1960s

A new documentary about Paul McCartney, his life after the breakup of The Beatles and the formation of his band Wings is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The film was made by our guest, Morgan Neville. He also directed documentaries about Fred Rogers, Anthony Bourdain and Orson Welles, as well as many prominent musicians, and has won an Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. Morgan Neville spoke with FRESH AIR's Ann Marie Baldonado.

Meyers, who died March 7, helped shape Tex-Mex music with the '60s band Sir Douglas Quintet and then with the Texas Tornados. His signature sound was on the vox organ. Originally broadcast in 1990.

Weir was 16 in 1963 when he ran into Jerry Garcia at a music store in Palo Alto. They decided to start a band, which evolved into the Grateful Dead. Weir died Jan. 10. Originally broadcast in 2016.

Wilson, who died at age 82, was the creative force behind The Beach Boys. He wrote and produced many hits, including "Good Vibrations" and "God Only Knows." Originally broadcast in '88 and '98.

The jazz singer's 1960s concert career is amply documented on record, with live albums from Berlin, LA, Tokyo and the French Riviera. Now comes a newly released concert of Fitzgerald in Oakland, Calif.

Ross' Oscar-nominated film centers on two young Black men attempting to survive a brutal Florida reformatory school in the 1960s. He says he's sees the rural South as a "meaning-making space."

Questlove's new documentary called "Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden Of Black Genius)" is about the impact of Sly Stone and his band Sly and the Family Stone on music and culture.

Wallach, who died in 2014, learned to ride horses as a young man. He later made a career playing villains in Westerns like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Originally broadcast in 1990

The Shangri-Las mixed a tough image with songs about teen love. Weiss, who died Jan. 19, left the group in the late '60s, and released her fist solo album in 2007. Originally broadcast in 2007.

We celebrate the former Beatle by listening back to this 1995 interview, in which Starr shared that he made his first drum kit out of "biscuit tins and firewood."

Bacharach, who died Feb. 8, wrote hits in the '60s and early '70s. We listen to a 1998 interview with Bacharach and Elvis Costello.

Lewis came up in rock, but proved his country chops on the 1968 album Another Place, Another Time. The music suited his piano style, and the lyrics fit the emotions he brought to every performance.

Best known for novelty songs like "King of the Road," Miller was also a serious songwriter who wrote ballads for artists such as Ray Price. Miller's '70 album A Trip in the Country is newly available.

The British singer/guitarist talks about his formative years, and about pioneering a new musical genre that blended rock with traditional music of the British isles. Thompson's new memoir is Beeswing.

Spector, who died Jan. 12, was part of the 1960s girl group that gave us "Be My Baby." She left the music business for some years but returned to recording in the 1970s. Originally broadcast in 1988.

His latest film, Last Night in Soho, is set in the present day and tells the story of a young woman named Eloise who is transported in her dreams into the swinging '60s of London, where she lives out the life of another woman.

Jones became a pop star and sex symbol in the 1960s with "It's Not Unusual," "Delilah," and "What's New Pussycat?" His new album is Surrounded by Time. Originally broadcast in 2003.

The first lady is often remembered as a genteel Southerner who promoted highway beautification, but author Julia Sweig says archival records show Lady Bird was also a savvy political strategist.

Lynn, who married when she was in her teens, later created controversy by singing about divorce and birth control. Her new album is Still Woman Enough.
Originally broadcast on Nov. 10, 2010.

Ellen and Ben Harper both grew up in the Folk Music Center in Claremont Calif., which Ellen's parents founded in 1958. They join Fresh Air to discuss Ellen's new memoir, Always a Song.