Whistling did a significant amount of cultural work, as the act itself and the people who performed it were at the center of dramatic changes in how nature sounds were recorded, presented, and consumed in America. Because sound recording technologies were confined to studio spaces and generally immobile through the late 1920s, popular performers adopted a variety of imitative techniques to transport listeners into scenes and settings that the technology itself could not access--places such as farms, forests, fields, zoos, . Among these imitative practices, whistling proved to be both remarkably popular and enduring.

Victoria Spivey is a legendary Blues singer who gained popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, mostly due to her powerful and emotive voice. She was one of the most successful female Blues singers of her time, and her incredible talent and contribution to the Blues genre have cemented her place in music history. While her career was a remarkable one, there were a lot of ups and downs in Spivey’s life, and the path that led her to greatness is a fascinating one to explore.

Although the stage and screen hit Funny Girl is inspired by the life of singer-actress Fanny Brice, the plot is mostly fiction with an occasional fact thrown in. Both the play and movie were produced by Fanny Brice's son in law, Ray Stark, who had the unenviable task of appeasing Fanny's surviving family and associates -- including Nick Arnstein. With Nick only too eager to initiate a lawsuit, Stark had to reshape history. And as Nick's character was fictionalized, other aspects of the story had to change too. Who was Fanny Brice