Love and Music

Love is so many things. It can be the feeling at the beginning of a new relationship, or the feeling when a couple has been committed to one another for decades. Love can be felt by family members, friends, adults, and children. Love can be directed at a person, a deity, a pet, an activity, a place, or sometimes even an object.

Music and love are natural allies. Love can result in joy, sorrow, serenity, or exultation, and music is a natural expression of these feelings. Explore some of the ways people have connected with love through music. 

Collections Highlights

  • Diana Ross (with Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson), photograph by Bruce Davidson, 1965, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Diana Ross (with Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson)

    Diana Ross and the Supremes (Ross (center) with Florence Ballard (left) and Mary Wilson (right)) were immensely successful, and particularly known for their pop songs about love and heartbreak, including hits such as "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Stop in the Name of Love."

  • George Gershwin Self-Portrait, 1934, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Ira Gershwin
    George Gershwin Self-Portrait

    Gershwin's career was brief, but prolific, and many of his works are still well-known today, among them the music for the romantic comedy, Shall We Dance, and the folk opera, Porgy and Bess. 

  • Tambourine used on stage at Wembly Stadium during Prince's Nude Tour, 1990, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
    Tambourine used by Prince

    Prince's musical legacy includes romantic hits and a message of self-acceptance and self-love.

  • Sidewall, Celui qui aime ecrit sur les murs [One who loves writes on the walls], ca. 1924; Designed by Jean Lurçat; France; block printed on machine-made paper; Gift of Mrs. Cornelius Sullivan; 1930-21-1-c
    Ceui Qui Aime Écrit Sur Les Murs

    A sample of Dadaist wallpaper titled, "Ceui Qui Aime Écrit Sur Les Murs," which translates as "one who loves writes on walls" The imagery contains numerous birds and foliage mixed in with bits of musical scores, all tilted and overlapping.

Explore More Collections Related to Love and Music

Albums of Love Songs

The albums available through Smithsonian Folkways Recordings include a large variety of love songs, primarily of traditional music from around the world and of American folk music. Browse the selection below or explore more on their website. 

Album art, Love Songs of Lebanon, Sawaya Quartet and Chorus, 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1957 Folkways Records Love Songs of Lebanon
Sawaya Quartet and Chorus
Album art, Phipps Family - Faith, Love and Tragedy, A.L. Phipps and the Phipps Family, 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1965 Folkways Records Phipps Family - Faith, Love and Tragedy
A.L. Phipps and the Phipps Family
Album art, Seeds of Love, Andrew Rowan Summers, 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1951 Folkways Records Seeds of Love
Andrew Rowan Summers
Album art, Songs from the Garden of Love, Jefferson-Jones Orchestra, 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / Cook Records Songs from the Garden of Love
Jefferson-Jones Orchestra

Videos

Below, there are videos which help convey the breadth of music programs featuring love at the Smithsonian.

Credits

Header image credit: Theodore Robinson, At the Piano, 1887, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.90.

"The shiny surface of the piano, the luminescent fabric of the woman’s dress, and the image of fingers stroking ivory keys conjures a variety of textures and sounds. Theodore Robinson painted this scene of a favorite model playing a piano in the Paris apartment of his wealthy friend “Archie” Chanler. Robinson was in love with Marie but never married her. The two spent a great deal of time together in Giverny, where their relationship sparked much gossip among American tourists staying at the elegant Hôtel Baudy."

This spotlight was created by Kate Duffus Stein on behalf of Smithsonian Music.