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Soundies — 1940s music videos — put Black performers in the spotlight

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 looks 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.