Arts and Culture

Fresh Air

• Puns In Country Music Songs Done Right
  Puns have long been a part of country music songs -- think of song titles such as George Jones' "She Took My Keys Away, and Now She Won't Drive Me to Drink" or Lee Ann Womack's "Am I the Only Thing That You Done Wrong?" Linguist Geoff Nunberg says that the genre's willingness to play with lyrics and song titles uncovers new layers of meaning.
• Carolina Chocolate Drops And A String Band Tradition
  Though they work as a traditional African-American string band, Carolina Chocolate Drops' members throw in some modern twists. The Durham, N.C.-based trio plays a wide variety of instruments, including the banjo, fiddle, jug, bones and harmonica. All of those sounds are featured on the band's newest record, <em>Genuine Negro Jig.</em>
• Doc Watson: An Old-Time Folk Musician With Soul
  In 1988, the legendary flatpicker and singer of traditional folk tunes spoke to Terry Gross about starting his musical career, touring with his son Merle and playing banjo during the folk revival of the late 1950s and '60s.
• Ricky Skaggs: A Bluegrass Musician Returns To Roots
  Skaggs started performing as a child and was considered a musical prodigy. After a string of country hits in the 1980s, he returned to bluegrass, performing folk renditions of his own country hits. In 2003, Skaggs spoke to <em>Fresh Air</em> host Terry Gross about growing up in the music industry and playing with Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs.
• John Doe: A Punk Rocker Goes A Little Country
  Doe, of the L.A. punk band X, joined Canadian band The Sadies to perform songs from the album <em>Country Club</em>, covering classics from Merle Haggard to Tammy Wynette. He discusses several of his favorite tracks in a May 2009 interview with <em>Fresh Air</em> host Terry Gross.
• Charlie Louvin: A Louvin Brother Carries On
  The Louvin Brothers, Ira and Charlie, are considered one of the all-time great country-music duos. After Ira was killed in a 1965 car crash, his younger brother Charlie kept singing, eventually releasing nearly 20 albums over the course of four decades. In 1996, he spoke to <em>Fresh Air</em> host Terry Gross.
• Willie Nelson: The Songwriter Reflects On His Hits
  Before he became a leader of the outlaw country movement, Nelson worked for decades as a songwriter, pumping out hit after hit for other performers in Nashville. In 1996, he joined Terry Gross for a conversation about his most famous songs, including "Crazy," "The Family Bible" and "Night Life."
• Waylon Jennings: An Outlaw Opens Up Musically
  In 1996, country star Waylon Jennings, who helped found the "outlaw country" movement, joined Terry Gross for a discussion of his music, his work with Willie Nelson and Buddy Holly, and his time spent working in Nashville in the 1970s.
• 'The American': An Abstract, Angst-Filled Art Thriller
  Anton Corbijn's paranoid thriller stars George Clooney as an anonymous international assassin constantly on the run. Critic David Edelstein says the spare movie "cast a spell" over the audience -- as they entered the mind of a man with no past or future.
• George Jones: A Wild Reputation, A Big Texas Sound
  The country musician nicknamed "The Possum" is known for his wild lifestyle as much as he's known for his No. 1 hits. In 1996, he joined Terry Gross for a conversation about his autobiography, <em>I Lived to Tell It All.</em>
• Bobby Braddock: Spelling Success With Country Songs
  The songwriter's hits include George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," Tanya Tucker's "I Believe the South Is Going to Rise Again," Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Toby Keith's "I Want to Talk About Me." In 2007, he joined Terry Gross for a conversation about his inspirations and his muses in the music world.
• Merle Haggard Reflects On His Outlaw Country Past
  The country singer and guitarist, who helped create the Bakersfield sound, spent the early years of his life in and out of prison. After his final release, he recorded several hits about prison life, including "Mama Tried" and "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive." In 1995, he spoke to Terry Gross about his incarceration and his lengthy music career.
• Charlie Haden: A Bassist With A Country Pedigree
  Bassist Charlie Haden is known as a great jazz musician, but his background is all country. Growing up, he performed alongside his siblings in the Haden Family Band on radio stations across the South and Midwest. He details what it was like to grow up musically -- and why he recently returned to his country roots -- in a 2008 interview on <em>Fresh Air</em>.
• Patsy Cline: A Country Career Cut Short
  One of American popular music's great enigmas, says critic Ed Ward, is what would have happened to Patsy Cline's career if it had lasted longer. She was poised to revolutionize the role of the solo female singer, as well as Nashville's place in the music business, when she was killed in a plane crash. Decca has just released her complete recordings on an album called <em>Sweet Dreams</em>.
• Jimmie Dale Gilmore: A Honky-Tonk Sound From Texas
  The alternative country singer from West Texas pays tribute to his late father on an album of honky-tonk country classics, <em>Come on Back</em>. He describes his introduction to country music -- and seeing Johnny Cash perform for the first time -- in a 2005 interview with Terry Gross.

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