Music Interviews

In 1985, Cynthia Lennon said that touring with The Beatles was "wonderful," but "all we saw were the inside of hotel rooms, the inside of Cadillacs."

Music & Culture

In Her Life After John, Cynthia Lennon Didn't Stop Loving Him

2:36pm April 02, 2015

John Lennon's first wife died Wednesday at 75. In 1985, Cynthia Lennon talked with Fresh Air about her marriage to John, going on tour to America, and meeting Yoko Ono.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

'We Wanted To Entertain': Jon Spencer On 25 Years In New York

8:21pm March 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

Spencer is equal parts Little Richard and Iggy Pop, the funky, yelping frontman for the Blues Explosion. The band's new album is called Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

'Still The King': A Tribute To An Icon Of Western Swing

8:20pm March 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

Don Gonyea talks to Ray Benson, leader of the Austin-based band Asleep at the Wheel, about a new tribute to the late Bob Wills that features contributions by the musicians Wills helped inspire.

Queue Listen Now

The crowd was all smiles during NPR Music's showcase at this year's South By Southwest music festival. We can't send you back in time to hear the shows, but you can listen to some of Bob Boilen's favorite performers from the festival.

Music & Culture

From Kate Tempest To Torres, Female Artists Shone At SXSW

8:16pm March 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

A throat singer, a hip-hop preacher, an Irish introvert: NPR Music's Bob Boilen says it was the Year of the Woman at the South By Southwest music festival. He shares some of his favorite performances.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Bluegrass Musician Norman Blake Releases An Album Of Original Songs

10:57am March 20, 2015

Blake has performed for more than 60 years. He was in Johnny Cash's band and played on Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline album. Now 77, his new album is called Wood, Wire and Words.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

They're Not Only '60s Songwriting Superstars, But They're Also Married

1:37pm March 13, 2015

Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who wrote "We Gotta Get Out of this Place," have been a team for more than 50 years. Terry Gross spoke with them in 2000, when they were depicted in the musical Beautiful.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Drummer Hal Blaine Talks About Making Music Over The Years

1:37pm March 13, 2015

Blaine is featured in the new documentary The Wrecking Crew about a group of anonymous intensely successful musicians who recorded together. Terry Gross spoke with him in 2001.

Queue Listen Now

The Seratones Rock The Tiny Desk With A Jungle Beat

1:08pm March 08, 2015

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks to AJ Haynes and Adam Davis of the Louisiana rock band Seratones. The group had a entry to the recent NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest, though they didn't win the final prize.

Queue Listen Now

A 'Girl In A Band': Kim Gordon On Life After Sonic Youth

2:20pm March 04, 2015

Gordon co-founded Sonic Youth with Thurston Moore. When their marriage broke up in 2011, so did the band. Gordon talks about rebuilding her life, writing her memoir and her new band Body/Head.

Queue Listen Now

"I think it's a terrible critical sin to try to be different," says Robert Christgau, whose memoir Going into the City is a look back at his five decades of music writing.

Robert Christgau Reviews His Own Life

6:07pm March 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

One of rock music's most loved, feared and prolific scribes, the 72-year-old Christgau says he knew early on that he liked criticism better than journalism: "I didn't want to get into people's faces."

Queue Listen Now