The work of Donna Summer sits at the heart of Disco’s brief and influential time at the center of American pop culture. In this episode, we look beyond the title “Queen of Disco,” to understand Donna’s ride to the top of the charts and the work that made her an icon. 

Find more information at s.si.edu/collected. 

Guests

Daphne Brooks, Ph.D., is professor of African American Studies and Music at Yale University. Dr. Brooks most recent books is Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound (Harvard University, February 2021). https://afamstudies.yale.edu/people/daphne-brooks  

Fredara Hadley, Ph.D., is an ethnomusicology professor in the Music History Department at The Juilliard School.  Her research focuses on the influence of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in music history. Dr. Hadley’s work has been published in academic and popular journals. https://www.juilliard.edu/faculty/hadley-fredara  

Crystal M.  Moten, Ph.D., is a historian who specializes in twentieth century African American Women’s History. In 2023 she published Continually Working: Black Women, Community Intellectualism, and Economic Justice in Postwar Milwaukee. Dr. Moten is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago, Illinois and was previously curator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History  https://www.crystalmoten.com/  

Dwandalyn R. Reece, Ph.D., is curator of Music and Performing Arts at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Dr. Reece curated the museum’s permanent exhibition, Musical Crossroads, for which she received the Secretary’s Research Prize in 2017.   https://music.si.edu/dr-dwandalyn-reece    

Fath Davis Ruffins was a curator of African American History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH). She began working at the museum in 1981, and between 1988 and 2005, she was the head of the Collection of Advertising History at the NMAH Archives Center. Ruffins was the original project director of Many Voices, One Nation, an exhibition that opened at NMAH in June 2017. She was leading a museum project on the history and culture of the Low Country region of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.   https://profiles.si.edu/display/nruffinsf1102006  

Craig Seymour, Ph.D. is a photographer and author, whose work has been published in The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe, Paste, Spin, and other publications. Dr. Seymour’s most recent book is a biography of Luther Vandross, Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross (2004). The Archives of African American Music and Culture at Indiana University hold the materials Seymour collected when he was researching his book on Vandross.  https://randbeing.com/ 

Tina Turner always commanded the audience’s attention—with her dancing, energy, and rich singing voice.  In this episode, we explore Tina Turner’s career and learn how she became known as “The Queen of Rock.” Her genius as a performer who couldn’t be placed in a genre is clear, and her courage and impact extended far beyond the stage. 

Find more information at s.si.edu/collected. 

Guests

Daphne Brooks, Ph.D., is professor of African American Studies and Music at Yale University. Dr. Brooks most recent books is Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound (Harvard University, February 2021). https://afamstudies.yale.edu/people/daphne-brooks

Margo Jefferson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and a 2022 recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize for Nonfiction. Her most recent book is Constructing a Nervous System: A Memoir (2022). She is a professor of Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University. https://arts.columbia.edu/profiles/margo-jefferson

Portia K. Maultsby, Ph.D., is professor emerita of ethnomusicology at Indiana University. She is the author of numerous books and articles and was the founder and first director of the Archives of African American Music and Culture. Dr. Maultsby led Carnegie Hall’s comprehensive, online resource, the Timeline of African American Music.  https://folklore.indiana.edu/about/emeriti-faculty/maultsby-portia.html

Crystal M. Moten, Ph.D. is a historian who specializes in twentieth century African American Women’s History. In 2023 she published Continually Working: Black Women, Community Intellectualism, and Economic Justice in Postwar Milwaukee. Dr. Moten is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago, Illinois and was previously curator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History https://www.crystalmoten.com

Dwandalyn R. Reece, Ph.D., is curator of Music and Performing Arts at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Dr. Reece curated the museum’s permanent exhibition, Musical Crossroads, for which she received the Secretary’s Research Prize in 2017.   https://music.si.edu/dr-dwandalyn-reece    

Fath Davis Ruffins was a curator of African American History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH). She began working at the museum in 1981, and between 1988 and 2005, she was the head of the Collection of Advertising History at the NMAH Archives Center. Ruffins was the original project director of Many Voices, One Nation, an exhibition that opened at NMAH in June 2017. She was leading a museum project on the history and culture of the Low Country region of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.   https://profiles.si.edu/display/nruffinsf1102006  

Ella Fitzgerald “The First Lady of Song” is one of the foremothers of Jazz, known for her crystal-clear voice and the innovation of scat singing. In this episode, we focus on Ella, her contributions to jazz, and the overall American songbook. 

Find more information at s.si.edu/collected. 

Guests  

Margo Jefferson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and a 2022 recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize for Nonfiction. Her most recent book is Constructing a Nervous System: a memoir (2022). She is a professor of Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University. https://arts.columbia.edu/profiles/margo-jefferson  

Fath Davis Ruffins was a curator of African American History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH). She began working at the museum in 1981, and between 1988 and 2005, she was the head of the Collection of Advertising History at the NMAH Archives Center. Ruffins was the original project director of Many Voices, One Nation, an exhibition that opened at NMAH in June 2017. She was leading a museum project on the history and culture of the Low Country region of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.   https://profiles.si.edu/display/nruffinsf1102006  

Judith Tick, PhD is the Matthews Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Music History at Northeastern University in Boston. Tick is a leading scholar of the study of gender and women’s history in music. Her most recent book is the 2023 biography Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: the Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song. 

How do we understand the work of Beyoncé? While she is one of the most well-known and appreciated Black women in music today, to understand her work, you need to see who came before her and what those women contributed to the story of Black women on stage. In this opening episode of the season, we take a look at the web of Black women in music and introduce the core themes of the season to our listeners, including innovation, labor, impact, and legacy. We also introduce the women profiled over the next four episodes and discuss why they were chosen (and why not others). 

Find more information at s.si.edu/collected. 

Guests: 

Daphne A. Brooks, PhD., is professor of African American Studies and Music at Yale University. Dr. Brooks most recent books is Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound (Harvard University, February 2021). https://afamstudies.yale.edu/people/daphne-brooks  

Margo Jefferson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, and a 2022 recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize for Nonfiction. Her most recent book is Constructing a Nervous System: a memoir (2022). She is a professor of Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University. https://arts.columbia.edu/profiles/margo-jefferson  

Crystal M.  Moten, Ph.D., is a historian who specializes in twentieth century African American Women’s History. In 2023 she published Continually Working: Black Women, Community Intellectualism, and Economic Justice in Postwar Milwaukee. She is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago, Illinois and was previously curator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History  https://www.crystalmoten.com/  

Dwandalyn R. Reece, Ph.D. is curator of Music and Performing Arts at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and curated the museum’s permanent exhibition, Musical Crossroads, for which she received the Secretary’s Research Prize in 2017.   https://music.si.edu/dr-dwandalyn-reece    

Fath Davis Ruffins was a Curator of African American History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH). She began working at the museum in 1981, and between 1988 and 2005, she was the head of the Collection of Advertising History at the NMAH Archives Center. Ruffins was the original project director of Many Voices, One Nation, an exhibition that opened at NMAH in June 2017.  She was leading a museum project on the history and culture of the Low Country region of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. https://profiles.si.edu/display/nruffinsf1102006  

Craig Seymour is a writer, photographer, and critic who has written about music, particularly Black music for over two decades.  His most recent book is Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross (HarperCollins, 2004).   https://randbeing.com/

Find more information at s.si.edu/collected. 

Find more information at s.si.edu/collected. 

Find more information at s.si.edu/collected.