Contralto Marian Anderson broke many barriers in her long singing career. She gave an open air concert at the Lincoln Memorial to an integrated audience in 1939 after being denied an indoor venue, and later sang in the Metropolitan Opera. She regularly sang both classical music and African American spirituals.
She made her first commercial record for Victor in 1923, singing “Deep River” and “My Way’s Cloudy”. Released in 1924, it joins the public domain in 29 days. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
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For anyone wondering why a 1923 recording is only coming into the US public domain next year, it's because sound recordings from the early 20th century get extra-long copyright terms: a full 100 years in this case, counted from when the record was published, not when it was made, and rounded up to the end of the calendar year. More details here: https://www.copyright.gov/music-modernization/pre1972-soundrecordings/
Still, it beats the older US rules, where sound recordings effectively had perpetual copyright due to various state laws.