The Music Division's Clipping File: Performers and Performances

The Music Division is celebrating the completion of its Clipping File inventory (done entirely by volunteers) with a blog series. In the post below, Melissa, one of the volunteers who contributed so much to this three-year effort to document over 46,000 folders in the Music Division's Clipping File, concludes her three-part exploration of the collection.

Read the full series by Melissa:The Music Division's Clipping File Part 1: Musicians and PoliticsThe Music Division's Clipping File Part 2: The Scandals

Plus, find more resources to help you explore our Clipping File with our research guide.

Performers and Performances: from the politically incorrect, to just plain weird, to really cool twist.

We have journeyed through music history and encountered musicians and critics who were politically active, landed themselves in scandalous situations, and used poisonous pens to tarnish careers. 

These last articles are in a class all of their own. 

This first article would never be printed in 2015, at least in the language and manner that it was printed in 1941, no matter how talented this woman was. 

Just Plain Weird: the program says it all:

Finally, whether or not you love it or hate it, here is a really cool twist to a famous musical (this version with a composite score):

Thanks for following me in this three-part mini-blog series.  Although the Music Division's Clipping File is now inventoried, there are other inventory projects still going on strong for volunteers like myself (currently I'm inventorying vast numbers of American popular songs).

On a personal level, I found articles about my clarinet professors’ recitals before they became famous in their own right, and pieces of music that I never heard before for the clarinet family.  I also discovered the true popularity of composers I studied in college through these rich primary sources.

Please come and discover the musicians, scandals, and other musical events in the Music Division’s Clipping Files at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on the third floor.  You never know, you may even find a folder dedicated to you if you had a musical presence in New York City.  

More on the Music Division's Clipping File

Read more about clippings and how you can use them to support your research:

The Music Division's Clipping File Part 1: Musicians and Politics: Read the first post in Melissa's series on our collection of clippings and the surprising connections between the music world, critics, and politicians.The Music Division's Clipping File Part 2: The Scandals: Read the next post in Melissa's series on our collection of clippings and what they reveal about scandal in the music world.Research Guide: Clippings at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: This librarian-curated guide will help you explore our collection on your own. Learn how you can access the collection, the best ways to browse, and find more information about the scope of the Clipping File.