April 1947. New York. "Chirp discusses life while getting a massage" is the caption for this revealing photo of the unjustly obscure jazz singer Gloria King. Medium format negative by William Gottlieb for Down Beat. View full size.

July 1946. New York. "Doris Day at the Aquarium, jazz club on Seventh Avenue." Medium format negative by William Gottlieb for Down Beat. View full size.

New York circa 1947. "Jazz singer Dottie Reid walking on 52nd Street." The stretch of pavement last seen here in a nighttime view. Kodachrome transparency by William Gottlieb for Down Beat. View full size.

        PHOENIX, December 3, 2018 -- Big band singer and jazz artist Dorothy "Dottie" Reid died today at the age of 97. Dottie sang with Jimmy Dorsey and Buddy Rich, and went on a world tour with Benny Goodman. Born June 15, 1921, in Arkansas, she lived in New York and moved to Arizona in 2004.

New York circa 1947. "Billie Holiday and her dog Mister at a 52nd Street jazz club." Medium format negative by William Gottlieb for Down Beat. View full size.

July 1948. 52nd Street in New York. "The Street is at its best at night, when the neons start to bloom. It loses some of its carnival atmosphere when daylight dims its gaudy luster." Kodachrome by William Gottlieb for Collier's magazine. If anyone needs us, we'll be digging Harry the Hipster at the Onyx. View full size.

        Marty Balin, a founder, lead singer and songwriter of the groundbreaking San Francisco psychedelic band Jefferson Airplane and a key member of its 1970s successor, Jefferson Starship, died on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. He was 76.

— New York Times

February 1967. San Francisco. "Rock group The Jefferson Airplane. Members Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden and Grace Slick posing outdoors." Color transparency from photos by Jim Marshall for the Look magazine assignment "Jefferson Airplane Loves You." View full size.

        Aretha Franklin, universally acclaimed as the “Queen of Soul” and one of America’s greatest singers in any style, died on Thursday at her home in Detroit. She was 76.

— New York Times

"Aretha Franklin, Jazz & Blues portfolio, 1968." Dye transfer print by Lee Friedlander. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division. View full size.

June 1940. "Farmer, his wife, and brother in close harmony. Pie Town, New Mexico." Nitty, Gritty and Pretty. Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

December 7, 1932. "International Music Hall, Radio City, Rockefeller Center, New York. House with curtain down, from main orchestra." Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.

April 1952. "Bandleader Spike Jones and his City Slickers performing in Grand Forks, North Dakota." From the Look magazine photo assignment "Spike Jones: There's a Method in His Madness." Musicians in the band include Sir Frederick Gas, George Rock, Guy Raymond and Dick Morgan. View full size.

February 1942. "Farm Security Administration Mercer G. Evans camp in Weslaco, Texas. Drake family playing for a Saturday night dance." Medium format negative by the under-appreciated Arthur Rothstein. View full size.

February 1942. Two members of the "Musical Drake Family," performing at a barn dance in the Farm Security Administration's Mercer G. Evans camp in Weslaco, Texas. Our pickers are brothers Weldon (1923-1977) and Jasper "Sleepy" Drake (1926-1992). More Drakes here, and you can read comments from their children and grandkids here. Photo by Arthur Rothstein. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Characters" is all they wrote on the label of this National Photo glass negative. Library of Congress annotation: "Photograph shows two African American men sitting on bales of hay and playing instruments outside a barn or stable. One man plays guitar and the other plays a bowed instrument similar to a cello; both men simultaneously play kazoos." View full size.

January 3, 1924. New York. "_________  listening to records." If you recognize yourself here, speak up. 5x7 glass negative, Bain News Service. View full size.

June 1923. Washington, D.C. "Aloha Band at Bureau of Engraving and Printing." Welcoming the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS) during the Shriners convention, with a portrait of President Warren Harding, noted Mason (who would be dead by August), over the entrance. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.