Ed Ward
Producer Cosimo Matassa Always Believed In New Orleans
In the 60s, musicians left New Orleans, major labels lost interest, and Motown and Memphis took over the black music charts. But one producer didn't give up.
At The Peak Of Her Powers: Barbara Lynn's 'Complete Atlantic Recordings'
Fresh Air rock historian Ed Ward has a look in to a vital part of Lynn's career.
Bob Dylan's 'Basement Tapes' Formed A Legend
During a hiatus, some tapes surfaced of new songs Bob Dylan had been writing: the Basement Tapes. These songs have been collected in a box set.
The Mysterious Case of Arthur Conley, Otis Redding's Protege.
Singer Conley had a number of hits before disappearing in the '70s, a few years after his mentor Redding died in a plane crash. So where did he go? To Europe, where he changed his name.
The Toil And The Oil That Fueled The Bakersfield Country Scene.
Bakersfield, Calif., has become famous for its own brand of country music, with such stars as Merle Haggard and Buck Owens given credit for putting the town on the musical map. But they evolved through a music scene that was wild and wide-open during the 1950s and '60s, and Fresh Air's Ed Ward has the story.
The Story Of Little Feat's Fame, Destruction And Revival
The archetypal '70s band had a charismatic frontman and wonderful songs, but they also had drug problems and kept breaking up. Their Warner Bros. recordings are in a new box set called Rad Gumbo.
Box Set Looks Back On Pioneering '5' Royales
With the release of the 131-track collection Soul and Swagger: The Complete "5" Royales, the group has finally gotten the recognition they deserve.
A Label Paramount To Early Blues And Jazz
Between 1917 and 1932, the label released thousands of records. Jack White's Third Man Records has joined with the reissue label Revenant to release the first of two packages documenting Paramount.
The Soul Singer Who Never Quite Made It.
There was a time when people in the know in Memphis described James Govan as Otis Redding's natural successor. A new compilation collects some of his unreleased recordings.
When Memphis Made A Move On Nashville's Country Monopoly.
A new nine-hour box set, titled Sun Country Box: 1950-1959, collects Sun Records' country output.