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Restoring the Original Arrangement of "Show Boat."

Conductor John McGlinn. He directed a new recording of the classic musical "Show Boat," first performed in 1927 with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein 2nd. McGlinn's new and controversial recording of the musical includes rejected numbers from the planning stages and items cut in the pre-Broadway tryout. (Rebroadcast. Originally broadcast on Jan. 13, 1989).

11:21
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Other segments from the episode on October 24, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, October 24, 1989: Interview with Deborah Harry; Commentary on Ray Charles; Interview with John McGlinn; Review of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "The Remains of the Day."
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21:36

Deborah Harry on Acting and Music.

Singer Deborah Harry. She was lead singer of the group "Blondie," which started out in the late '70's as a punk band and by the early '80's was topping the charts. Since the breakup of "Blondie," Harry has gone on to a solo career and several film and TV roles, most recently in "Wiseguy." Her latest album is called, "Def, Dumb and Blonde."

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06:53

From Nat Cole Imitator to Soul Original

Rock historian Ed Ward tells the story of how Ray Robinson--an obscure emerging R & B singer--broke away from his image as a Nat King Cole imitator, changed his name, his record label, and established his identity as Ray Charles.

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03:46

White Writers' Misguided Attempts at Racial Authenticity

Linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on the use of racist terminology in the musical Show Boat. He says that later revisions were still problematic: they illustrated the enduring assumption that white liberals can accurately and authentically portray African American culture.

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09:51

Restoring the Original Arrangement of "Show Boat"

Conductor John McGlinn says that his decision to bring back the controversial language of Jerome Kern's classic musical posed some challenges, but was necessary to recapture the poignant and insightful nature of the work. McGlinn's efforts can be heard on a new CD on the EMI label.

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