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Before going out on his own, he backed B.B. King and played with Ray Charles. He eventually became musical director for Charles' band and he credits what he learned about playing soulful music from Charles. His CD Hank Crawford: Memphis Ray and a Touch of Moody collects music from his previous recordings: More Soul, From the Heart, Soul of the Ballad, and Dig These Blues. (Rebroadcast from May 20, 1998.)

The Virginia Beach studio wizards known as the Neptunes have produced hit songs for everyone from Snoop Dogg to Britney Spears. But now the masters of the mixing board have hit the road with a real band and real instruments, calling themselves N.E.R.D. — for "no one ever really dies." NPR's Ben Gilbert reports.

This year, NPR Music published 84 sessions from behind Bob Boilen's desk. From a 23-piece band to a lone guitarist to a massive dance party, here are 15 highlights.

Linda talks with guitarist and singer Bob Mould, who began his professional music career in the early 1980s with a punk band called Husker Du (WHO-sker-DOO). Since the break-up of Husker Du in the late 1980s, Mould has released three solo albums and several more albums with an aggressive, electric trio called Sugar. For his most recent album called "Bob Mould" - Mould wrote all of the music, sings all of the lyrics and plays all of the instruments. The album is available on Rykodisc. (8:30) (IN S

He has written a new biography of blues legend Muddy Waters, who is credited with inventing electric blues and creating the template for the rock and roll band. The book is Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters (Little, Brown). Gordon also produced and directed an accompanying documentary of the same name, which will be shown as part of the PBS American Masters series next year. Gordon's other books are It Came From Memphis and The King on the Road. He also produced the Al Green box set, Anthology. This interview first aired October 3, 2002.

Noah Adams talks with members of The Sevens, who call themselves a "Celtic groove band." They play for dances and occasional concerts in New England. Members are Sarah Blair, Mark Roberts, Liza Constable, Mark Hellenberg, Stuart Kenney. They traveled to Vermont Public Radio's studio in Colchester for this interview. We hear a bit of contra dance music and complete versions of I Truly Understand, and Miss Otis Regrets. (22:00)The group's CD is The Sevens, on Newgrange Records, available at http://www.efolkmusic.com. You can e-mail the group at TheSevens@efolkmusic.com.

World music DJ Betto Arcos grew up in the Mexican state of Veracruz, where he learned a homegrown brand of Christmas music. He introduces NPR's Arun Rath to a few of those songs by bringing a four-piece band into the studio.

Johnny Hiland grew up in rural Maine, where he quickly established himself as a guitar prodigy and toured with the family band. He has recorded with Ricky Scaggs, Toby Keith and Randy Travis... and now he has his own solo CD, showing off his mastery of the Fender Telecaster.

British musician Jarvis Cocker founded the band Pulp at age 15; he made international headlines in 1996, when he stormed the stage in protest at a Michael Jackson concert at the BRIT awards in London. Lately he's been reunited with his father, who left the family when he was a child, denounced American Idol-style TV talent shows, and released a solo album, called simply Jarvis.

Dick Dale is the man known as "the King of the Surf Guitar." He launched surf rock in 1960 with his band, the Deltones. Four of Dale's early albums are being re-released by Sundazed Music: King of the Surf Guitar, Checkered Flag, Mr. Eliminator and Summer Surf.