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From Armstrong to Zappa - music documentaries from the Radio 4 archive.
Robert Wyatt has been recognised as a prog-rock drummer, jazz composer, avant-garde cornet player, artist and activist in a wheelchair. But,...
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 de...
Broadcaster Toby Amies digs into the archives to discover the value and significance of old vinyl. He uncovers a network of dealers and buye...
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 i...
Cerys Matthews celebrates the life of one of her musical heroines, the great gospel singer Mahalia ("Halie") Jackson, who died in 1972. Jack...
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: Afrob...
In a rare interview, Neil Young talks to John Wilson about his album 'Americana' and his long, somewhat unpredictable career. He talks about...
Robin Denselow profiles the musician Youssou N'Dour as he reaches his 50th birthday, and travels to Senegal to interview the singer in his h...
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 Hawkwin...
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...
Nick Barraclough pays tribute to arguably one of the least recognised jobs in pop, that of the backing vocalist. Tracing the evolution of vo...
Ziggy Stardust was a rock and roll fantasy. But David Bowie's fictional rockstar, around whom his 1972 album, stage show, and film were buil...
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...
Music critic Pete Paphides tells the story behind three 'follow-up' albums - from Dexys Midnight Runners, Fleetwood Mac and Suede - with tal...
John Wilson tells the story of American music promoter Bill Graham. Through his work with the top bands of the day, Graham pioneered big con...
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 Brea...
Stephen Evans talks to record producer Rick Rubin, who resurrected the faltering career of Johnny Cash in the early 1990s. Rubin talks about...
The story of American traditional music is dominated by the father and son team John and Alan Lomax who discovered, recorded, and popularise...
In the summer of 1987 Britain's best loved indie band abruptly came to end when guitarist Johnny Marr sensationally quit. The Morrissey/Marr...
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 C...
Phill Jupitus celebrates the phenomenon that was 2-Tone music. Thirty years ago, bands such as the Specials, the Beat, Madness and the Selec...
David Stafford celebrates the Fender Stratocaster with the help of some of its key players including Hank Marvin, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour...
Mark Radcliffe charts the history of the unwieldy Mellotron, a bizarre, tape-driven instrument that dominated the soundscape of the late 60s...
Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris. Poet Simon Armitage nominates Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who took his own life...
Music critic Pete Paphides tells the story behind three 'follow-up' albums - from Dexys Midnight Runners, Fleetwood Mac and Suede - with tal...
Stuart Maconie talks to the reclusive singer/songwriter Scott Walker, recorded at the time of the seminal album 'Tilt' which broke an 11 yea...
When Jimi Hendrix returned to his native America as a star, the country he knew had changed. This programme, presented by Tom Robinson to ti...
Singer, songwriter and guitarist Joan Armatrading talks to leading guitarists about their music and guitar technique. Joan meets Bert Jansch...
The broadcaster and Doctor Who fan MATTHEW SWEET travels to The University of Manchester - home of Delia Derbyshire's private collection of...
In a rare interview, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts talks about his career, his love of jazz, keeping time for the Rolling Stones and...
Immediately after the success of the BBC Radio Ballads, Ewan MacColl set about the Herculean task of trying to drag British folk music into...
The tale of an unexpected encounter between 20th century legends - a meeting which created a new template for global celebrity. February 196...
Singer/songwriter Erykah Badu tells how the Black Power movement changed American music forever in the 1960s. From free jazz to the first st...
Singer/songwriter Erykah Badu tells how the Black Power movement changed American music forever in the 1960s. From free jazz to the first st...
The Canadian songwriter reflects on his musical career, with observations from Jennifer Warnes , who sang in his live band and recorded an a...
Marc Riley presents the story of Kraftwerk, arguably one of the most influential bands of the 20th century and certainly one of the most eni...
Sean Street recalls the Radio Ballads, a series which heralded a completely new form of radio feature making which began in 1958. Mixing ori...
Benjamin Zephaniah reassesses dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson's 1978 debut album. Dread Beat an' Blood expressed the black British experience...
Lynne Walker talks to the hugely influential American composer about the evolution of his music, his interest in African and Indonesian musi...
Music critic Pete Paphides tells the story behind three 'follow-up' albums - from Dexys Midnight Runners, Fleetwood Mac and Suede - with tal...
In this special edition of Kaleidoscope from 1997, John Wilson explores the life, death and most importantly the music of English singer son...
Jeff Buckley was just one of the Western musicians to fall under the powerful spell of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - a Pakistani singer of Qawwali...
To coincide with Dylan's birthday (24th May 2011) presenter Emma Freud explores the singers spiritual journey revealing a side to the perfor...
The chanteuse, pianist, composer and civil rights activist Nina Simone is the choice of another female musician who has made a career of def...
Jazz historian Helen Mayhew looks at the remarkable life of Louis Armstrong as told through his archive of tape recordings, covering his per...
Johannesburg-based journalist Ofeibea Quist-Arcton looks at how music thrived alongside events such as the Sharpeville massacre, the Bantu E...
Bill Bailey tells the story of the remarkable 'hands off' electronic instrument and its enigmatic inventor and charts its use from horror an...
Mark Coles talks to the famously difficult to interview Lou Reed alongside his former Velvet Underground colleagues including John Cale and...
Germaine Greer presents a profile of Frank Zappa, the 1970s icon of eccentric rock whose range of work included serious orchestral compositi...
Paul Gambaccini uncovers the stories behind the Who's seminal 1970 album, often cited as one of the best live rock albums of all time, with...