UCLA Libraries Music Library Special Collections Archives Archive of Popular American Music

The Archive of Popular American Music is a non-circulating research collection covering the history of popular music in America from 1790 to the present. The collection is one of the largest in the country, numbering almost 450,000 pieces of sheet music, anthologies, and arrangements for band and orchestra, and 62,500 recordings on disc, tape, and cylinder. Subject strengths within twentieth-century holdings include music for theater, motion picture, radio and television, as well as general popular, country, rhythm and blues, and rocksongs.

Catalog records for sheet music collections are available through the UCLA Library Catalog. In order to provide access to as much of the collection as possible, some sheet music collections are cataloged by the surnames of composer and lyricist, and title only.

The Music Library, in collaboration with the UCLA Digital Library Program, is in the process of building a digital archive of sheet music. The Digital Archive of Popular American Music provides online access to public domain portions of the Music Library's sheet music holdings. During the initial phase the focus is on one of the particular strengths of the APAM collections: music of the early twentieth century. Future projects will include the digitization of sound recordings and material from APAM archival collections.

Archive of Popular American Music

Sheet Music

  • Sheet Music Collections
    Sheet music and folios may be searched using the UCLA Library Catalog. To limit searches to sheet music include the phrase "printed music" in your search. The Music Library circulating collection also includes printed sheet music, which should be searched before requesting copies through the Archive.
    UCLA Library Catalog

  • Digital Archive of Popular American Music
    A growing collection of digitized sheet music. Covers are reproduced in high definition color, and the music is displayed in the PDF format for eazy resizing and printing.
    Digital APAM

  • Sheet Music Consortium
    A union catalog of digitized sheet music from the Library of Congress, Johns Hopkins University, Indiana University, Duke University, and UCLA.
    Sheet Music Consortium

Selected Archival Collections

  • A&M Records Collection of business papers, sound recordings, music manuscripts, and memorabilia
    The collection consists of sound recordings, manuscript musical arrangements, photographs, correspondence, promotional materials, posters, gold albums, awards, books and ephemera from just prior to the company’s founding in 1962 through its sale to Polygram in 1989 and a few years thereafter, while Moss and Alpert were still affiliated with the label. The collection is in the midst of being procesed. The finding aid will be updated periodically.
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  • Ed Ames Musical Arrangements Collection
    The collection consists of arrangements of popular songs for Ames and stageband, by various arrangers.
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  • Polly Bergen Musical Arrangements Collection
    Television and stage show arrangements for Bergen.
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  • Harold Bronson Sound Recording Collection
    The collection consists of commercial sound recordings donated by the Rhino Records co-founder, Harold Bronson. Included in the collection are many Rhino Records recordings as well as recordings produced by other labels. The collection consists of musical recordings as well as spoken-word comedic recordings, sound effects recordings, picture discs, and a considerable number of recordings by Ian Whitcomb.
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  • Michael Burk Collection of Sound Recordings
    The collection consists of popular music recordings recorded on 7", 45 rpm sound discs. Performers included in the collection are: Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Neil Sedaka, and Dinah Washington.
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  • Carol Burnett Collection of Television Music and Printed Sheet Music
    The collection consists of orchestral scores and parts for musical numbers from Carol Burnett's television show, stage performances, and recordings (ca. 1790 titles). The majority of arrangements are for the Carol Burnett Show. Also included in the collection is mamusic from Once Upon a Mattress, Carol Burnett and Martha Raye LP recording, Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett at Lincoln Center, and Greek Theatre (Los Angeles) performances. Most titles include a manuscript full score and ca. 22 parts. Included are many arrangements by Peter Matz and Harry Zimmerman, as well as ca. 7,000 titles of published sheet music.
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  • Collection of 45rpm sound discs
    The collection consists of assorted archival collections of 45 rpm sound recordings housed in the UCLA Music Library, Archive of Popular American Music.
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  • Collection of instrumental arrangements
    Primarily published parts for stock arrangements of American popular songs, marches, overtures, waltzes, etc. for dance bands, orchestra, or small instrumental ensemble.
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  • Collection of Music Journals
    The collection consists of various music journal titles.
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  • John Davidson Musical Arrangements Collection
    Manuscripts or copies of musical arrangements for Davidson's television show, by various arrangers: scores and parts.
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  • Dennis Day Collection of Music for Radio
    Scores and manuscripts of music for radio.
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  • Jimmy Durante Collection of Sound Recordings and Manuscripts
    Sound and video recordings, orchestrations, stills, clippings, scrapbooks, sheet music and other papers.
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  • Ernest J. (Tennessee Ernie) Ford Musical Arrangements Collection
    Collection of arrangements and parts, in manuscripts or ozalid copies, of popular songs for performers on the Tennessee Ernie Ford show during the 1956-61 seasons.
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  • George Hocutt/Ray Avery It's Rare Records, Jazz Record Store Collection
    The collection consits of approximately 63,305 sound recordings, and business papaers in all formats from the Ray Avery, It's Rare Records record store in Glendale, CA.
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  • Walter Jurmann Collection
    Collection consists of material related to career of the composer Walter Jurmann. The bulk of the collection was collected by Yvonne Jurmann after the composer's death in 1971 and includes songs from European and American films, other popular songs, newspaper and journal articles, holographs of songs and lyrics, correspondence, business papers, and photographs. Also includes the complete piano-vocal score for Windy city.
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  • Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé Collection
    Folios, stage band arrangements and sound recordings.
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  • Jack Leonard Collection of Popular Music Arrangements
    Scores or parts of arrangements by Jack Leonard and Deane Kincaide for the Kate Smith show.
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  • Joni Mitchell Musical Arrangements Collection
    Collection consists of holographs of musical scores of "Chelsea morning," "I don't know where I stand," and "Who," arranged for orchestra by Don Bogley.
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  • Popular Music Press Kits
    Popular Music Press Kits, including biographies and photographs, for popular recording artists and groups. Arranged by record label.
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  • Joseph Rumshinsky Collection of Musical Compositions for the Yiddish Theater and Memorabilia
    Scores and parts of stage shows and operettas, songs, dance music, and religious pieces. Includes clippings and typescript materials, including synopses, scripts, obituaries, and testimonials.
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  • Smothers Brothers Collection of Musical Arrangements
    Collection consists of manuscript conductors' scores, and parts in manuscript or ozalid copy, of arrangements for the Smothers Brothers TV show, Summer Brothers Smothers show, and Return of the Smothers Brothers show; scores, parts and scripts of special material for the Smothers Brothers; arrangements for a Smothers Brothers record album.
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  • Gary Tighe Disco Music Collection
    Materials relating to the career of disco club DJ Gary Tighe, including approximately 2,370 LP disks of music, mostly American dance music from the 1970s and 1980s, plus popular music, Broadway original cast albums, and movie soundtracks. Collection currently being processed.
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  • Harry Tobias Collection
    Music manuscripts and published sheet music, lyric sheets, correspondence and other documents, and sound recordings from the estate of Harry Tobias.
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  • Jerry Vale Collection of Musical Arrangements
    Manuscripts, ozalids, onion skins and photocopies of musical arrangements of songs sung by Jerry Vale (Genaro Louis Vitaliano, 1932- ), 1952-1973.
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  • Jimmy Van Heusen Collection of Musical Works and Papers
    Collection consists of published sheet music and manuscripts, popular LPs of Van Heusen's and other's songs, and reel-to-reel tapes of LPs as well as home recordings. Includes personal papers, correspondence with Johnny Burke, Sammy Cahn, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra, and business documents related to publishing companies Burke and Van Heusen, Van Heusen Music Corp., Burvan, and St. James. Also includes works lists, programs, clippings, biographies, and professionally assembled scrapbooks. Also contains items related to his hobbies of horses and flying.
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  • Robert Wells and Lisa Kirk Collection of Music Scores, Lyrics, and Associated Papers
    Songs written by Bob (Robert) Wells in collaboration with others; vocal and orchestral arrangements performed by Lisa Kirk; clippings; photographs; and other miscellanous publicity material.
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