Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from the past, as well as new program elements specially paced for weekends. All week we're revisiting archival interviews with key figures in early rock and roll, rockabilly and R&B. This week:
R&B singer and pianist Charles Brown: Brown, who died in 1999, is credited with creating an expressive style of music that blended rough Texas blues with the soft glamour of Hollywood. Between 1946 and 1952, Brown recorded both on his own and as part of Johnny Moore's Three Blazers. Originally broadcast in 1989.
Soul singer Ray Charles reveals his country side: Charles shaped American music since the 1950s. His career grew along with Atlantic records, which signed him as a fledgling label. His first hit was "I Got a Woman," in 1955. He died in 2004. Originally broadcast in 1998.
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