Terry Gross

The great singer and pianist Ray Charles died Thursday, June 10, at the age of 73. He was about to go back on tour, but died of complications of liver disease. Charles shaped American music since the 1950s, at first copying the styles of black vocalists like Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. But he soon developed a style all his own. His career grew along with Atlantic records, which signed him as a fledgling label. Charles' first hit was "I've Got a Woman" in 1955. He went on to record more bluesy, gospel-charged hits, country, jazz and rock.

Before going out on his own, he backed B.B. King and played with Ray Charles. He eventually became musical director for Charles' band and he credits what he learned about playing soulful music from Charles. His CD Hank Crawford: Memphis Ray and a Touch of Moody collects music from his previous recordings: More Soul, From the Heart, Soul of the Ballad, and Dig These Blues. (Rebroadcast from May 20, 1998.)

The great singer and pianist Ray Charles died Thursday, June 10, at the age of 73 (Rebroadcast from Oct. 19, 1998.)

As a teenager he played backup for Billie Holiday, along with his 16-year-old friend, Ray Charles. (Rebroadcast from Nov. 5, 2001.)

Frank is the founding editor of the zine The Baffler, a cultural-criticism journal. He also writes frequently for Harper's, and The Nation. His new book is What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. He is also the author of One Market Under God, and The Conquest of Cool.

O'Rourke started out writing comedy in the 1970s for The National Lampoon. Later he was a commentator-reporter for Rolling Stone. Now he is a correspondent for Atlantic Monthly. His new book is Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism. O'Rourke is also the author of Eat the Rich, Parliament of Whores and All the Trouble in the World.

Burns, along with drummer John Convertino, make up the band Calexico. The Tucson, Ariz. band is known for music that is inspired by southwest border region they live in, blending multiple musical genres including folk, rock, pop, country and mariachi. Their latest album is Feast of Wire.

Seagle has written for Superman and Uncanny X-Men as well as House of Secrets: Foundation, a supernatural court drama comic. He's teamed up with artist Teddy Kristiansen for the new graphic novel, It's a Bird... In this semi-autographical book Seagle deconstructs the classic Superman myth and reflects on power and powerlessness.

Bamford is the former investigative producer for ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. He's the author of the bestsellers Body of Secrets and The Puzzle Palace. He's also written investigative cover stories for The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. His new book is A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies.

He's been acting since he was a child. Culkin first attracted attention as John Candy's inquisitive nephew in the John Hughes film, Uncle Buck. The film Home Alone turned him into a star. He also made the films Home Alone II, Jacob's Ladder, and most recently Party Monster. Recently he returned to acting after a 6-year hiatus. His latest film is Saved! He plays a high school student in a wheelchair attending an evangelical Christian High School, whose friends are all outsiders. The film has been described as part religious satire, and part teenage rite of passage film.