American Music: Birthplaces of Sound
The studios, stages, and street corners where jazz, blues, country, rock and roll, soul, and hip-hop first found their voice.
15 narrated stories — read them here, or hear them all in the app.
New Orleans
The Sound No Recording Kept
Buddy Bolden’s legend survives through memory, scholarship, and New Orleans itself.
18th & Vine Historic Jazz District
Where Kansas City Learned to Stay Up Late
How 18th and Vine became the restless center of Kansas City jazz.
Chess Records Studio
Where Chicago Learned to Roar
At one South Side address, immigrant brothers helped shape electric blues and early rock.
Bristol Recording Sessions site
Where Country Music Found a Microphone
How a temporary Bristol studio changed country music forever.
Ryman Auditorium
When the Opry Found Its Wooden Pew Pulpit
How radio, performers, and pews remade the Ryman into country music’s shrine.
Sun Studio
Where Sam Phillips Heard the Future
How one Memphis studio turned young performers into national names.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Where Memphis Soul Found Its Room
How a South Memphis theater became the engine of Stax soul.
Motown Museum
How a Detroit House Became Hitsville U.S.A.
A home, a studio, and the sound that traveled the world.
Norman Petty Studios
How Norman Petty Put Clovis on the Record
A remote studio became a rock-and-roll force through one man's many roles.
1520 Sedgwick Avenue
Where a Bronx Party Changed the Beat
How one family party at 1520 Sedgwick entered hip-hop history.
The Fillmore
How the Fillmore Learned to Hold a City’s Sound
A music hall, a promoter, and a changing neighborhood shaped San Francisco rock.
Austin
When the Armadillo Brought Austin Together
A former armory became Austin’s great meeting ground for music and unlikely neighbors.
Minneapolis
How Prince Made Minneapolis Heard
A hometown sound that turned Minneapolis into a music capital.
Seattle
Before the World, Seattle Had Hendrix
How a Central District kid became a global guitar legend.
Sacramento
How Sacramento Raised Deftones
A hometown story of friendship, clubs, and a band that kept growing.
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