Helen Humes discusses her career and touring with Count Basie and his orchestra. John McDonough is present for the interview and contributes. Songs sung by Helen are played throughout the interview: "He May Be Your Man", "Song of the Wanderer", "If I Could Be with You for One Hour Tonight" (2 recordings- one from 1940 and one from 1977), "Unlucky Woman", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "Today I Sing the Blues", and "They Raided the Joint". Music has been removed for copyright reasons.

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.

Don McLean discusses his career and his music. Don McLean discusses his influences, life experiences, and his songwriting.

Conductor Christopher Keene and composer Gian-Carlo Menotti dscuss the major themes of the opera"Tamu-Tamu", other opera performances, and the kind of work that goes into creating these works. Recordings are played during the interview: "Aria", sung by Eileen Farrell from the opera "The Consul", "Gloria" sung by an ensemble from the opera "The Saint of Bleecker Street", and "Have You Seen a Child" sung by an ensemble from the opera "Ahmal and the Night Visitors". Music has been removed for copyright reasons. This also includes part of an earlier recorded interview with both subjects.

Studs Terkel interviews opera singers, Carol Neblett and Richard Stillwell, as members appearing in the Lyric Opera production of "Don Giovanni". They discuss their characters, Elvira and Don. Carol Neblett and Richard Stillwell discuss their careers.

Carlotta Monti discusses W.C. Fields and her book "W.C. Fields & Me".

Angela Lansbury, actress and singer, talks about her work on the play, "Sweeny Todd." Lansbury also talks about her early career, work on Mame, and her family.

Studs interviews Alan Stone, Steven Larson, and Judith Erickson about the opera, "Regina," playing at the Chicago Opera Theater. They describe the variety of music and dances in the opera. Stone, Larson, and Erickson name the cast and their roles and describe the characters. Each share how they came to be in theater. Stone explains how the company started. Larson describes the orchestra and the chorus. Erickson reads some of the lyrics of the aria, "The Best Thing of All," at the end of act one. Stone, Larson, and Erickson read various lines from the opera.