Country music

Bill Ivey is the new Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. He won Senate confirmation last month. He last served as the director of the Country Music Foundation. There he co-produced a new 3 CD set called "From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music." (Warner Bros) The collection traces the contributions African-Americans have had in country music. (stations: This was recorded before his confirmation hearings. He declined to talk about the NEA at that time.)

Journalist Bruce Feiler. His new book is a history of country music: "Dreaming out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes, and the Changing Face of Nashville (Avon Books). Feiler writes regularly about American music for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications. He's also a frequent contributor to "All Things Considered."

Rock historian Ed Ward on Moran Lee Boggs, otherwise known as Dock Boggs, who played banjo like a blues guitar in the 1920s. Boggs died in 1971. His recordings have been collected on a new CD "Dock Boggs: Country Blues" (Reventant label)

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "The Northeast Kingdome" (E-Squared/Warner) by Cheri Knight.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker reviews two recent releases: Jim Lauderdale's "Whisper," and Buddy Miller's "Poison Love". Both albums have been categorized as "alternative country" and Tucker says in a time of "overblown big stars" that label may be a marketing enhancement.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Musings of a Creek Dipper" (Atlantic) the new release of singer Victoria Williams, who was part of this summer's Lilith Tour.

Langford, who co-founded the British punk band, now lives in the US. He's plays in the country-inspired band the Waco Brothers. Langford is also a visual artist. and, under the pen name Chuck Death and draws the comic Great Pop Things, which is published in the LA Weekly, and collected in the new book. "Great Pop Things: The Real History of Rock n Roll from Elvis to Oasis" (Verse Chorus Press) Langford has just released his first solo CD called: "Skull Orchard."

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Garth Brooks new recording, "Sevens"

Rock critic Ken Tucker talks with Terry Gross about the albums he liked best in 1997.

Music Critic Ken Tucker reviews Shania Twain’s newest CD Come On Over. (Mercury Records)