Rock

Rock historian Ed Ward will profile the career of Esquerita, a gay, black piano player whose flamboyant style (and hairdoo) was an inspiration to Little Richard.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker will review the novelty song "Elvis is Everywhere," by Skid Roper and Mojo Nixon.

Rock historian Ed Ward will look at Cal-Mex music - the sound from East L.A. - and the legacy of "La Bamba."

Rock Critic Ken Tucker will review "Bad," the new Michael Jackson album.

Ken Tucker thinks that a new album by the Washington, D.C.-based band Trouble Funk might help prove that the genre is more than just a passing fad.

Booker T. and the M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper cowrote and played on countless soul music hits during the 1960s. While he focuses more on producing nowadays, his musical legacy endures. Rock historian Ed Ward tells his story.

Surf guitar legend Dick Dale joins Fresh Air to talk about how he developed his signature style. He's featured in the new Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon movie Back to the Beach.

Singer Dion, from Dion and the Belmonts, is making a comeback singing Christian songs. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about his early career, growing older, and getting sober.

Rock critic Ken Tucker says that Warren Zevon's career owes more to admiring critics than popular success. Regardless, his new album--his first in five years--is worth seeking out.

Rock historian Ed Ward looks back at Elvis Presley's early recording session, which show that the singer borrowed as much from white country music as he did from the blues.

Kid Creole is the alter-ego of songwriter August Darnell. His charming but boasting album titles and complex lyrics may have kept him from rock stardom, but rock critic Ken Tucker says the music on his new album--I, Too, Have Seen the Woods--is beguiling.

Record producer, musician and songwriter Todd Rundgren joins Fresh Air to talk about his career both in-studio and on the concert stage. Recently, he's branched out into television, writing music for Pee Wee's Playhouse.

Rock historian Ed Ward looks at how record labels tried--and failed--to market second-rate bands from San Francisco's psychedelic rock scene.

Roseanne Cash's newest album, King's Record Shop, blends country and rock music. Rock critic Ken Tucker says that her affectless voice lends itself to both genres.

Critic-at-large Stephen Schiff says that La Bamba, the new biopic about Ritchie Valens, is a whitewashed portrait of the late musician, and mostly lacks a rock and roll spirit.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles the 1960s California band, fronted by African American singer and songwriter Arthur Lee.

Rock critic Ken Tucker says that Wire's first new album in seven years doesn't capture the intensity of their debut Pink Flag, but it's still a provocative listen.

Brothers Luis and Daniel Valens' collaborated on a biopic of the late singer's life, called La Bamba. They discuss how they tracked down Valens' family to learn more about his early life.

Sonny Burgess was known as much for his monochromatic look as he was his wild music. Ed Ward says the word to describe him is "weird" -- Burgess favored unconventional instrumentation and bizarre lyrics.