Pop

Fresh Air broadcasts the second part of its interview with singer-songwriter Paul Anka. He's new album is called Rock Swings. It's a collection of covers from the 1980s and '90s, re-set to a swing beat.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Magic Hollow, a new four-CD retrospective of the band The Beau Brummels, a '60s British Invasion-era pop group from California. Their biggest -- and only top 10 -- hit was "Laugh, Laugh."

Rock critic Milo Miles reviews She Sang California, a new CD from singer songwriter Judy Henske. She was popular in the 1960s, but it's been 28 years since she released an album.

Billy Joe Shaver discusses his career and personal life

Rock historian Ed Ward looks back on the beginnings of Motown's Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

Rock historian Ed Ward takes us back to the early days of Motown. The first volume of The Complete Motown Singles has just been released on Hip-O Select, with 11 volumes to come.

Critic-at-large John Powers reflects on the end of the Michael Jackson child molestation trial.

Rock critic Ed Ward finds a forgotten chapter of American pop history: the 1940s sound of East Los Angeles. Hear original recordings of vintage Latin music collected on the new CD Pachuco Boogie, from Arhoolie Records.

In the past several months, singer Marianne Faithfull has released two CDs: a two-disc set of her hits, and Before the Poison, which includes tracks written by PJ Harvey.

Cake has five albums to their credit. The band includes trumpeter Vincent DiFiore, bassist Gabriel Nelson, and guitarist Xan McCurdy. The popular alt-rock group combines caustic lyrics with pulsing guitar music and is influenced by many different styles: rock, funk, synth-pop, mariachi and cuban. Sometimes they shoot for a cheap, lo-fi sound, says McCrea. Their new CD is Pressure Chief.

Get Lifted is the first solo album by R&B singer and piano player John Legend, who made his name playing with star producer Kanye West. Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new self-titled solo CD by singer-songwriter John Davis, formerly with the punk-pop group Superdrag.

After a chart-topping and occasionally controversial music career, she is now turning out children's books, publishing four in just over a year. Her latest is The Adventures of Abdi. The others are The English Roses, Mr. Peabody's Apples and Yakov and the Seven Thieves. Her fifth, Lotsa de Casha, is due out in April 2005.

Musician Lenny Kaye is perhaps best known as Patti Smith's guitarist. But he's also a music writer, whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and Creem. His new book, You Call it Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon, chronicles the male singers of the 1930s known for their suave, sophisticated and romantic interpretations of song: Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee and Russ Columbo.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews Beautiful Dreamer: the Songs of Stephen Foster, featuring performances by many contemporary artists, including John Prine, Yo Yo Ma and Mavis Staples.

Sorry, the Web audio for this segment is unavailable due to Internet rights issues. Donovan Leitch, known for psychedelic hits such as "Mellow Yellow," is back with his first album in 8 years, Beat Cafe. Known best by his first name alone, Leitch grew up in Glasgow, and was a big part of the San Francisco music scene in the late 1960s.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Travels in the South, the new album from North-Carolina based singer-songwriter Chris Stamey, formerly of the dB’s and the Sneakers.

Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx are the songwriting team behind the 2004 Tony award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q (which won Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical). Their subversive show features people and puppets and is about a group of aimless 30-somethings with low expectations and active libidos. It includes such songs as It Sucks to be Me, Everyone's a Little Bit Racist, If You Were Gay, and I Wish I could Go Back to College.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new album from Jules Shear. It's a collection of cover tunes by artists ranging from Bob Dylan to the Dave Clark Five.