Music

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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...
Red album covered with gold borders and logo in center with "John Oates Arkansas with the Good Road Band" text
Arkansas [Album]
Arkansas is an album written and recorded by John Oates, a New York–born inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall ...
Group of white men and women singing in choir with sheet music books in hand
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...
White men and women dressed in black sitting in rows of chairs playing classical instruments
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, based in Little Rock (Pulaski County), provides opportunities for the residen...
signed photo with white man in purple shirt and vest holding an acoustic guitar
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...
UPS truck tree and car on street in front of storefront building that says "the band museum" on the front
Band Museum
The Band Museum in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) housed an extensive collection of wind instruments and offere...
Young African-American man kneeling in uniform with alligator in truck bed
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...
white man dressed as cowboy blowing into long, tubular musical instrument
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...
grid photo of four young white men
Stopover of the Beatles
In 1964, the world’s most popular music group, the Beatles, visited the Lawrence County town of Walnut Ridge...
African-American man with glasses and mustache smiling in suit and bow tie
Al Bell (1940–)
aka: Alvertis Isbell
Al Bell is considered the driving force behind Stax Records as a pr...
Mural featuring a white man's face and three cartoon chipmunks.
Alvin Silas (Al) Bennett (1926–1989)
Alvin Silas (Al) Bennett was a recording industry executive best known for his tenure as president and directo...
Five white men with long hair on lawn furniture below tree, accompanied by two white women
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas, a popular rock and roll band of the 1970s from rural Arkansas near Black Oak (Craighead Co...
African-American man in suit sitting on a bench playing guitar
Blues Music
The origins of the blues are murky, but the state of Arkansas seems to have hosted the music and its creators ...
African-American woman with short hair in black dress
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...
Young white man wearing cowboy hat boots and western outfit holding sides of belt buckle with both hands smiling inscription "to Billy always
Elton Britt (1913–1972)
aka: James Elton Baker
Elton Britt was a popular country singer of the 1940s, with a yodel...
small white shed "Brockwell Music School"
Brockwell Gospel Music School
The Brockwell Gospel Music School offers instruction in choral and instrumental musical techniques for those w...
African-American man in suit sitting on a bench playing guitar
"Big Bill" Broonzy (1893?–1958)
aka: William Conley Lee Broonzy
Although William Lee Conley “Big Bill” Broonzy achieved fame an...
White man in suit and white girl in plaid shirt
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....
Book cover featuring woman in a dress in front of a poster about Elvis
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....
Portrait of white man in tuxedo and two white women in formal dresses and earrings
The Browns
A vocal trio from southern Arkansas, the Browns had several country hits. They were also instrumental in the d...
painting of white man in glasses
Albert Edward Brumley (1905–1977)
Albert Edward Brumley Sr. was one of the most successful American gospel song composers of the twentieth centu...
White man with long hair and beard in a hat playing a Fender Telecaster style electric guitar on stage
Roy Buchanan (1939–1988)
aka: Leroy Buchanan
Leroy (Roy) Buchanan was a guitar innovator whose skill inspired an...
African-American man in suit and tie playing a metal bodied resonator acoustic guitar on album cover with gold text
William Bunch (1902–1941)
aka: Peetie Wheatstraw
William Bunch, known as “Peetie Wheatstraw,” was raised in Cott...
Older white man in a yellow shirt and black hat playing an electric guitar on stage in front of a microphone
Sonny Burgess (1929–2017)
aka: Albert Austin Burgess
Albert Austin “Sonny” Burgess was best known as one of the orig...
Two white men with beards and mustaches with their arms around each other
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...
Older white woman in glasses holding a baton over her head
Sarah Caldwell (1924–2006)
A member of the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, Sarah Caldwell was an internationally recognized American...