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WFMT Best of Studs Terkel

In Tribute to Louis “Studs” Terkel: Studs at 100

May 16, 2012

WFMT honors one of its own and one of its greatest. May 16, 2012, brings the 100th anniversary of the birth of Studs Terkel. We'll mark the occasion with rarely heard programs, music and interviews fresh from the archives of the Chicago History Museum - with some material not heard since its original broadcast. Tune in from 1:00 - 7:00 pm for a non-stop Studs-a-thon full of delights and surprises.


1:00 pm

  • AP Carter Will the Circle Be Unbroken – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. United Artists 17458. [4:48]
  • Andrew Patner interviews Studs in 2006 about his book of WFMT interviews called And They All Sang: Adventures of An Eclectic Disc Jockey, including Rosa Raisa singing Casta Diva from Bellini’s opera Norma. [10:36]
  • Mahalia Jackson talking to Studs in 1957. [9:26]
  • Dr Martin Luther King Jr interviewed in 1964, with an excerpt from one of his speeches and Joan Baez performing We Shall Overcome. [11:56]
  • Studs reading from his memoir Talking to Myself in 1977. [8:10]
  • Plus a little jazz.

2:00 pm

  • Bob Dylan interviewed in 1963; the segment includes Dylan singing his song A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall. [14:22]
  • Muhammed Ali, interviewed in 1975; the segment ends with one of Studs’ favorite songs, God Bless the Child recorded by Billie Holiday. [12:59]
  • Merce Cunningham and John Cage, choreographer and composer interviewed in 1971. [12:58]
  • Cage In A Landscape, recorded by pianist Stephen Drury, Catalyst 61980. [9:43]

3:00 pm

  • Fine Arts Calendar
  • Eileen Farrell interviewed by Studs in 1965; the segment includes Miss Farrell singing an aria from Cherubini’s Medea and the Mercer-Kern song I’m Old-Fashioned. [13:03]
  • Verdi Pace, pace, mio Dio fr La Forza del Destino, recorded by Eileen Farrell on Sony MHK-62358. [4:48]
  • James Baldwin interviewed in 1962 about his book Another Country. [10:20]
  • John Malkovich and Gary Sinese, actors interviewed in 1981, including a scene from Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. [10:47]
  • Copland Excerpts fr Rodeo, London Sym/Aaron Copland, CBS MLK-45659. [4:00]

4:00 pm

  • Studs on Traditional Scottish Music, recorded in 1985, with vocalists Jeannie Robertson and Andy Hunter singing Ten O’Clock Is Ringing and My Son David. [16:13]
  • Odetta interviewed in 1957; in addition to the conversation, the folksinger performs He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands and Mule Skinner Blues. [13:56]
  • Isaac Stern interviewed in 1989; we’ll hear the violinist in conversation with Studs and also performing: the first movement of Beethoven’s Violin-Piano Sonata Op 30/2, with pianist Eugene Istomin, and the slow movement of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante K 364, with violist Pinchas Zukerman and the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. [24:24]

5:00 pm

  • Business Report
  • Sir Georg Solti interviewed in 1995. [11:59]
  • Beethoven Portion of Symphony #9 – Soloists, Chicago Sym & Cho/Sir Georg Solti. Lon 430438-2; recorded 1972 at the U of I.
  • Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead interviewed in 1979. [9:09]
  • Federico Fellini talking with Studs in 1962 about films he directed. [13:09]
  • Rota Film music for 81/2 and La Dolce Vita – La Scala Phil/Riccardo Muti.

6:00 pm

  • Peter, Paul and Mary, the folksinging trio interviewed in 1961; the segment includes them singing If I Had My Way. [9:54]
  • Wynton Marsalis, jazz and classical trumpeter, interviewed in 1985; the segment includes him playing My Ideal. [10:18]
  • Hummel Excerpt fr Trumpet Concerto, recorded by Marsalis. [4:00]
  • Celebrating Bach’s Birthday in 1980; the music Studs chose includes performances by Pete Seeger, Dame Myra Hess, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Andres Segovia. [12:46]