HOUR ONE:
The civil rights struggle made great strides in many sectors of American society, but the movement did little to help Southern black farmers. The number of African-American farmers dropped by 93% between 1940 and 1974, predominantly because they were forced from their land by discrimination, lack of information, and intimidation by the Department of Agriculture. Pete Daniel writes about this little-known chapter of American history in his book titled Dispossession.
While making his documentary about Philip Glass, Scott Hicks had unprecedented access to the composer, following him across three continents – from his annual ride on the Coney Island “Cyclone” to the world premiere of his new opera in Germany to a didgeridoo concert in Australia. Now Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts is available on DVD.
HOUR TWO:
Bob talks with Mark Johnson, the founder of Playing for Change and the producer of two albums recorded by the street musicians Johnson has met since he started the organization in 2004. The group’s breakout hit was a cover of Stand by Me recorded by many different musicians around the world and in their own style. That video mixed them all together and has been viewed on YouTube tens of millions of times.
Then, Bob talks with Clarence Bekker, Grandpa Elliott and Jason Tamba, just a few of the international musicians affiliated with the band. The members of Playing for Change were here in 2012 to talk about their album titled PFC 2: Songs Around the World.