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Ed Ward Ed Ward is the rock-and-roll historian on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
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Ed Ward

Review

Arts & Life

Looking Back at 'Sister Love': Lorraine Ellison on CD

Fresh Air

Fresh Air's resident rock historian remembers soul singer Lorraine Ellison, who recorded a handful of albums and dozens of singles in the '60s and '70s; though she charted a few R&B hits, she never quite broke through to stardom. Her biggest success was with the string-saturated ballad "Stay With Me," which topped out at No. 11 on the R&B charts and has since been covered by everyone from Bette Midler to teenybopper idol Rex Smith.

Looking Back at 'Sister Love': Lorraine Ellison on CD

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DVD Reviews

Dylan, the Red Dog and the Real Summer of Love

Rock historian Ed Ward reviews three recent DVDs: the deluxe edition of D.A. Pennebaker's Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back, a Dylan press conference released as Dylan Speaks, and Rockin' at the Red Dog, a documentary on an all-but-forgotten bar in Nevada.

Dylan, the Red Dog and the Real Summer of Love

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Music

Doc Pomus, the Bluesman Who Paved 'Lonely Avenue'

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles songwriter Doc Pomus, the Brooklyn-born blues singer and songwriter who died in 1991. Born Jerome Solon Felder, he survived a childhood case of polio and went on to write hits for Ray Charles and Elvis Presley, among others. His songs include "Lonely Avenue," "Viva Las Vegas" and "Save the Last Dance for Me."

Doc Pomus, the Bluesman Who Paved 'Lonely Avenue'

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Review

Music Reviews

Revisiting the Music of the Pogues

Fresh Air

Not many countries saw their traditional music gain popularity and vitality in the late 20th century, but Ireland did. Starting in the late 1960s with the Chieftains, and continuing with more rock-oriented groups like Planxty and Horslips, Irish music had a renaissance. Then came punk rock, and with it the Pogues, whose first five albums have just been reissued by Rhino.

Revisiting the Music of the Pogues

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Music News

Art-Rock Band Wire's First Incarnation

Fresh Air

Rock historian Ed Ward tells us the story of Wire, a British art-rock band from the late 1970s. Wire has broken up and reformed several times, but Ward focuses on the original. Three albums have been reissued and are available in stores: Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154.

Art-Rock Band Wire's First Incarnation

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Review

Arts & Life

America's Beatles? Meet the Aerovons

Fresh Air

Ever since Chuck Berry, St. Louis has been producing rock music that defies the prevailing norm. But is it possible that in 1969 it also produced America's Beatles, a band no one ever heard? Rock historian Ed Ward investigates the curious case of the Aerovons.

America's Beatles? Meet the Aerovons

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Music

Doug Sahm's '60s Quintet

Fresh Air

Few musicians are as identified with Texas as the late Doug Sahm. But Sahm also spent five years in exile in California, where rock historian Ed Ward got to know him. Ed takes a look at this period, in which he says Sahm and his band, the Sir Douglas Quintet, did some of their most lasting work.

Doug Sahm's '60s Quintet

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Music

A Crescent City Rock Label's Tale

Fresh Air

There have been several waves of pop music in New Orleans since World War II, with each one subsiding as its celebrated musicians realize they can't make a living in the city they grew up in. In 1960, another of those waves crested, and with it came a pioneering effort for racial equality. Ed Ward has the story of AFO Records: All For One.

A Crescent City Rock Label's Tale

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Review

Reparata and the Delrons

Fresh Air

The girl group Reparata and the Delrons worked its forward-looking magic on songs like "Captain Of Your Ship," "Boys and Girls," "Shoes," and "Whenever a Teenager Cries." The band became far more popular overseas than in America, however.

Reparata and the Delrons

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