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Collage of books about Black musicians
Diedre Johnson, August 08, 2023

Music legends don’t start out that way. First, they are children with a love for music and the motivation to learn, even if they face seemingly impossible odds along the way. Below are seven superstars that harnessed their creativity and accomplished their dreams.


Collage of popular titles checked-out by patrons of Los Angeles Public Library
Christina Y., December 28, 2021

It’s that time again where we roll out our top ten lists of the most popular titles checked-out by our very own library patrons.


Big Star: Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Andy Hummel and Alex Chilton
Marc Horton, April 28, 2021

The story of rock and roll is full of missed opportunities, poor decisions, and tragic turns of fate that consigned many worthwhile artists to obscurity.


Alice Cooper, Live At Montreux 2005 album
Daniel Tures, February 04, 2021

When he’s not onstage, shock-rock legend Alice Cooper, 73, is pretty mellow these days. He lives in Phoenix and plays a lot of golf, which he credits with helping him get and stay sober decades ago without the need of a 12-step program.


Dancing at the Palladium, 1940
Keith Chaffee, January 29, 2021

Every now and then, a friend who knows that I enjoy classical music asks me where they should start. There’s so much of it, they say, that it’s overwhelming and intimidating. And it’s true; there are hundreds of years of symphonies and operas and string quartets to choose from.


Hector Berloiz
Keith Chaffee, December 11, 2020

On December 11, 1803, Hector Berlioz was born. Berlioz was not an enormously productive composer, but those of his works that are still played are among the most popular in the classical repertoire.


Album collage of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020
Keith Chaffee, November 06, 2020

On November 7, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will hold its 2020 induction ceremony. Like most such events this year, it will be a virtual ceremony. Six acts are being inducted into the Hall this year.


Portrait of Dmitri Shostakovich in the audience at the Bach Celebration of July 28, 1950
Keith Chaffee, September 25, 2020

On September 25, 1906, Dmitri Shostakovich was born. Shostakovich was a composer who endured several cycles of official favor and disfavor from the Russian government; despite the political turmoil, he was one of the 20th century’s most important composers.


Heavy metal rock concert at the Coliseum
Salvadora Sosa Prieto, June 23, 2020

The library is home to many resources, even heavy metal music. We make it possible to indulge people on a headbanging journey on demand through resources such as hoopla and Freegal.


Singer-songwriter Carly Simon on her “musical memoir” album, Songs from the Trees
Keith Chaffee, June 19, 2020

On Jun 25, 1945, Carly Simon was born. Simon was one of the most popular singer-songwriters of the 1970s and followed that success by venturing into a wide variety of different musical forms and styles.


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