Terry Gross

Merle Streep sings badly in the new film Florence Foster Jenkins, based on a NYC heiress and arts patron who performed arias and art songs totally off key, but made recordings and performed at Carnegie Hall. Streep is actually a very good singer which she's shown in previous films.

Pianist and composer Dave Burrell was an important part of the free jazz scene of the 1960s, recording with Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown, Archie Shepp and others. His new CD with his Full-Blown Trio, Expansion, marks Burrell's first recording for a U.S. label in almost 40 years.

The 1960s show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In turned actress Goldie Hawn into a star. Later, she starred in the films Cactus Flower, Swing Shift, and Private Benjamin. Hawn's autobiography, written with Wendy Holden, is Goldie: A Lotus Grows in the Mud.