On February 13, 1914, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) was founded in New York City. The purpose of this organization was–and remains–protecting the copyright and performance rights of the works of its members: composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers. ASCAP’s first director was composer and musician Victor Herbert, an eloquent supporter of musicians’ rights to receive royalties for the use of their work.

According to the story told about the birth of the society, the popular composer Victor Herbert became aware of the need for protection of musical creators’ rights when he was visiting a hotel and overheard a musician playing a piece of music that he had written. He knew that he had not been paid for the use of his music in performance, even though copyright law had protected against the unauthorized public performance of music since 1897. From that time, Herbert worked hard to organize creative artists into a collective and to bring the problem of payment of royalties to the attention of policymakers.

Compositions of ASCAP Members

Early associated with Thomas Edison, Herbert recognized the importance of the phonograph, making and issuing early recordings of some of his works in orchestral versions. Herbert’s testimony had an impact on the passage of the 1909 Copyright Law of the United States (PDF), that extended composers’ rights to include royalties for the sale of recorded music.

Herbert served as director and vice president of ASCAP until his death in 1924. Some other members of ASCAP represented in the Library’s collections include W.C. Handy, Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, Ira and George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, and Leonard Bernstein.

Today, members of ASCAP include musical composers of all types of music from rock, hip hop, country western, and musical comedy, to symphonic and operatic music. A small sample of the ASCAP membership includes Andrew Lloyd Webber, Mariah Carey, Elvis Costello, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Stephen Sondheim, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews, Burt Bacharach, André Previn, Alanis Morrisette, and Korn.

Italian-American Mario Olmeda shared his passion for traditional Italian singing with folk music collector Sidney Robertson Cowell on February 13, 1939, in Concord, California. Cowell recorded Olmeda’s rendition of six Italian folksongs, including Marinaro (The Sailor), and La Capinera (The Blackbird), a song that he said he had learned from his father. Cowell also visited Italian-American communities in the nearby towns of Martinez, Pittsburg, and Woodside.

Listen to recordings of such titles as Addio Mamma(Goodbye Mama), Sugnu Monica per si e per no Lu Zitu Voglio e la Tonica No (I Want My Sweetheart and not this Nun’s Robe), and Mio Marito e un Uomo Tipatiello (My Husband’s an Old Grouch). Cowell’s comments on the Sicilians, made during her 1939 visit to Pittsburg, California, provide additional insight into this community and their songs.

Listen to the musical heritage and view photographs of numerous ethnic groups representative of the diverse peoples who settled in the San Francisco Bay Area in California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell. The collection includes recordings by Armenians and commentary on some of their performances, as well as recordings by Basque and Croatian performers and images of some of their musical instruments and performers. Browse by Subject, Contributors, Musical Instruments, or by individual Audio Titles. Search the collection on terms such as guitar, Portuguese, or wedding.