Ed Ward http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2101617&ft=1&f=2101617 Ed Ward is the rock-and-roll historian on NPR's <em>Fresh Air </em>with Terry Gross. en Copyright 2013 NPR - For Personal Use Only NPR API RSS Generator 0.94 Fri, 17 May 2013 13:27:00 -0400 http://media.npr.org/images/npr_news_123x20.gif Ed Ward http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2101617&ft=1&f=2101617 Jerry Lee Lewis: Live, Singing As If Life Depended On It In 1958, Lewis suffered a precipitous decline in popularity when people learned that his new wife was not only 13, but also his cousin. Nobody would touch his records. Then, in 1963, he signed a deal with Smash and it looked like things were getting better. Fri, 17 May 2013 13:27:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2013/05/17/182022948/jerry-lee-lewis-live-singing-as-if-life-depended-on-it?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2013/05/17/182022948/jerry-lee-lewis-live-singing-as-if-life-depended-on-it?ft=1&f=2101617 In 1958, Lewis suffered a precipitous decline in popularity when people learned that his new wife was not only 13, but also his cousin. Nobody would touch his records. Then, in 1963, he signed a deal with Smash and it looked like things were getting better.

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]]> Johnny Cash's Columbia Catalog Out Now — As A 63-Disc Box Set Cash spent half a century in the limelight as a country singer turned American icon. Between 1958, when he first recorded for Columbia, until 1986, when it didn't renew his contract, he recorded more than 50 singles and 60 albums for the label. Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:07:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/10/170069029/johnny-cashs-columbia-catalog-out-now-as-a-64-disc-box-set?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/10/170069029/johnny-cashs-columbia-catalog-out-now-as-a-64-disc-box-set?ft=1&f=2101617 Cash spent half a century in the limelight as a country singer turned American icon. Between 1958, when he first recorded for Columbia, until 1986, when it didn't renew his contract, he recorded more than 50 singles and 60 albums for the label.

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]]> The Moving Sidewalks: Where The British Invasion Met Texas Blues Before he became the guitarist for ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons was in a band called the Moving Sidewalks that just missed its shot at stardom. The album the Moving Sidewalks never released in the late 1960s was released in late 2012 and is very much a period piece, albeit a very well-made one. Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:26:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2013/03/13/170191642/the-moving-sidewalks-where-the-british-invasion-met-texas-blues?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2013/03/13/170191642/the-moving-sidewalks-where-the-british-invasion-met-texas-blues?ft=1&f=2101617 Before he became the guitarist for ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons was in a band called the Moving Sidewalks that just missed its shot at stardom. The album the Moving Sidewalks never released in the late 1960s was released in late 2012 and is very much a period piece, albeit a very well-made one.

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]]> Aretha Franklin Before Atlantic: The Columbia Years Franklin found her voice in songs such as "I Never Loved a Man" for Atlantic Records in the 1960s. Before Atlantic, however, Franklin recorded for Columbia, and in those early recordings you can hear the legend just beginning to emerge. Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:21:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2013/02/27/172875514/aretha-franklin-before-atlantic-the-columbia-years?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2013/02/27/172875514/aretha-franklin-before-atlantic-the-columbia-years?ft=1&f=2101617 Franklin found her voice in songs such as "I Never Loved a Man" for Atlantic Records in the 1960s. Before Atlantic, however, Franklin recorded for Columbia, and in those early recordings you can hear the legend just beginning to emerge.

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]]> The Unsung Pioneer Of Louisiana Swamp-Pop In the early 1960s, Joe Barry combined Cajun and country music into a whole new sound. In honor of a new anthology of Barry's music titled <em>A Fool to Care</em>, critic Ed Ward tells the forgotten musician's story. Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:46:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2013/01/08/168813157/the-unsung-pioneer-of-louisiana-swamp-pop?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2013/01/08/168813157/the-unsung-pioneer-of-louisiana-swamp-pop?ft=1&f=2101617 In the early 1960s, Joe Barry combined Cajun and country music into a whole new sound. In honor of a new anthology of Barry's music titled A Fool to Care, critic Ed Ward tells the forgotten musician's story.

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]]> Turning Up The Volume On The Electric Blues A new 12-disc compilation traces the history of electric blues from its inauspicious start through its heyday in the 1950s and '60s. Critic Ed Ward says <em>Plug It In! Turn It Up!</em> does "a great job of illuminating one particular aspect of the blues." Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:20:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2012/11/29/166114425/turning-up-the-volume-on-the-electric-blues?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/11/29/166114425/turning-up-the-volume-on-the-electric-blues?ft=1&f=2101617 A new 12-disc compilation traces the history of electric blues from its inauspicious start through its heyday in the 1950s and '60s. Critic Ed Ward says Plug It In! Turn It Up! does "a great job of illuminating one particular aspect of the blues."

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]]> The Insect Trust: An American Band Deconstructed One of the great fantasies of the hippie era was that new combinations of music would emerge from the experimentation that was going on. Still, very few lived it. Ed Ward says The Insect Trust was one of the exceptions. Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:52:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/2012/11/20/165494325/the-insect-trust-an-american-band-deconstructed?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/11/20/165494325/the-insect-trust-an-american-band-deconstructed?ft=1&f=2101617 One of the great fantasies of the hippie era was that new combinations of music would emerge from the experimentation that was going on. Still, very few lived it. Ed Ward says The Insect Trust was one of the exceptions.

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]]> The Big Man Behind 'Shake, Rattle And Roll' Six feet tall, weighing in at 400 pounds and in his 40s when stardom hit him, Big Joe Turner is behind a load of rock 'n' roll hits. His hardest-hitting singles have been collected on a new compilation, titled <em>Big Joe Turner Rocks.</em> Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:35:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2012/10/22/163396468/the-big-man-behind-shake-rattle-and-roll?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/10/22/163396468/the-big-man-behind-shake-rattle-and-roll?ft=1&f=2101617 Six feet tall, weighing in at 400 pounds and in his 40s when stardom hit him, Big Joe Turner is behind a load of rock 'n' roll hits. His hardest-hitting singles have been collected on a new compilation, titled Big Joe Turner Rocks.

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]]> More Than This: The 'Complete' Roxy Music Ed Ward connects the dots of the British band's eight studio albums, which were just collected in a box set. Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:57:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162937724/more-than-this-the-complete-roxy-music?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162937724/more-than-this-the-complete-roxy-music?ft=1&f=2101617 Ed Ward connects the dots of the British band's eight studio albums, which were just collected in a box set.

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]]> Out Of Industrial Wasteland, The English Beat Was Born Ed Ward reviews the reissued catalog from the multiracial, multi-generational ska band. Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:52:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2012/10/01/162104081/out-of-industrial-wasteland-the-english-beat-was-born?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/10/01/162104081/out-of-industrial-wasteland-the-english-beat-was-born?ft=1&f=2101617 Ed Ward reviews the reissued catalog from the multiracial, multi-generational ska band.

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]]> The Forgotten Story Of Memphis' American Studios Memphis has been a music town since anyone can remember, and it's had places to record that music since there have been records. Some of its studios — Sun, Stax and Hi — are well-known, but American Studios produced its share of hits, and yet remains obscure. Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:41:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2012/09/10/156482702/the-forgotten-story-of-memphis-american-studios?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/09/10/156482702/the-forgotten-story-of-memphis-american-studios?ft=1&f=2101617 Memphis has been a music town since anyone can remember, and it's had places to record that music since there have been records. Some of its studios — Sun, Stax and Hi — are well-known, but American Studios produced its share of hits, and yet remains obscure.

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]]> Harmony, Teenagers And 'The Complete Story Of Doo-Wop' <em>Street Corner Symphonies</em> is a 15-volume year-by-year survey of doo-wop by scholar Bill Dahl. Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:14:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2012/09/06/160670863/harmony-teenagers-and-the-complete-story-of-doo-wop?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/09/06/160670863/harmony-teenagers-and-the-complete-story-of-doo-wop?ft=1&f=2101617 Street Corner Symphonies is a 15-volume year-by-year survey of doo-wop by scholar Bill Dahl.

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]]> Autosalvage: The Psychedelic Band That Vanished There are lots of stories about the band that got away. For rock historian Ed Ward, one of those groups has always been Autosalvage, a New York quartet who made one album and then stopped playing. Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:06:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2012/08/16/156487498/autosalvage-the-psychedelic-band-that-vanished?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/08/16/156487498/autosalvage-the-psychedelic-band-that-vanished?ft=1&f=2101617 There are lots of stories about the band that got away. For rock historian Ed Ward, one of those groups has always been Autosalvage, a New York quartet who made one album and then stopped playing.

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]]> The Untold Story Of Singer Bobby Charles Charles was one of those rock 'n' roll figures whose work you're almost certainly familiar with, even if you've probably heard of him. He lived in isolation, recorded very little, didn't perform live and died in 2010. Rock historian Ed Ward looks at his memorable body of work. Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:10:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/150960729/the-untold-story-of-singer-bobby-charles?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/150960729/the-untold-story-of-singer-bobby-charles?ft=1&f=2101617 Charles was one of those rock 'n' roll figures whose work you're almost certainly familiar with, even if you've probably heard of him. He lived in isolation, recorded very little, didn't perform live and died in 2010. Rock historian Ed Ward looks at his memorable body of work.

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]]> James Burton: The Teen Who Invented American Guitar You've heard guitarist James Burton even if you don't know it. Ever since he was 15, he's been recording behind a bewildering number of artists, from Ricky Nelson to Ray Charles. He also managed to put out some records on his own. Rock historian Ed Ward shares his story. Fri, 25 May 2012 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2012/05/25/150971914/james-burton-the-teen-who-invented-american-guitar?ft=1&f=2101617 http://www.npr.org/2012/05/25/150971914/james-burton-the-teen-who-invented-american-guitar?ft=1&f=2101617 You've heard guitarist James Burton even if you don't know it. Ever since he was 15, he's been recording behind a bewildering number of artists, from Ricky Nelson to Ray Charles. He also managed to put out some records on his own. Rock historian Ed Ward shares his story.

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