Rock

Musician Paul Shaffer. Shaffer is the ultimately hip leader of "The World's Most Dangerous Band," the house group on "Late Night with David Letterman." Previously, Shaffer was a session musician in New York, band leader on "Saturday Night Live," and music director for the Blues Brothers, the alter egos of Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi. Paul Shaffer has just put out his first album, called "Coast to Coast." It's a collection of tunes representative of the musical variety of the country, with legendary stars from those regions sitting in.

Rock critic Ken Tucker looks at three new albums by by performers who are relatives of the already famous--Lenny Kravitz (Lisa Bonet's husband), Michael Penn (Sean Penn's brother), and Jason Bonham (son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham). Ken says in acting, there's no stigma in cashing in on fame by association, but rock and roll relations can have a hard time of it.

Rock and roll historian Ed Ward traces the development of the band "New Order." In 1977, a 21-year-old in Manchester, England saw the Sex Pistols and decided to form his own band. He called it "Joy Division." In the decade since, the band, now called "New Order," evolved to become one of the most influential of their time, with such hits as "True Faith" and "Bizarre Love Triangle."

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new Neil Young album, "Freedom." He says it's Young's best album in a decade.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews a new David Bowie CD collection. The 46-song retrospective includes Bowie classics like "Space Oddity" and "Changes," as well as some music that's never been released before.

Rock historian Ed Ward investigates the little known original versions of some of rock's most classic songs. Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis' covers are discussed.

Rock Historian Ed Ward profiles Stu Sutcliffe, a forgotten early member of the Beatles.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Oh, Mercy," the new album by Bob Dylan.

Rock historian Ed Ward looks back to the dawn of the British punk scene, and the creation of acts such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Billy Idol, and Siouxie and the Banshees.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews new albums by Webb Wilder and the quintet Billy Hill. Webb Wilder's "Hybrid Vigor" is an outsider's eccentric blend of rock and roll livened up with country, blues and rockabilly. Billy Hill has produced an album with a different type of eccentricity --they're Nashville insiders whose oddball act gives an edge to their country music.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Too Long in the Wasteland," the debut album of singer and songwriter James McMurtry. Like his father, the novelist Larry McMurtry, James McMurtry writes of the drifters and loners of the high plains.

Tex-Mex rocker Doug Sahm. For many, he's still best known for his stint with the Sir Douglas Quintet, a group of Texans and Mexicans who were packaged to look like a British Invasion band. The group sported regal coats and fakey British accents and cranked out hits like "Mendocino" and "She'a About a Mover." Sahm has been playing a variety of styles ever since, including Tex-Mex, blues, rhythm and blues, rock. Sahm is now touring with Antone's Texas R&B Revue, and has just released a new album, titled Juke Box Music.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker reviews "Steel Wheels," the new album by The Rolling Stones. The release of the album is timed to the start of The Rolling Stones' extensive U.S. tour, their first since the early 80s.

A concert with singer and songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. He writes very personal, eccentric songs that take a darkly humorous, sometimes caustic view of life. He first gained fame with his hit song "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road." His new album is titled "Therapy." (Interview with Sedge Thomson)

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Bob Dylan as songwriter, focusing on Dylan's rocky transition from a folk singer into a rock and roller. The key, Ed says, was getting other people to do pop covers of Dylan's folk hits.

Rock historian Ed Ward looks back at the Woodstock Festival and tries to separate the facts of the 3-day event from the warp of nostalgia twenty years later.

Myra Lewis. In 1958, when she was only 13 years old, Myra married rock star Jerry Lee Lewis, who was also her second cousin. The public controversy over that marriage ruined Lewis' career for over a decade. In 1982, Myra Lewis wrote a memoir of her life with Jerry Lee Lewis, titled Great Balls Of Fire. That book is the basis of the new movie starring Jerry Lee Lewis and Winona Ryder.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums from Los Angeles groups. The first is the debut album from Mary's Danish, a band that Ken says combines the roughness of punk with a sense of melody and humor. The other is the latest solo album from Don Henley, a former member of the Eagles.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Gene Vincent, an early rocker who, it has been said, "sounded more like Elvis than Elvis." After Elvis burst onto the scene, record companies scrambled to find Elvis look-alikes and sound-alikes. He became a bigger hit in England than America, but he's easily remembered for his hit "Be-Bop-A-Lula."

Book critic John Leonard reviews the memoir of rock musician Frank Zappa.