“Music America” Exhibition Makes National Debut at LBJ Library

Courtesy of Collection of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

A soundscape of American history, interactive exhibit “Music America: Iconic Objects From America’s Music History” will make its national debut at the LBJ Presidential Library on February 17.

“I think that when the exhibit opens, it’s going to be like nothing anyone has ever seen,” said Melissa Ziobro, curator of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University. “It combines these iconic objects from the biggest stars in American music, but also objects that illustrate how music ties into American history.”

Great interest in the project accelerated the exhibit’s preparation from a standard two-year endeavor to a rapid six-month development. “There are so many moving parts, since we are working with so many different institutions and the estates of so many artists and private collectors,” said Ziobro.

Curated by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music in association with New Orleans Jazz Museum, Hard Rock International, and prominent American music collectors, the exhibit will feature artifacts from artists in an array of genres spanning of 250 years.

The objects trek back to the earliest evidence of reproduced sound with a standard phonograph belonging to Thomas Edison and a 1771 hymnal from Boston. Among the modern mementos are Taylor Swift’s six-string and a costume from her 2018 Reputation stadium tour.

Among the vast collection of musical relics are Leonard Bernstein’s baton, seen in Academy Award-nominated biopic Maestro. Bo Diddley’s handmade guitar will offer insight into the 1950s and the popularization of blues and rock & roll. Billie Holiday’s signature fox fur stole will also be on display, a symbol of her defiance against class and racial prejudice during her reign as a jazz legend.

“Music America” will consist of interpretive text panels to contextualize each artifact, timelines to help establish the backdrop of each time period, and an interactive “song bar,” with over 100 tracks that demonstrate the depth of recording artists highlighted throughout.

“This list wasn’t necessarily about the chart toppers,” added Ziobro. “It’s about songs that made an impact.”

From protest hymns to dance numbers, the “song bar” brings this historical journey to life with significant tunes. The horrors of segregation in mid-century America swell in Sam Cooke’s unflinching “A Change Is Gonna Come,” which, amid its 1964 release, became an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement. Flash forward to 1977 – the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” debuted in the disco epic Saturday Night Fever, soundtracking the film as it covered identity, class, and gender in New York City.

The exhibit will allow museumgoers to reflect on the peaks and valleys of U.S. history, woven together by the deep-rooted symbolism of each object and song featured.

“As we approach America’s semiquincentennial, people are going to be looking for authentic ways to both celebrate and interrogate America,” said Ziobro. “To begin addressing these questions in a city like Austin – there couldn’t be a better place for us to launch these discussions that we will continue to have across the country at various stops over the next several years.”

“Music America: Iconic Objects From America’s Music History” will be open to the public February 17 through August 11. Tickets are on sale now.