Paul Buckmaster, Composer, Arranger, Conductor: Bowie, Elton John, Rolling Stones, Train, Heart, Grateful Dead

Original air date November 18, 2017 | Time 59:00

Paul Buckmaster, whose orchestral arrangements brought power and poignancy to signature songs by David Bowie, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Carly Simon and countless other rock, pop, country and jazz stars, died on Nov. 7 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 71.

Mr. Buckmaster was something of a child prodigy on the cello and might have made a career solely as a musician, but a few fortuitous introductions connected him to Mr. Bowie and brought him the assignment of arranging “Space Oddity,” the eerie 1969 Bowie song that begins with the lyric “Ground control to Major Tom.”

“One general rule is to hold back as much as possible,” he said, “to give the listener the chance to let the song grow and unfold, introducing new sonic elements, such as new instruments or sectional groupings. If you use everything from the beginning, you have nowhere to go.” - Paul Buckmaster

Walter Becker Memorial, Co-Founder of Steely Dan

Original air date September 2, 2017 | Time 59:00

Walter Becker was the co-founder of Steely Dan. Today's program is a Memorial tribute to him featuring his solo recordings from 1994 and 2008. We hear his spectacular bass playing and singing. We also listen to the timeless work he did with Donald Fagen as Steely Dan. Walter died at this home in Maui on Sept 6, 2017.

Reelin' in the Years - 1972 debut album "Can't Buy a Thrill"
Time Out of Mind (Mark Knopfler on lead guitar) and Babylon Sisters from "Gaucho" 1980
Book of Liars and Little Kawai - from Becker's solo album produced by Fagen "11 Tracks of Whack" 1994
Two Against Nature - title track from Grammy Album of the year 2000
Circus Money - from Becker's solo album "Circus Money" 2008
Deacon Blue from "Aja" 1978

Hurricane Harvey - Tribute to Survivors and Rescuers

Original air date September 2, 2017 | Time 59:00

Richie Havens: Hurricane Waters (2008)
The Pretenders: I'll Stand By You (2010)
Yusuf: The Rain (2009)
The Beatles: Rain (1965)
David Crosby: Radio (2014)
Graham Nash: Beneath the Waves (2016)
Steve Winwood: I'm Not Drowning (2009)
Tom Petty: All You Can Carry (2011)
Bob Dylan: A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall (1964)

Baritone - The Unusual Voice in Rock

Original air date august 5, 2017 | Time 59:00

Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Rev. Vince Anderson, Eric Burdon. The low male voice is so expressive and yet most male singers in rock are tenors, a surprising contrast to other genres like Classical or Broadway. Let's get down to it.