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Tom Paxton (01/30/1976)

October 31, 2025, 11:00 pm

Tom Paxton (Photo by Michael G Stewart)

For more than six decades, Tom Paxton has been praised for his perceptive and clever musical voice. In this WFMT radio program, from 1976, the American folk legend and topical songwriter shared some conversation and tunes with Studs Terkel. Tom Paxton was born, right here in Chicago, on October 31, 1937.

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Meet the Host

Studs Terkel (1912-2008) radically redefined the concept of radio interviews. For 45 years starting in 1952, WFMT was his homebase. His daily radio show was a pillar of WFMT’s programming, with its eclectic and astute mix of music and conversation. Studs juxtaposed interviews with the many of the 20th century’s most significant figures with the voices of uncelebrated, working people from Chicago. As a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Studs helped established oral history as a popular and socially ambitious literary genre. Some of his titles include: Division Street, Hard Times, Working, Race and And They All Sang (Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey). Studs was also a recipient of the National Book Award.

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Tom Paxton (01/30/1976)