Discover what the relationship is between poetry and the blues. This site features lesson plans and online resources.

Often known as the "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith influenced entire generations of blues, jazz, and rock musicians and was the highest-paid black entertainer of her time. This website will provide more information about Smith's...

Discussion of how production of the blue dye, indigo, helped boost the economy of Georgia and South Carolina in the seventeenth and eighteenth century until the Revolutionary War when England stopped buying it and production collapsed.

Check out 10 things you may not know about the explorer who sailed the ocean blue in 1492 for example, Columbus didn't set out to prove the earth was round.

As far as we know, the blue whale is the largest animal ever to have existed on the planet. Weights up to 190,000 kg (as much as 30-40 African elephants) have been recorded. Learn more about the Balaenoptera musculus, more commonly known...

This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Taj Mahal, an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and one of the pioneers of what came to be called world music. He combined blues and other African-American...

This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Berry Gordy, Jr., an American businessman, founder of the Motown Record Corporation (1959), which became the most successful black-owned music company in the...

Although this site concerns itself with Oregon, the issues are nationwide. Article discusses the background of the Populist movement.

Examine the life and historical contributions of renown jazz vocalist and Pennsylvania native, Billie Holiday in this concise biography.

Natural gas is a colorless and odorless fossil fuel that is used in almost half the homes for heat. Learn more about this non-renewable energy resource.

Resource provides an overview of the codes set by the National Recovery Administration that helped industry and labor in the 1930s and their positive and negative affects.

Sam Cooke's influence on music, as the pioneer in cross-over from gospel to rhythm and blues, is described in this encyclopedia entry. His music was important to the African-American identity in the Civil Rights movement.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Lloyd Price, an American singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Price made his mark in rock music history with his exuberant tenor and his flair for recasting rhythm and blues as...

From "Cambridge History of English and American Literature," this site examines Noah Webster's contributions to education as a textbook writer. Lists his major textbooks and describes their popularity.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jimmy Yancey, an American blues pianist who established the boogie-woogie style with slow, steady, simple left-hand bass patterns. These became more rapid in the work of his students...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Lou Rawls, an American singer whose smooth baritone adapted easily to jazz, soul, gospel, and rhythm and blues.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Mississippi John Hurt, an American country-blues singer and guitarist who first recorded in the late 1920s but whose greatest fame and influence came when he was rediscovered in the early...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Redd Foxx, an American comedian and television actor known for his raunchy stand-up routines. His style of comedy, often described as "blue" for its foul language and highly adult subject...

Detailed description and history of the Hope Diamond, a large deep-blue diamond housed in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

A brief look at the career Sam and Dave, one of the most influential soul acts of the 1960s. Links to other significant names in soul music, too.

Poet laureate Langston Hughes is featured in this brief biography highlighting his vast collection of writings, particularly his poetry, which drew upon racial and self awareness in America. See "Langston Hughes Activities" for related...