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Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Wynton Marsalis
Studs interviews Willie Dixon and Koko Taylor about the blues. They discuss their song "Insane Asylum" and their work together. Dixon uses his song "Little Red Rooster" to help explain how the blues are created from life experiences. Taylor reflects on singers like Willie Dixon, Memphis Minnie, and others who influenced her desire to sing the blues. Taylor also discusses European audiences and blues influence there. The musical numbers are removed from this edited version of the original recording.
Starting at a young age, Ramsey Lewis really loved music and as he got older, he'd practice five or six hours a day. Lewis says he knew nothing about jazz until he met Wallace Burton at the age of 15. Burton hired Lewis on the spot to play in his band. Church music, Spanish music, Duke Ellington and the Beatles, says Lewis, were all great influences to him.
Ralph Ellison, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction for his book "Invisible Man," discusses his early life and education and his life as a writer and lifetime scholar. He speaks on being a musician (trumpet), the joy of music and the Church and how they fit into the lives of African Americans.
Music performance by Oscar Brown, Jr.
Studs interviews Phyl Garland about her book "Sound of Soul." They discuss various musicians that she mentions in her book and their influence on black music. Garland explains the music of young black artists and how commercialization of music gave blacks an opportunity that they would not have had otherwise. Garland talks about how Fannie Lou Hamer used music to express her message in the Civil Rights Movement and as a women's rights activist. Studs and Garland discuss various black female artists and their music.
Jazz pianist Oscar Peterson sits down with Studs Terkel to discuss historical developments in jazz piano, his own personal development as a pianist, and his experience directing a youth jazz piano school. Includes Peterson playing short excerpts from "Chicago (that toddlin' town)," "Soon," Chopin's Nocturne in E flat Major to demonstrate musical concepts.
Odetta (often referred as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement") talks about her music career and sings to Studs Terkel. The interview segments are between songs. This record is part of the Studs Terkel Almanac.
The day before their concert performance at North Park College, the Shanghai Quartet was at the WFMT studios. Betty Bucchari explained her job was to search for great musicians that were not well-known. The Li brothers were destined to play the violins, as their parents were music teachers for 15 years.
Max Morath discusses his career, jazz music, and history.
When the announcement was made, to let the audience know the opera singer they came to see would not be performing but that Martina Arroyo would be singing the part of Aida, Arroyo recalls that you could hear the crowd groan all the way in Chicago. Arroyo talks about singing in the operas. She also talks about even though she may have a starring role in the opera, the show is not hers, but rather everyone in the company works hard to put out a good production.
When the announcement was made, to let the audience know the opera singer they came to see would not be performing but that Martina Arroyo would be singing the part of Aida, Arroyo recalls that you could hear the crowd groan all the way in Chicago. Arroyo talks about singing in the operas. She also talks about even though she may have a starring role in the opera, the show is not hers, but rather everyone in the company works hard to put out a good production.
Marian Anderson talks about her singing career, including her singing in Sunday School and her first singing experience in 4th grade. She shares how she interprets the songs she sings. Includes Studs reading the poem "Gertrude" by Gwendolyn Brooks. The interview takes place in Anderson's suite in the Sheraton Blackstone in Chicago.
Marian Anderson recalls singing on stage for the first time at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1957 and how it was the realization of a dream come true. Marion's nephew, James DePreist remembers being able to conduct a piece of music he had never conducted before because his aunt Marion had exposed him to it when he was a child. James said when his aunt Marion sung spirituals, he couldn't help but feel religious and he's an atheist.
Studs Terkel interviews gospel vocalist Mahalia Jackson. Jackson discusses the freedom rally that will be taking place at McCormick's Place in Chicago, IL.