Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, best known for their sexually suggestive songs in the 50s about "Annie," a woman of dubious reputation.
Actor Chuck Norris. He has changed his image from being a cult, martial arts film star to being America's all-round tough guy. His new movie is "Braddock: Missing in Action III." He has just written his autobiography. It's titled The Secret of Inner Strength - My Story.
Dr. David Elkind, a professor and author of books on child development. His new book, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, warns of possible dangers to children who are pushed too hard to achieve too much at too early an age.
Sound designer Martin Levan. He was responsible for the sound of Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals "Song and Dance," "Starlight Express" and now "Phantom of the Opera."
Television Critic David Bianculli previews the eight-hour PBS series "Television." The series is composed of clips from vintage and recent television programs as well as interviews with the creative people behind some of the best news and entertainment shows.
Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the album "Nine Below Zero," by the trio of pianist Wayne Horvitz, cornettist Butch Morris and drummer Bobby Previte. Kevin says the album is one of the more successful attempts to humanize the new electronic instruments like synthesizers, drum machines and rhythm boxes.
Adrian Cronauer, the airman disk-jockey whose stint as a rebellious Armed Forces Radio Network announcer during the Vietnam war is the basis for the movie "Good Morning Vietnam," starring Robin Williams. Cronauer, 49, is a former announcer for WQXR in New York and is now studying communications law at The University of Pennsylvania.
Singer Margaret Whiting. Her father, Richard Whiting, wrote many of her most popular songs, including "Too Marvelous for Words," "My Ideal," "She's Funny That Way," and "On The Good Ship Lollipop." Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer and other great songwriters of the day were like uncles to her. She is now performing at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City.
Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone previews a 5-hour NBC miniseries on the 1913 hanging of a Jewish factory manager in Atlanta, Georgia following the murder a 13-year-old employee of the factory. The case hinged on racial hatred, in this case the prevailing enmity toward Jews, and Laurie praises the production's exploration of how racial divisions have been exploited for political effect. The miniseries is titled "The Murder of Mary Phagan."
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the soundtrack for the movie "Less Than Zero." Though the movie was something of a flop, the soundtrack continues to produce hits.
Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski. His writing lies somewhere between history and journalism. He was a foreign correspondent for the Polish Press Agency. His books in English include The Emperor, about Ethiopian emperor Haille Selassie, Shah of Shah, about the Shah of Iran, and Another Day of Life, about Angola.
Stage and screen actor Joe Mantegna. He can be seen now in "House of Games," the first film effort by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, with whom Mantegna has had a long association. His stage work includes the lead role in "Glengarry, Glen Ross," the Mamet play that won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize; Mantegna won a Tony Award for his performance. Mantegna revels in shady characters: gamblers, cutthroat salesman, mobsters and Hollywood hucksters.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new compact disc issue of Haydn performances with trumpet virtuoso Gerard Schwartz leading the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
William Greider, political reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine, former assistant managing editor of The Washington Post and author of Secrets of the Temple - How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country.
Fresh Air's Television Critic David Bianculli. Bianculli has worked as television critic at several metropolitan papers, including The Akron Beacon Journal, The Fort Lauderdale News and The Philadelphia Inquirer. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone and the Washington Journalism Review. He is currently the television critic for The New York Post.
Avant-garde accordionist and composer Guy Klucevsek. Klucevsek grew up in western Pennsylvania, where polkas were a poplar musical form. Klucevsek has since developed an alternative polka style, best exemplified in his work on `"Polka From the Fringe," 23 three-minute polkas composed by a variety of experimental artists.
