Ben Manilla

Mel Brooks and ‘The 2000 Year Old Man’

How a 1961 comedy routine still holds up today.

Mel Brooks and ‘The 2000 Year Old Man’
A detail from the cover of the 1962 comedy album “The First Family”

Making fun of the Kennedys

Making fun of the Kennedys

Clifton Chenier’s “Bogalusa Boogie”

Clifton Chenier’s “Bogalusa Boogie”
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" plays on screen behind a live band.

The music of Vince Guaraldi helped make 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' a cultural icon

The music of Vince Guaraldi helped make 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' a cultural icon
The First Family album cover, 1962

The Kennedy family proved to be great material for this vintage comedy album

The Kennedy family proved to be great material for this vintage comedy album
The World

The 2,000 Year Old Man

It began as a time-filler during a lull in the writer's room; became a favorite party gag; then was captured on a 1961 album – "the comedian's Bible," says Billy Crystal.

The 2,000 Year Old Man
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George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today

George Jones and songwriter Bobby Braddock were a power team in country music, and certainly no strangers to sentiment. But when Jones was presented with "He Stopped Loving Her Today," by Braddock and Curly Putman, the singer was taken aback.

George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today
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Carmen Miranda: O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem

'O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem' was recorded by Carmen Miranda in 1939. Dori Caymmi, the son of the songwriter and biographer Martha Gil-Montero explain how the song brought Brazilian music to the global marketplace; with unforeseen consequences for Miranda.

Carmen Miranda: O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem
The World

Donna Summer: I Feel Love

In 1977 Donna Summer released a single that changed the sound of dance music forever. It abandoned disco's funky roots in favor of a driving electronic pulse.

Donna Summer: I Feel Love
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Love: Forever Changes

The year 1967 saw the release of two psychedelic pop masterpieces – one globally famous (the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper), the other nearly forgotten: Forever Changes, by Love.

Love: Forever Changes
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Gabby Pahinui: Hula Medley

When the producers of The Descendants wanted an authentic Hawaiian sound, they turned to the music of the late guitarist Gabby Pahinui, putting six of his songs on the soundtrack.

Gabby Pahinui: Hula Medley
The World

Professor Longhair: "Tipitina"

The New Orleans piano player Henry Roeland Byrd made a name for himself as Professor Longhair,In 1953 Atlantic records released "Tipitina." It was among the music chosen during the past year by the Library of Congress for its National Recording Registry.

Professor Longhair: "Tipitina"
The World

Captain Beefheart: Trout Mask Replica

Last year, the Library of Congress inducted a Captain Beefheart record into its National Recording Registry. Trout Mask Replica (1969) is part free jazz, part blues, part beat poetry.

Captain Beefheart: Trout Mask Replica
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R.E.M.'s

R.E.M.'s
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Boogie Chillen

Every year the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress selects 25 recordings to be preserved for all time. One of this year's picks is John Lee Hooker's breakthrough song 'Boogie Chillen.'

Boogie Chillen