Pop

Rock historian Ed Ward will explore the gospel roots of soul great Sam Cooke.

August Darnell, lead singer of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Kid Creole is the dapper stage persona of August Darnell, a wildly inventive showman whose music fuses salsa, rock, jazz, reggae, funk and rap. The group has found fame in Europe and South America, but success in America has proven elusive.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles some of rock's most memorable break-in records, which are singles made up of snippets of many different records. These include records by Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman's Flying Saucer.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker reviews "Cloud Nine," the new album by George Harrison.

Rock historian Ed Ward looks at the songs the Beatles gave away, the songs Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote at the urging of manager Brian Epstein for other Liverpool bands.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker reviews "Introducing The Hardline According to Terrence Trent D'Arby," the most recent album by British rock and soul singer Terrence Trent D'Arby.

Cousin Brucie, one of the leading top-40 DJs in New York City in the early 60s when AM radio was king and New York radio set the national tastes in pop music.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker will review "Babylon and On," by the British group Squeeze.

Singer Ian Whitcomb will take us back to the Tin Pan Alley era.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz will review two albums of Gershwin songs: "Kiri Sings Gershwin," by Kiri Te Kanawa, and "Gershwin Overtures," by John McGlinn.

Rock historian Ed Ward will look back at the Chantels, a 50s group of five New York teenagers whose exquisite harmonies drew comparisons with classical youth choirs.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker will review "Bad," the new Michael Jackson album.

Singer Jane Voss and pianist Hoyle Osborne will perform an original composition.

Poet Mark Halliday is inspired as much by popular culture and music as he is by the work of other poets. His latest collection is called Little Star.

Folk musician Michael Cooney returns to Fresh Air to perform two classic love songs.

Coleman was a child piano prodigy who has written for Broadway, television and pop artists. Despite his popular success, he says that, in order to keep working, he still has to audition for directors and producers.

Record producer, musician and songwriter Todd Rundgren joins Fresh Air to talk about his career both in-studio and on the concert stage. Recently, he's branched out into television, writing music for Pee Wee's Playhouse.

Husband-and-wife musical duo Jane Voss and Hoyle Osborne perform two songs from the 1920s that they believe resonate with listeners today.

Listeners will recognize Frankie Laine's voice from the opening sequences of Rawhide and Blazing Saddles. Laine also makes a career performing and recording pop, country and jazz tunes.