Terry Gross

He's been called the 'not-so missing link between soul and country'. His songs have been recorded by Vince Gill, George Strait, the Dixie Chicks, Shelby Lynne and many others. But he's also recorded over a dozen of his own solo albums and has sung background vocals on more than 40 albums. In 1999 he collaborated with his hero, blue grass legend Ralph Stanley on the album, I Feel Like Singing Today which was nominated for a Grammy.

Actor and rapper Will Smith. His film Ali in which he stars as fighter Muhammad Ali is now out on video and DVD. This summer he stars in Men in Black II. Smith also starred in the films The Legend of Bagger Vance, Men In Black, Independence Day, and Six Degrees of Separation. Smith got his start as a rapper, making his first record in high school. Known as the Fresh Prince he and his friend DJ Jazzy Jeff went on to make several albums and won two Grammys and three American Music Awards. He also starred in his own TV sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Basketball Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bill Russell is considered the greatest defensive center in the history of the game. In the 1960s he helped the Celtic on to 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons. He was named the NBA's most valuable player five times. His book, Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership From the Twentieth Century's Greatest Winner, is now out in paperback. This interview first aired May 9, 2001.

Writer Daniel Handler is the author (under the name Lemony Snicket) of the children's books A Series of Unfortunate Events featuring the orphans Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire. In each of the nine books so far, the orphans face increasing misfortune, from being pursued by an evil Count out to get their inheritance, to undergoing unnecessary surgery. Handler's books are filled with literary references and in-jokes that only adults would get.

Singer Keely Smith has been called "The Queen of Swing" and "First Lady of Las Vegas." Smith is perhaps best known as the duet partner and wife of Louis Prima. Smith and Prima drew crowds to the lounges of Las Vegas in the 1950s. Their hits include "Jump, Jive, an' Wail," "Just a Gigolo," "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "That Old Black Magic." This interview first aired April 4, 2000.

Writer Noelle Howey has written a new memoir about growing up in a household where as she was coming of age, her father was coming out as a trans-sexual and her mother was coming into her own as an independent woman. Her new book is Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods-My Mother's, My Father's and Mine (Picador). Howey is coeditor of Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Parents. She received a 2001 Nonfiction Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Producers, writers, directors Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg. Their new documentary film Promises takes a look at the Palestinian-Isreali conflict thru the eyes of seven children living in or near Jerusalem. It was filmed between 1997 and the summer of 2000. SHAPIRO grew up in Berkeley, California and hosts and co-writes the award-winning travel series, Lonely Planet. Goldberg was born in Boston and grew up outside of Jerusalem and has been a television journalist. Promises was broadcast on PBS last December as part of the P.O.V. series.

Since the 1973 release of his first album, Closing Time, Tom Waits has won fans over with his original songwriting and distinctive, gravelly vocal style. Musicians including Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart have recorded covers of his songs. He has also acted in films, including Sylvester Stallone's Paradise Alley, Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law and Robert Altman's Short Cuts. Waits has two new CDs out this month: Alice and Blood Money.

Mel Levine, M.D. The founder of the All Kinds of Minds Institute and the Director of the Center for Development and Learning has just written a book called A Mind at a Time: America's Top Learning Expert Shows How Every Child Can Succeed. Levine is a professor of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School.

Advertising great Mary Wells Lawrence. Her career spans the 1960s to the 1980s, and she created many memorable campaigns. She is responsible for the Alka-Selzer "Plop Plop Fizz Fizz," and the slogan, "I Love New York." Her new book is called A Big Life (in Advertising) (Knopf). She is a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame and the Copywriters Hall of Fame.