Music

Sub-Topics
Luther Allison (1939–1997)
Blues guitarist and singer Luther Allison was born in Arkansas, but like many of his contemporaries in the rur...
Joshua Altheimer (1911–1940)
Joshua Altheimer was one of the Delta’s most prolific blues pianists. Altheimer mastered the emerging boogi...
Arkansas [Album]
Arkansas is an album written and recorded by John Oates, a New York–born inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall ...
Arkansas Chamber Singers
The Arkansas Chamber Singers (ACS) is vocal ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting classical and conte...
Arkansas River Blues Society
The Arkansas River Blues Society (ARBS), based in Little Rock (Pulaski County), began its life as the Arkansas...
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, based in Little Rock (Pulaski County), provides opportunities for the residen...
Arkansas Waltz
In 1917, the Arkansas General Assembly designated “Arkansas,” a patriotic anthem composed by Eva Ware Barn...
Hubert Carl (Hugh) Ashley (1915–2008)
Hubert Carl (Hugh) Ashley lived a life revolving around country and western music and public service. He wrote...
Band Museum
The Band Museum in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) housed an extensive collection of wind instruments and offere...
Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes (1963–)
Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes is a musician, writer, naturalist, park ranger, ethnographic photographer, and actor...
E. M. Bartlett (1883–1941)
aka: Eugene Monroe Bartlett Sr.
With the exception of his protégé, Albert E. Brumley, no other Ar...
Bazooka [Musical Instrument]
Although today it is more commonly applied to the anti-tank weapon widely used during World War II, or to a pr...
Stopover of the Beatles
In 1964, the world’s most popular music group, the Beatles, visited the Lawrence County town of Walnut Ridge...
Al Bell (1940–)
aka: Alvertis Isbell
Al Bell is considered the driving force behind Stax Records as a pr...
Alvin Silas (Al) Bennett (1926–1989)
Alvin Silas (Al) Bennett was a recording industry executive best known for his tenure as president and directo...
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas, a popular rock and roll band of the 1970s from rural Arkansas near Black Oak (Craighead Co...
Blues Music
The origins of the blues are murky, but the state of Arkansas seems to have hosted the music and its creators ...
Gretha Denise Boston (1959–)
Gretha Denise Boston is a celebrated mezzo-soprano and Tony Award–winning actress. She made her Carnegie Hal...
Lester Bowie Jr. (1941–1999)
Lester Bowie Jr.—a revered experimental jazz trumpeter, composer, and band leader—lived in Little Rock (P...
Elton Britt (1913–1972)
aka: James Elton Baker
Elton Britt was a popular country singer of the 1940s, with a yodel...
Brockwell Gospel Music School
The Brockwell Gospel Music School offers instruction in choral and instrumental musical techniques for those w...
"Big Bill" Broonzy (1893?–1958)
aka: William Conley Lee Broonzy
Although William Lee Conley “Big Bill” Broonzy achieved fame an...
Jim Ed Brown (1934–2015)
Country and western music star Jim Ed Brown’s career spanned more than half a century since the early 1950s....
Maxine Brown (1931–2019)
Maxine Brown was a musician known for her work with the country group the Browns in the 1950s and early 1960s....
The Browns
A vocal trio from southern Arkansas, the Browns had several country hits. They were also instrumental in the d...
Albert Edward Brumley (1905–1977)
Albert Edward Brumley Sr. was one of the most successful American gospel song composers of the twentieth centu...
Roy Buchanan (1939–1988)
aka: Leroy Buchanan
Leroy (Roy) Buchanan was a guitar innovator whose skill inspired an...
William Bunch (1902–1941)
aka: Peetie Wheatstraw
William Bunch, known as “Peetie Wheatstraw,” was raised in Cott...
Sonny Burgess (1929–2017)
aka: Albert Austin Burgess
Albert Austin “Sonny” Burgess was best known as one of the orig...
Billy Don Burns (1949–)
Billy Don Burns is a country singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Born and raised in Arkansas, he has made his h...
Bobby “El Charro Negro” Butler (1937–2016)
Bobby “El Charro Negro” Butler broke down barriers as the first African American to become an award-winnin...
Sarah Caldwell (1924–2006)
A member of the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, Sarah Caldwell was an internationally recognized American...