Radio 4 on Music
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Radio 4 on Music
From Armstrong to Zappa - music documentaries from the Radio 4 archive.
Neueste Episoden
54 Episoden
The Voices of Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt has been recognised as a prog-rock drummer, jazz composer, avant-garde cornet player, artist and activist in a wheelchair. But, above all...
Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Boardroom
Ten years ago rap superstar Jay-Z was struggling to get a record deal after being spurned by every major label - so he started his own. A decade on, w...
Beat Mining with the Vinyl Hoover
Broadcaster Toby Amies digs into the archives to discover the value and significance of old vinyl.
He uncovers a network of dealers and buyers,...
Kate Bush
In November 2005, Kate Bush broke a 12 year silence with the release of her double album 'Aerial', In this programme she gives a very rare interview t...
Conjuring Halie
Cerys Matthews celebrates the life of one of her musical heroines, the great gospel singer Mahalia ("Halie") Jackson, who died in 1972. Jackson became...
Fela Kuti Comes Home
Fela Kuti is Africa's most famous musician. Before his death in 1997 he recorded nearly 50 albums and invented his own genre of music: Afrobeat. In th...
Front Row - Neil Young
In a rare interview, Neil Young talks to John Wilson about his album 'Americana' and his long, somewhat unpredictable career. He talks about his polit...
Youssou N'Dour at 50: Africa's Greatest Star
Robin Denselow profiles the musician Youssou N'Dour as he reaches his 50th birthday, and travels to Senegal to interview the singer in his home city o...
My Wizard
John Aizlewood examines the oft derided genre of Progressive Rock, a catch all term for a variety of bands from Pink Floyd to Yes to Hawkwind to Jethr...
Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It
Billy Preston was a musical genius. A child prodigy, he was first seen as a small boy performing live on national TV with Nat King Cole. He was a star...
R.E.S.P.E.C.T - The Art of Backing Vocals
Nick Barraclough pays tribute to arguably one of the least recognised jobs in pop, that of the backing vocalist. Tracing the evolution of vocal harmon...
Ziggy Stardust Came from Isleworth
Ziggy Stardust was a rock and roll fantasy. But David Bowie's fictional rockstar, around whom his 1972 album, stage show, and film were built, was ins...
The Dream Time of Jazz
In 1938, pianist and jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton was running a bar in New York, unable to get anyone to play his music and having failed to make mu...
Dexys Midnight Runners: Don't Stand Me Down
Music critic Pete Paphides tells the story behind three 'follow-up' albums - from Dexys Midnight Runners, Fleetwood Mac and Suede - with tales of musi...
Between Rock and a Good Cause
John Wilson tells the story of American music promoter Bill Graham. Through his work with the top bands of the day, Graham pioneered big concerts in w...
When the Levee Breaks
Mark Lamarr looks at the little-known story of Memphis Minnie, known for her guitar skills, her rowdy ways and the song 'When the Levee Breaks' a musi...
The Song Doctor
Stephen Evans talks to record producer Rick Rubin, who resurrected the faltering career of Johnny Cash in the early 1990s. Rubin talks about his close...
Southern Journeys
The story of American traditional music is dominated by the father and son team John and Alan Lomax who discovered, recorded, and popularised the musi...
The Smiths' Strangeways, Here We Come
In the summer of 1987 Britain's best loved indie band abruptly came to end when guitarist Johnny Marr sensationally quit. The Morrissey/Marr partnersh...
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
In this BBC Radio 4 programme, Tracey McLeod rewinds over half a century to the golden age of the Girl Group. The songs of groups like the Chantels an...
This Are 2 Tone
Phill Jupitus celebrates the phenomenon that was 2-Tone music. Thirty years ago, bands such as the Specials, the Beat, Madness and the Selecter create...
Fender Heaven
David Stafford celebrates the Fender Stratocaster with the help of some of its key players including Hank Marvin, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Jeff Bec...
Sampledelica! The History of the Mellotron
Mark Radcliffe charts the history of the unwieldy Mellotron, a bizarre, tape-driven instrument that dominated the soundscape of the late 60s and 70s a...
Ian Curtis
Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.
Poet Simon Armitage nominates Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who took his own life in 1...
Suede - Dog Man Star
Music critic Pete Paphides tells the story behind three 'follow-up' albums - from Dexys Midnight Runners, Fleetwood Mac and Suede - with tales of musi...
Scott Walker
Stuart Maconie talks to the reclusive singer/songwriter Scott Walker, recorded at the time of the seminal album 'Tilt' which broke an 11 year silence.
Star Spangled Hendrix
When Jimi Hendrix returned to his native America as a star, the country he knew had changed. This programme, presented by Tom Robinson to tie in with...
Bert Jansch
Singer, songwriter and guitarist Joan Armatrading talks to leading guitarists about their music and guitar technique.
Joan meets Bert Jansch, wi...
Sculptress of Sound: The Lost Works of Delia Derbyshire
The broadcaster and Doctor Who fan MATTHEW SWEET travels to The University of Manchester - home of Delia Derbyshire's private collection of audio reco...
The View from the Back - Charlie Watts
In a rare interview, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts talks about his career, his love of jazz, keeping time for the Rolling Stones and why he pre...
How Folk Songs Should Be Sung
Immediately after the success of the BBC Radio Ballads, Ewan MacColl set about the Herculean task of trying to drag British folk music into mainstream...
When Cassius Met The Beatles
The tale of an unexpected encounter between 20th century legends - a meeting which created a new template for global celebrity.
February 1964:...
Black Is A Country
Singer/songwriter Erykah Badu tells how the Black Power movement changed American music forever in the 1960s. From free jazz to the first stirrings of...
Black Is A Country
Singer/songwriter Erykah Badu tells how the Black Power movement changed American music forever in the 1960s. From free jazz to the first stirrings of...
Leonard Cohen
The Canadian songwriter reflects on his musical career, with observations from Jennifer Warnes , who sang in his live band and recorded an album of hi...
Kraftwerk: We Are the Robots
Marc Riley presents the story of Kraftwerk, arguably one of the most influential bands of the 20th century and certainly one of the most enigmatic. Fo...
Like Blackpool Went Through Rock
Sean Street recalls the Radio Ballads, a series which heralded a completely new form of radio feature making which began in 1958. Mixing original voic...
Dread, Beat an Blood
Benjamin Zephaniah reassesses dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson's 1978 debut album. Dread Beat an' Blood expressed the black British experience as it had...
Steve Reich
Lynne Walker talks to the hugely influential American composer about the evolution of his music, his interest in African and Indonesian music and jazz...
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
Music critic Pete Paphides tells the story behind three 'follow-up' albums - from Dexys Midnight Runners, Fleetwood Mac and Suede - with tales of musi...