This Hollywood memoir is an expertly mixed cocktail of history and family drama
Matthew Specktor grew up the son of a famous Hollywood agent. In The Golden Hour he serves up family saga, cultural criticism, fictionalized biography, history and lament for a vanishing world.
'Summer Of Soul': Singer Mavis Staples
Staples began singing with her family as a teenager. The Staple Singers started out in gospel, but moved over to pop, eventually playing the '69 Harlem Cultural Festival. Originally broadcast in 1989.
'Summer Of Soul': Gladys Knight
While with Motown, Knight & The Pips turned out a slew of hits, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," which they performed at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Originally broadcast in 1996.
'Summer Of Soul': Abbey Lincoln And Max Roach
Lincoln started out as a nightclub singer, but began performing in a style influenced by the civil rights movement after she met drummer/bebop pioneer Max Roach. Originally broadcast in 1986 and 1987.
'Summer Of Soul': South African Trumpeter Hugh Masekela
Masekela, who died in 2018, was a symbol of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement. He performed around the world, including at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Originally broadcast in 1988.
'Summer Of Soul': A Conversation With Blues Legend B.B. King
The renowned bluesman, who died in 2015, spoke to Fresh Air in 1996 about growing up as the son of a sharecropper — and leaving the plantation as a young man to pursue a career in music.
Questlove Revives 'Black Woodstock' In 'Summer Of Soul' Documentary
The 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival featured some of the biggest names in Black music, but it had largely faded from history. The Roots co-founder sought to change that. Originally broadcast July 2021.
'Fresh Air' Pays Respect To Aretha Franklin, The Queen Of Soul
To mark the debut of the biopic RESPECT, we listen back to archival interviews with Aretha, as well as with Jerry Wexler, producer of the hit "Respect," and Dan Penn, who co-wrote "Do Right Woman."
