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Showing 1 - 15 of 42 results

African-American History & Culture Music
  • Wynton Marsalis

    Wynton Marsalis discusses his musical upbringing

    Nov. 5, 1985

    Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Wynton Marsalis

  • Willie Dixon and Koko Taylor discuss the blues and how you create blues music

    1982

    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.

  • Virgil Thomson discusses his career as a music composer for opera and film

    Jul. 24, 1973

    Studs interview with Virgil Thomson about his career as a music composer. Thomson shares his work with Gertrude Stein in operas "Mother of Us All" and "Four Saints In Three Acts." He discusses his preference for black artists. Thomson describes his work in documentary films such as "Plow That Broke the Plains." He also shares information about the cajun music "Squeeze Box" in the film "Louisiana Story." This edited version does not include the music pieces.

  • Frederick Douglass

    Studs Terkel presents a program in honor of the birthday of abolitionist and African American leader Frederick Douglass

    Feb. 15, 1971

    Studs Terkel presents a program in honor of the birthday of abolitionist and African American leader Frederick Douglass, including excepts from Terkel's 1964 interview with African-American scholar, author and social historian Lerone Bennett. Terkel reads at length from Douglass' autobiography, "My Bondage and My Freedom," focusing on Douglass' interactions with slave owners Hugh and Sophia Auld.

  • Ralph Gleason discusses jazz, jazz artists, and jazz festivals ; part 2

    Jul. 31, 1971

    In Berkeley, Calif., Ralph Gleason, jazz and pop critic, and founding editor of Rolling Stone, talks with Studs about the history of jazz and jazz artists. They talk in depth about Billie Holiday, white performers who imitated the style of black jazz singers, and jazz festivals. Songs include Holiday's "Them There Eyes" and "God Bless the Child."

  • Ralph Gleason discusses jazz, jazz artists, and jazz festivals ; part 1

    Jul. 31, 1971

    Studs interviews jazz and pop critic, and founding editor of "Rolling Stone" magazine, Ralph Gleason while in Berkeley, California (3 parts). Topics include the history of jazz, blues, and jazz culture, and how race played in the development and distribution of the music. Songs include Louis Armstrong's "(I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal You."

  • Ralph Ellison discusses music

    Jun. 18, 1992

    The blues and jazz are topics covered by Ralph Ellison. Ellison himself started to play the trumpet at the age of seven. Ellison said for him, when hearing classical music, he then had to go and find classical literature.

  • Ralph Ellison

    Ralph Ellison American novelist and literary critic discusses his life and writing

    1970

    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.

  • Oscar Brown Jr.

    Presenting music with Oscar Brown, Jr

    Jun. 6, 1977
  • Oscar Peterson

    Oscar Peterson plays and discusses jazz

    Sep. 8, 1961

    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 talks about her music career with Studs Terkel

    1956

    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.

  • Muhammad Ali

    Muhammad Ali discusses his book "The Greatest: My Own Story"

    Nov. 26, 1975

    Content Warning: This conversation includes racially and/or culturally derogatory language and/or negative depictions of Black and Indigenous people of color, women, and LGBTQI+ individuals. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion. Muhammad Ali discusses his book "The Greatest: My Own Story," touching on topics including his childhood and family, conversion to Islam, stance on the Vietnam War, and experiences in jail.

  • Members of the Shanghai Quartet discuss their backgrounds

    May. 17, 1989

    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.

  • Maya Angelou discusses her early life and African American culture and people

    Apr. 1, 1960

    Angelou discusses: her early life; her international travels; dancing; blues and jazz music; and the book "Youngblood" by John Oliver Killens. Musical selections have been removed due to copyright.

  • Maya Angelou

    Maya Angelou and Tom Wicker discuss life and culture in the U.S. South

    Jul. 1, 1979

    Poet Maya Angelou and journalist Tom Wicker discuss life in the U.S. South and how the region’s history has shaped its culture. Topics of discussion include social dynamics and race in the South, the concept of “home” and what it means to return to one’s roots, and religion in the South. Angelou reads excerpts of her poetry, including “Still I Rise” and “Phenomenal Woman,” and shares spiritual songs from her childhood.

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