Music

Bandleader and clarinetist Artie Shaw died Dec. 29 at the age of 94, apparently of natural causes. In the 1930s and '40s, Shaw's band ranked with the Goodman, Dorsey and Miller bands in popularity. But he largely rejected pop tunes and stuck with music by composers like Porter, Gershwin and Berlin. We remember Shaw.

Bernstein died Wednesday at the age of 82. He was nominated for 14 Academy Awards, but won only one — for his music for the film Thoroughly Modern Millie. His best known film score was for The Magnificent Seven (which was later used for a Marlboro cigarette commercial). His other film scores include The Man With the Golden Arm, To Kill a Mockingbird, Great Escape, Sweet Smell of Success and The Ten Commandments. (Originally broadcast on Jan. 10, 1991.)

The great singer and pianist Ray Charles died Thursday, June 10, at the age of 73 (Rebroadcast from Oct. 19, 1998.)

Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips died today in Memphis at the age of 80. He was revered as one of the leading catalysts in post-World War II American music. As a record producer in the 1950s and 60s, his recordings launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, to name a few. This interview first aired September 15, 1997.

Soul singer Barry White, the sweet-talking, deep-voiced performer who rhapsodized about love, died on July 4. He was 58. The cause was kidney failure. His hits included "My First, My Last, My Everything," "Never Never Gonna Give Up," and "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More." Before he became a hit as a solo performer, White put together the female vocal trio Love Unlimited and founded the Love Unlimited Orchestra, a 40-piece ensemble, to accompany himself and the trio.

We remember singer/ songwriter HANK BALLARD. He wrote and recorded the song Chubby Checker later made famous, “The Twist.” Ballard died Sunday after a bout with throat cancer. This interview was recorded in 1993.

Songwriter Matt Dennis died Sunday at the age of 88. He wrote the songs "Angel Eyes," "Everything Happens to Me" and "Let's Get Away from It All." In the 1940s he worked with Tommy Dorsey as an arranger and vocal coach when he wrote his biggest hits. This interview first aired December 12, 1995.

Folklorist Alan Lomax died Friday, July 19 at the age of 87. He spent more than a half century recording the folk music and customs of the world. His efforts spurred folk revivals in the United States and across Europe. In the United States, he was responsible for priceless recordings of Leadbelly (who Lomax first recorded in prison), Woody Guthrie, Jelly Roll Morton and many others. A 1959 recording he made of Mississippi prisoner James Carter singing the work song "Po'Lazarus" was the opening song for the soundtrack of the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?

We remember Timothy White, the editor in chief of Billboard Magazine. He died Thursday at the age of 50. He was in his office at the time. This interview first aired January 12, 1995.

Juan Garcia Esquivel was the icon of space age bachelor music, producing innovative recordings of pop music in the 1950s and sixties. He died in his home in Mexico on January 3rd at the age of 83. In 1994 his work was re-issued on the CD, Esquivel!: Space Age Bachelor Pad Music (Bar/None). Yvonne de Bourbon, one of Esquivel's ex-wives, and a former performer in his live show.