Disc Jockey Alan Freed Brought Black Music to the Radio.
Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Alan Freed, one of the most famous, and most notorious, disc jockeys of the 50s and 60s. Freed was one of the first disc jockeys on a mainstream station (WJW in Cleveland) to play the black rhythm and blues that was the foundation of early rock and roll.
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Other segments from the episode on April 19, 1988
"The Assassin of the Tango."
Tango innovator Astor Piazzolla. Since the early 60s, Piazzolla has been leading groups that play an updated tango that connects this Argentinian form with the musical innovations from Europe and America, both classical and contemporary. The adjustments have earned him the enmity of Argentinians, and for most of the 70s he lived in France where he wrote film scores. Piazzolla is a classically trained composer who wrote symphonies and studied with Nadia Boulanger, the renown French instructor of composition.
Pianist Ursula Oppens.
Pianist Ursula Oppens. She's widely regarded as one of the leading interpreters of new music. Many contemporary composers, like John Adams, have written works for her.
A Stunning Debut.
Guest book critic Le Anne Schreiber reviews Night Over Day Over Night, the first novel by American Paul Watkins.
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