LAS VEGAS
We’ll visit Las Vegas, the last stop on our tour of musical cities. The star of the show is Louis Prima, a New Orleans native and originator of the Vegas lounge sound. Nick Spitzer interviews Prima band members — saxophonist Sam Butera and singer/ex-wife Keely Smith — talks with Vegas gamblers and makes a stop at a 24-hour wedding-chapel.
CLUB HOPPING IN NEW ORLEANS
Our September tour of musical cities comes back home, to local watering holes like the Saturn Bar, Snug Harbor and Donna’s Bar and Grill. We’ll talk with singer, pianist and songwriter Mose Allison and rock-n-roller Link Wray.
MEMPHIS
Our tour of great musical cities continues this week in Memphis, Tennessee. Guests include the Reverend Al Green, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Jerry Lee Lewis and Sun Records producer Sam Phillips. We’ll also cruise the town in a borrowed Caddy, and hang out at Wild Bill’s Juke Joint.
AUSTIN
All through September we’ll visit the great American cities of music, starting in Austin, Texas, the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World.” We’ll hear Western swing, Tejano tunes, and talk with local singer-songwriters Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Joe Ely.