Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] South Philadelphia native CHARLIE GRACIE came in earlier this spring to discuss what it’s like making a rock and roll record over 50 years after his 1957 hit, “Butterfly.” The first major artist on Philadelphia’s Cameo Parkway label, Gracie went on to record “Wanderin’ Eyes” and “Cool Baby,” touring world-wide and appearing [...]

Filed under: Philadelphia, arts, entertainment, history, music |

Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] The singers Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald were influenced by her. Lena Horne described her as “the mother of us all.” The Chester, Pennsylvania-born singer and actress Ethel Waters started her career out in black vaudeville, became one of the first African American women of the early 20th century to be heard [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, arts, author, culture, history, music |

Hour 2 [REBROADCAST] SUZZY ROCHE and her sisters, Maggie and Terre, have been touring together and recording for over 30 years. Suzzy, the youngest, has recently written her first novel, "Wayward Saints," about the music industry, family and small-town ghosts of the past. Marty talked to Roche about performing, writing in a different medium for [...]

Filed under: arts, author, culture, entertainment, family issues, music |

Hour 2 At what point does a craft transcend function, and enter  into  the world of fine art? The Philadelphia Museum of Art has recently opened a new exhibition, “Craft Spoken Here,” a collection of 40 contemporary works from 1960 to the present in glass, metal, ceramic, lacquer, paper and fiber, created by well-known and [...]

Filed under: arts |

Hour 1 Three years before he died, Khalil Wimes was living in the happy, healthy, loving home of ALICIA NIXON,  her husband J. Evans, and Alicia's mother La REINE NIXON. The family took Khalil in just one week after he was born at the request of his birth parents Tina Cuffie and Floyd Wimes.  Khalil [...]

Filed under: Philadelphia, arts, author, crime, culture, family issues, parenting |

Hour 2 On May 19th the Barnes Foundation art collection will unveil its new Philadelphia home, as the famous collection of art has been meticulously moved, rooms re-created and paintings hung the same way they were viewed in their original setting in Merion, Pennsylvania. Marty was able to tour the new building and grounds recently [...]

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Author and comic strip writer ALISON BECHDEL’s new graphic memoir, “Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama,” illustrates her complicated relationship with her artistic mother, who was unhappily married to a closeted gay man, the subject of Bechdel’s first memoir, “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic.” One reviewer described Bechdel's unique style as “graphic alchemist.” The [...]

Filed under: LGBTQ, arts, author, culture, family issues |

Hour 2 There is a lot of talk about the Maya civilization this year. That's because the according to their calendar, the 2012 winter solstice this December is a big deal.  It marks the end of their 5,125-year long creation cycle.  While some have popularly warned that this signas the apocalypse, scholars say the Maya [...]

Filed under: arts, culture, education, history, religion |

Hour 2 When you think about tattoos, what comes to mind — snakes, hearts, flowers, Celtic knots, mermaids, or the name of a true love? Well, what if that true love is science?  It turns out a lot of scientists have inked their life’s passion on their bodies – a double helix on a leg, [...]

Filed under: arts, author, science |

Hour 1 How do you pull off a music festival with the historically under-performing money making genre that is jazz? “Patience,” says Center City Jazz Festival organizer and South Jersey native ERNEST STUART. The trombonist and music producer kept the promise he made to himself – to showcase the area’s talented musician pool that has [...]

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