Studs Terkel interviews Rita Streich about her recital coming up. He also plays selections from her work for viewers to listen to. She also talks about music during World War II.

Studs Terkel interviews Rita Streich about her recital coming up. He also plays selections from her work for viewers to listen to. She also talks about music during World War II. This interview is conducted in three parts.

Musician Rick Fielding discusses his upcoming concert, his time touring in Canada, and the making of some songs on his album.

Choir directors Richard Garrin and Catherine Roma of the Windy City Gay Chorus and the Cincinnati Women’s Chorus discuss the evolution of choral music within the gay, transgender and lesbian (LGBTQ) community.

Renee Fleming discusses her musical upbringing, her repertoire, her relationship to performance, and more.

Red Saunders discusses jazz music and jazz musicians.

Red Norvo remembers recording some of his albums with other performers like Mildred Bailey, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman, as well as the revival of jazz music. Recordings are played of the following: "Lover Come Back to Me" by the Red Norvo Combo, "The Weekend of a Private Secretary" sung by Mildred Bailey, "Congo Blues" by Red Norvo And His Selected Sextet, "After You've Gone" by Red Norvo feat. Benny Goodman Sextet, "Rhee! Oh! Rhee" by Red Norvo, "The Night is Blue" by Red Norvo, and "Everything I've Got Belongs to You" by Red Norvo. Songs have been removed due to copyright.

Terkel comments and reads letters of ex-convict Jimmy Blake

Interviewing Ray Still, first oboist and director of the Quadrangle Chamber Players, an ensemble of nine musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Ray Davies of the English rock band, The Kinks, talks about the studio album, "Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)". Davis reads lyrics from the songs, "Victoria," "Yes Sir, No Sir" and "Some Mother's Son".

A master at playing the sitar, Ravi Shankar, also composed the music for the soundtrack of "Gandi". According to Shankar, there are 72 scales in Indian music and when he plays music, 90% of it is improvisation. Younger people became interested in playing the instrument after Shankar announced he was teaching George Harrison of the Beatles how to play the sitar. There is an excerpt of an interview with Shankar from 22 years ago, to the date of this program.

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.