Dig Columbia Records' short list: Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen and Willie Nelson. Sean Wilentz -- America's hippest historian -- has written an epic tome called 360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story (Chronicle Books), detailing the label's 125-year stretch. "More than I had known, Columbia's [reign] covers virtually the entire history of recorded music," Wilentz says. (Veteran scribe Dave Marsh has curated a fine companion book with the same title, subtitled "Legends and Legacy," listing 263 fave Columbia tracks.) To celebrate the century and a quarter, the Grammy Museum -- a class joint in its own right -- will present an ongoing exhibit (again) with the same title featuring films, photos, interviews, artifacts and an interactive jukebox playing Columbia's greatest sides. And who started all of this? Thomas Edison. His invention of the phonograph in 1877 directly led to the label's founding. It makes sense that the same cat who gave us the light bulb left a legacy that includes Miles Davis. Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., 3rd floor, dwntwn.; Wed., Nov. 7, through October; Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun., 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; $12.95, $11.95 seniors, $10.95 students. (800) 745-3000, grammymuseum.org.
