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Martin Gottfried discusses his book "Broadway Musicals" and the history of the musicals by evaluating the different big name composers, lyricists, and directors of Broadway.
As previously presented in Studs Terkel's weekly Almanac program, Abe Burrows, talks about how he got into writing. After the Depression, Burrows explained he had no true goal in mind other than that of simply surviving. Typing out material on a typewriter was when Burrows realized he was good at both writing and comedy.
Studs interviews Harry Chapin about his music and career. They discuss Chapin’s style of writing songs. Chapin describes some of his songs such as “Cats In the Cradle,” “Sniper,” “WOLD,” and “Mr. Tanner.” He stresses that his songs tell stories and often are influenced by real-life events. For example, “30,000 Bananas Pounds of Bananas” came from a trip he took on a Greyhound bus through Pennsylvania where there was a truck accident.
E.Y. (Yip) Harburg and Studs Terkel read from the book "At This Point in Rhyme". E.Y. Harburg also discusses his thoughts on humanity, how to properly write a song, and the importance of light verse and humor as a basis for everything he creates. Excerpts of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" by the Weavers, and a Broadway recording of "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" are played in the original airing but have been removed from this version for copyright reasons.
Author, professor, and John Keats biographer, Aileen Ward, discusses and reads from the biography “John Keats: The Making of a Poet.” Ward discusses Keats’ schooling, his relationship with Fanny Brawne, and Keats’ work in comparison to his contemporaries such as Percy Bysshe Shelley. Ward reads Keats’ 1818 poem entitled “Isabella, or the Pot of Basil.” Studs plays a recording of Ralph Richardson reading Keats’ 1819 poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”