the Library's Coolidge Auditorium. These examples and more show the powerful connection between song and images.