Lyricist Sammy Cahn is one of the last survivors of the Tin Pan Alley tradition. His popular hits include "Bei Mir Bist du Schon," "Come Fly With Me," "Let it Snow," and "Three Coins in a Fountain," among others. Cahn has also worked extensively with Frank Sinatra. He joins the show to discuss his career. (Segment)
We present two interviews from the archives: a 1987 concert featuring ballads and popular songs, and a 1988 Christmas concert performed by the jazz vocalist. She considered Billie Holliday her main influence. McCorkle died in May of 2001, of an apparent suicide.
Before The Onion, Weekend Update and The Daily Show, Sahl's shtick satirized the news of the day. It's the 50th anniversary of the comedian's first appearance at the "Hungry I" nightclub in San Francisco. Before Sahl, tuxedo-clad borscht belt comedians made tame jokes about your mother in law. After Sahl came the dark, satirical wit of comedians like Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen and Bill Cosby.
His first novel, recently published, is Old School. Wolff is best known for his memoir This Boy's Life and short stories, including The Barracks Thief.
John Sifton serves as Afghanistan researcher with Human Rights Watch. His articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine and the International Herald Tribune. Since 2001, he has made nine trips to Afghanistan. Sifton is also an attorney.
Rock, pop, jazz and Bart Simpson. We talk with writer and cartoonist Matt Groening. Before The Simpsons, Futurama and Life in Hell, he was a rock critic. Now he's edited an anthology collecting 2003's best music writing.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead provides holiday gift suggestions. He reviews two CDs: Count Basieâs Americaâs #1 Band and MJQ, The Complete Modern Jazz Quartet Prestige and Pablo Recordings, and one combo CD/DVD, Monk in Paris: Live at the Olympia.
He's the Bowman and Gordon Gray professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His new book, Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew, chronicles the second and third centuries before Christianity as we know it came to be. Ehrman has also edited a collection of the early non-canonical texts from the first centuries after Christ called Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make it Into The New Testament.
The two brothers have become practically the brand name for bad taste. Their movies Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary and Shallow Hall, plumbed new depths of tastelessness. But their fans love the films, and despite their gross-out humor, the Farrellys seem to create characters that audiences care about. Their new film Stuck on You is about two brothers who are Siamese twins. It stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. It's supposedly their most autobiographical film.
Corrigan's choices include: The Company You Keep by Neil Gordon; Family Circle: The Boudins and the Aristocracy of the Left by Susan Braudy; and They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967 by David Maraniss.
Journalist Vernon Loeb covers the military for The Washington Post. He just returned from five weeks in Iraq. He discusses the situation there and the capture of Saddam Hussein.
Pop icon Tom Jones first gained fame with the 1960s hits "It's Not Unusual," "What's New Pussycat?" and "Delilah." In the last 40 years, he has released more than 30 hit singles and several gold and multi-platinum records. In his heyday, he was famous for live performances and the frenzy he caused among his female fans — many threw their underwear onstage and rushed the stage. Jones' name today connotes hipness and romance. His newest release, Reloaded: Greatest Hits, is made up of 19 new and re-mastered tunes.
