They Don't Make Them Like They Used To

Retired General Motors president and former CEO died June 13, 2010, at the age of 87. Reading his obituary provided a lesson in how much Detroit CEO culture and corporate careerism in general have changed since the post-war auto boom of the 1950s.

Ansel Adams: Father of American Photography

Though he died more than 25 years ago, Ansel Adams’ name has been all over the news this week thanks to a lucky garage sale find.

Miles Davis' Sidemen

Miles Davis  (1926–1991) is widely regarded as one of the most important musicians of the 20th century, being at the cutting edge of bebop, hardbop, and fusion, just to name a few of the jazz movements he helped shape. Along the way, he influenced generations of musicians, including many sidemen who would enjoy influential and successful careers of their own. We take a look at some of the celebrated sidemen who’ve joined Davis in that great jazz combo in the sky.

Politicos of the Past

As Election Day 2010 gets underway, we take a look back at a few notable politicians who died earlier this year.

Big Joe Turner, Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll

During a career that lasted six decades, Big Joe Turner helped pioneer rock and roll. We take a look back at his life and career 25 years after his death.

Chicago’s Big Shoulders: People Who Put Chicago on the Map

In December 1674 Father Jacques Marquette arrived in the place that would one day become Chicago. We look at Marquette and a few others who've helped put Chicago on the map.

Zora Neale Hurston: Genius of the South

In the summer of 1973, a young writer made a pilgrimage south to Fort Pierce, Florida, to visit the final resting place of an artist whose novels, plays and essays had inspired so much of her own writing. She arrived at the Garden of Heavenly Rest to find the segregated cemetery abandoned, weed-choked and overgrown with brambles, and it took her some time to locate the unmarked grave she sought. But find it she did, and before leaving she placed the stone she and a fellow scholar had paid for with their own money. The marker was modest, but its message was not.

Sam Cooke, King of Soul

On his birthday, we look back at the life of the man called the King of Soul.

The Betty Friedan Mystique

Betty Friedan , author of the landmark The Feminine Mystique , died five years ago today on her 85th birthday. We took a look back at her life and the impact of her work.

Frederick Douglass: An American Narrative

Frederick Douglass celebrated his birthday on Valentine's Day. Two centuries after he was born, we're looking at his early years fighting for the abolition of slavery.

Being Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison wrote one of the great American novels and then struggled to produce another for the rest of life. Here’s how it happened.

Marvin Gaye: What's Going On

Marvin Gaye personified the changing landscape of R&B in a career that spanned not just the tumultuous 1960s, but 26 years that saw the art form go from innocent street corner doo-wop to the sexually charged soul music of the 1980s. No mere dabbler or genre-hopper, with each reinvention Gaye broke new ground and created classic records still in heavy rotation around the world. He scored 41 Billboard Top 40 hits in all—including reworked material released nearly two decades after his death. According to Forbes , in 2008 he ranked 13th in posthumous performer earnings, pulling in $3.5 million in royalties, a tribute to how much his music remains with us.

Ed Bradley's Incisive Interviews

During his illustrious career, television journalist took home 19 Emmys and won numerous other awards such as the Peabody and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award—and for good reason.

Buck O'Neil Loved Baseball

Baseball legend Buck O'Neil would have been 100 years old today. He may not be quite as well known as Jackie Robinson, but he was every bit as much a barrier-smasher...

Odetta Sings Folk Songs

Odetta may not be as much a household name as Bob Dylan—but it was she who inspired him to pick up an acoustic guitar and sing folk music. She might not have the folk-music fame of Joan Baez, but Baez called her a goddess. Carly Simon may have been the bigger star, but she said she went weak in the knees when she had a chance to meet Odetta.

Lightnin' Hopkins, Bluesman

Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time, and he didn't have to make any deals with the devil to get there...

Civil Rights Giants Whitney Young and Ralph Abernathy

Two notable men deserve a nod today, both giants of the civil rights movement: Ralph Abernathy (March 11, 1926–April 17, 1990) and Whitney Young (July 31, 1921–March 11, 1971).

The Son House Blues

Son House was one of the great Delta bluesmen – but twice in his life, events almost conspired to keep his music from public ears...

Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit

In 1939, took a bold step—bold even for a Black woman who rose from a troubled childhood in a segregated country to become one of the most celebrated singers of her time. In that year, disgusted with the racism she saw all around her, she recorded “Strange Fruit.” The song’s bluntly poignant descriptions of lynchings of Black people were shocking and eye-opening, and it became Holiday’s deeply effective closing song for her live performances.

Alpha Phi Alpha Alums

Alpha Phi Alpha was the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. Alpha Phil Alpha was founded at Cornell University in 1906, and over the decades, members and alums have been not only within the Black community but across America. The fraternity's famous alumni include , , , , , , , , , , and .

Coretta Scott King: 20 Facts

Coretta Scott King is remembered as the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a role she cherished. But she was much more than just a wife and widow.

Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun"

The play that "changed American theatre forever," according to The New York Times , started with a few short lines from a long poem.

Curtis Mayfield: The Sound of Civil Rights

Curtis Mayfield, born 70 years ago today, wrote music that inspired a generation and a movement...

Isabel Sanford's Piece of the Pie

In 1981,  moved on up and broke one of the glass ceilings of show business when she became the first black woman to win an Emmy for lead actress. It was a pinnacle in a rich career… one that included critically acclaimed movie roles and viewer favorites on TV. Eight years after her death, we remember the pioneering actress.

The Whole World is Watching

During the tumultuous , 1968 stands out as a turning point, with new modes of political action actively courting television news media.

We Love Lefties

Some of history's greatest entertainers, creators and thinkers have been left-handed. Here's just a handful. A left-handful, that is.

Althea Gibson, Tennis Trailblazer

In the 1950s, Althea Gibson joined the ranks of trailblazers like , and when she became the first Black woman to compete on the world tennis tour. Her 1956 Grand Slam win was a crucial step in ushering in the integration of professional sports.

The Tom Bradley Effect

Elected to an unprecedented five terms as mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley remains one of the nation's greatest racial pioneers 14 years after his death. His legacy has particular resonance today as L.A.'s first Latino mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, modeled his coalition building campaign on that of Bradley's. On a national level, Barack Obama's presidential campaign represents a step-level jump for African-American political dreams, much the same way that Bradley's audacious, long-shot hopes of becoming mayor of a major city with a small Black population did in 1969. And on November 4 when voters cast their ballots, pollsters will be anxiously waiting to see if Obama is impacted by a phenomenon that has come to be known as the "Bradley effect."

The Powerful Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972) was known as the "Queen of Gospel" and "the single most powerful Black woman in the United States."

Flip Wilson, Comedy Superstar

Today we're celebrating Flip Wilson's life with a few of our favorite moments from his hit show.

Otis Redding: The Other Day the Music Died

We remember the plane crash that took the lives of Otis Redding and his bandmates.

The Nixons: A Love Story

January 2013 would have marked the 100th birthday of an American icon: former president Richard Nixon . Nixon’s political legacy is a complicated one, with contradictions throughout. He escalated our involvement in the Vietnam War… and then he ended the war. He presided over the first moon landing… then scaled back the space program. He won reelection in a landslide… and then resigned in disgrace two years later. Today, he’s remembered more often as a punch line than as the successful leader of the free world.

Remembering the Columbia Seven

Ten years ago today, the world witnessed a disaster when the disintegrated on reentry after a successful mission, killing the seven astronauts aboard. It was a shocking tragedy, leaving us to mourn yet another shuttle crew as we did in 1986 after the exploded shortly after lift-off.

Ossie Davis: Success on His Own Terms

On Feb. 4, 2005, the world lost a great champion of civil rights, who overcame racism and prejudice to become one of the most-honored actors of his generation. Today we look back at accomplished and outspoken Ossie Davis.

Nat King Cole: Unforgettable

Nat King Cole died Feb. 15, 1965. On the anniversary of his death, here are 25 facts about the life and legacy of the legendary singer.

The Incomparable Nina Simone

had a voice like no other. Her rich, low tenor was rare among women—we usually expect high and light tones from female singers—but Simone made her low range soar. And she was more than a singer: she was also a classically-trained pianist, using both skills in her marvelous recordings.

Secrets Die and are Buried Forever

We all take secrets to the grave, but let’s face it—some are more far-reaching than others. Some even have a significant impact on history.

Lakota Woman

Mary Ellen Moore-Richard knew early on there were pieces of her past amiss and missing as she grew up on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Her mostly white dad left the family and her step-father taught her to drink at age 10. At a boarding school on the reservation, she was abused, taught to practice Christianity, and admonished not to use her native tongue. No wonder, then, that by the 1970s she had joined the American Indian Movement—AIM—an activist group that protested, sometimes violently, for Indian rights.

Pearl Bailey Riffs and Laughs

Pearl Bailey was so much more than an actress and singer.

The Best of Muddy Waters

One hundred years of Muddy Waters — that's what we're celebrating today. Waters was born April 4, 1913, and his blues legacy is as deep and wide as the river his name evokes.

Count Basie Swings

Count Basie's brand of swing was nice and easy –like cutting butter.

James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon

When James Arness was born, his parents could hardly have guessed that someday thousands of babies would be named after him.

The Bo Diddley Beat

Nearly a decade after Bo Diddley's death, we're still listening to his signature rhythm.

Civil Rights Pioneers

Two little known pioneers in the civil rights struggles of the 1960s died within days of each other.

It Was Good to Be Roy Campanella

Roy Campanella wasn’t the first African American to play Major League Baseball—that honor, of course, went to . But catcher Campanella was hot on Robinson’s heels, blazing a trail on and off the diamond. On the , we look at a few of his amazing accomplishments.

10 Facts About Gerald Ford

How well do you know former president (1913–2006)? Here are 10 facts about the 38th president of the United States.

A Doctor and a Patriot

The obituary for in the Kansas City Star told scant details of his remarkable life compared to the autobiography he wrote in 1996.

The Songs of Isaac Hayes

As a singer, —who died Aug. 10, 2008—achieved many of his greatest hits by interpreting songs other people had written. "Walk on By" and "The Look of Love," along with many other songs Hayes recorded, were written by Burt Bacharach and . "Let's Stay Together" was first made famous by its songwriter, Al Green. Clifton Davis's "Never Can Say Goodbye" was recorded by before Isaac Hayes took it on.

10 Facts: Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal …"