Music

Heath died Thursday at the age of 81. He was the bass player for the Modern Jazz Quartet for four decades and played with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman.

Rock historian Ed Ward tells us about the British band The Pretty Things, a band that was a spin off-of group of the early Rolling Stones. Last year they released the reissue, Come See Me: The Very Best of The Pretty Things.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Devils and Dust, the new album by Bruce Springsteen. The record is mostly a solo recording, without the backing of the E-Street Band.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Forever Hasn't Happened Yet the new CD by John Doe, formerly of the punk-rock band X.

Crawford is co-author of the book, "Border Radio: Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves." It's about the "border blaster" stations that set up across the Mexican border to evade U.S. regulations, and beamed their broadcasting into the United States.

Legendary blues and rock pianist Johnnie Johnson died Wednesday in St. Louis. He was 80 years old. For more than 20 years, Johnson was Chuck Berry's pianist. He played on all of Berry's greatest hits, and he gained rock-and-roll immortality when Berry wrote the song "Johnny B. Goode" about him. (Originally aired July 31, 1991)

Gareth Cook covers science for The Boston Globe. Last week, he won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism for his yearlong series of stories on stem-cell research. The judges praised Cook's work for explaining "the complex scientific and ethical dimensions of stem cell research."

Music historian Ed Ward remembers the Rock and Roll Trio, from the early 1950s made up of brothers Johnny and Dorsey Burnette and electric guitarist Paul Burlison. Their recordings have been collected on the Hip-O Select label.

Writer Frank Conroy died April 6, at 69. He had colon cancer. He was the longtime director of the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop. His 1967 memoir, Stop-Time, became a classic. In 1993, he published his first and only novel, Body & Soul. His other books were a collection of short stories, Midair, and his last book, the nonfiction Time and Tide: A Walk Through Nantucket. Conroy also worked as a jazz pianist in Greenwich Village and Nantucket for many years. (Originally aired Sept. 29, 1993)

Lewis Black is a playwright, stand-up comic, actor, and a commentator on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He's been described as having the mouth of a shock-jock and the heart of a liberal. His new book is entitled Nothing's Sacred.

Critic Milo Miles checks out the New Orleans sound via a recent recording by the Neville Brothers, Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, as well as a new Sonny Landreth CD, Grant Street.

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.

DJ Kool Herc is the father of the breakbeat, the deejay practice of isolating and repeating "breaks," the most danceable portions of songs; breakbeats make up the foundation of modern hip-hop. Herc has written the introduction to the new book Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation (St.Martins, 2005) by Jeff Chang.

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.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews I Have The Room Above Her by the Paul Motian/Bill Frisell/Joe Lovano trio.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Mercy Now, the new album from singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier.

New York cabaret legend Bobby Short died Monday of leukemia at age 80. The singer performed at New York's Carlyle Hotel for nearly four decades. Short was born in Danville, Ill., and began his career at age 9, known as "The Miniature King of Swing." He was named a Living Landmark by New York's Landmark Conservancy and a National Living Legend by the Library of Congress.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the latest project by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev — recordings of Shostakovich's Fourth, Fifth, Seventh and Ninth Symphonies.

Roky Erickson was the front man for the 13th Floor Elevators, the first band to be called psychedelic. While they never became superstars, the Texas band's influence can still be felt today. Rock historian Ed Ward has a retrospective on Erickson's career.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews The Upside of Anger starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner.