Terry Gross

A live concert with songwriter and pianist Charles Brown. Charles Brown is one of the most original artists in blues history. He's credited with creating an expressive style of blues that blended rough Texas blues with the soft glamour of Hollywood. This approach was dubbed "Club Blues." Between 1946 and 1952, Brown recorded 20 hits, nine on his own, the rest as part of Johnny Moore's Blazers.

Detective writer Mickey Spillane One of the world's most popular writers of the hardboiled private investigator genre. His most famous character is Mike Hammer. Spillane has just written his first Mike Hammer story in 19 years.

Rock critic Dave Marsh. Marsh is one of rock's most influential voices. He edited the Rolling Stone Record Guide and has written profiles of Bruce Springsteen and the Who. Marsh's new book is "The Heart of Rock and Roll: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made."

Bandleader, singer, songwriter, and talent scout Johnny Otis. His musical career spans the big band era, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. In the 40's he played and traveled with the big bands, with the Ink Spots and Louis Jordan. Later, with a pared down band, he was on the forefront of the rhythm and blues. He's credited with discovering Etta James, Big Mama Thornton, Jackie Wilson and Ernestine Anderson.

Actor Jerry Orbach. Orbach has had a long career on Broadway, starring in shows such as "The Three Penny Opera," "Promises, Promises," and "42nd Street." More recently he's appeared on TV and in films. His latest role is in the new Woody Allen movie, "Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Novelist David Shields. His second novel, Dead Languages, uses the experience of stuttering as a metaphor for the difficulty of all interaction. It's the story of Jeremy Zorn and his efforts - sometimes comic - to overcome his stutter. The story parallels Shields' experiences. Shields says the inspiration for the novel grew from the paradox between his own comfort and security in the written word, contrasted with his virtual paralysis with speech. (Rebroadcast. Original date 5/10/89).

The husband-and-wife rhythm section, drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth. The two co-founded Talking Heads with David Byrne in 1974, and married in 1977. The two also founded the band "Tom Tom Club," a loose conglomeration of friends, relatives and neighbors. Tom Tom Club has had hits with the songs "Genius of Love," and "Wordy Rappinghood," from their 1981 debut album "Tom Tom Club," and since has recorded two other albums, "Close to the Bone," and "Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom." (Rebroadcast.

Jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. He introduced the vibes to the jazz world and remains one of it's undisputed masters. In the 1930's he played with the Benny Goodman's band -- being one of the first blacks to play with a white band. He's just written an autobiography, "Hamp." Al Capone and Louis Armstrong also play surprising roles in his life.

Critic at large Laurie Stone reviews the new movie, "My Left Foot." It stars Daniel Day Lewis as Christy Brown, an Irish painter and writer with cerebral palsy.

Brazilian singer/songwriter Caetano Veloso (kah-TAH-no vah-LOW-sah). He's revered as one of the primary architects of "tropicalismo," - a 1960's cultural and musical movement that reevaluated traditional Brazilian music and incorporated non-Brazilian musical styles. Leftist intellectuals denounced his music for it's use of foreign influences. In the late 1960's he was jailed and exiled from Brazil for his participation in the musical movement because the government feared the social force it might have.