Kenneth Kaunda spoke out about HIV when African leaders would not even acknowledge its existence. He sang about it, too, in a 2005 album that made a splash, then vanished. And so a search began.
At the heart of Esperanza Spalding's new album is the question "What do you need a song for?" NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with the Grammy-winning musician about her album, Songwrights Apothecary Lab.
After six weeks of emotionally charged testimony, jury deliberation begins in the New York federal trial of disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly. If convicted, he could spend 10 years to life in prison.
Over the last decade, singer-songwriter Mickey Guyton has been trying to convince the country music industry that she is country. NPR's Noel King talks her about the highs and lows she's experienced.
The soul and R&B legend, who died in 2004, was recently voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1998, Charles came on Fresh Air to promote The Complete Country & Western Recordings: 1959-1986.