There is no historical or geographical limit on what can be covered. There is no restriction on the style or genre of song or singing.

American delegates, including Jane Addams (front row, second from the left), on their way to the International Congress of Women, held at The Hague in 1915. From the Library of Congress.

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Kitty Cheatham’s Redemption Songs

Kitty Cheatham – singer, actress, daughter of slave-owners – was committed to preserving Negro spirituals, even as her performances swore allegiance to the Lost Cause of the antebellum South.

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Women Composing as Men, Part 1

Before and after 1900 many women songwriters published their songs with male pseudonyms. Three of the most successful share an unexpected biographical trait.

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Men Composing as Women

While the phenomenon of women publishing as men is well known, a century ago there were also men who published as women. Here are four of them.

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Finding Mollie Fines

Wichita’s newspaper, The Negro Star, helps document the remarkable life of Mollie Fines, and shows that she regularly used new musical experiences to create new opportunities.

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