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How 'soundies' spotlighted Black performers in the 1940s

The 1980s ushered in the era of MTV music videos. But decades earlier, in the 1940s, there were short music films called “soundies.”

KJZZ’s Jill Ryan takes a look at how Soundies brought Black performers to the spotlight.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.