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Songwriter Billy McCarthy turned to music after a childhood rocked by suicide and mental illness. He speaks with NPR's Laura Sullivan about the band's debut album, Rise Ye Sunken Ships.

The mandolin virtuoso, best known for his bands Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, says he was sitting on the floor in a diaper the first time he heard "The Girl from Ipanema."

Canadian singer Susie Arioli gives an in-studio concert. Frank Langella discusses the ups and downs of his long career.

While composing the songs on his band's latest record, frontman Stephin Merritt felt most inspired with a cocktail in one hand and a pen in the other.

In the band's hands, East African music pulses, breathes and comes alive in a mix of tradition and contemporary sounds.

The soul star, his backup singers in The Hamiltones, and his band visit the NPR Music offices to perform "Amen," followed by three songs that have defined his career.

Banning Eyre reports on the legacy of Nigerian bandleader and activist Fela Kuti. Kuti came from a talented and educated family. He was educated in England and spent time in America. In the 1970's, his jazz and funk-influenced music challenged the political and military leadership of Nigeria. His lifestyle reflected his sharp rejection of Western ideas. Kuti eventually died of complications from AIDS. But his life is attracting new attention here in the US as his son Femi tours with a band, and a new biography by Michael Veal details his life. (12:30) Please note, Fela: The Life & Times of an African Musical Icon, by Michael E. Veal is published by Temple University Press; ISBN# 1566397650, June 2000.

Banning Eyre reviews the CD Gem Tones, Saxophone Supreme South Indian Style, by Kadri Gopalnath. Gopalnath heard a British marching band when he was an teenager, growing up in India. He loved the sound of the saxophone so much that he began to play it. Although the sax was not part of the South Indian classical music tradition, he tried to make the instrument fit in. Now, with a few minor changes in the set up of the sax he plays, he has been able to gain wide acceptance in the tradition for his innovation. (3:45) The CD is Gem Tones: Saxophone Supreme, South Indian Style by Kadri Gopalnath. It's on Globestyle Records, #CDORBD 097. Contact: info@amc.org.uk

Musician, singer, composer Olu Dara. In 1998 after over 30 years in the business, he released his first solo album, Olu Dara: In the World: From Natchez to New York. During the 70s and 80s Dara played in Art Blakey's band, as well as that of advante gardist Henry Threadgill and others. His 1998 CD blended the two worlds and the two sounds that influenced him most: his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi and New York City where he lives now. Olu Dara has a new CD, Neighborhoods. (ATLANTIC) (REBROADCAST from 7

Liane talks with Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer, who has released her first solo album in the US, You Were Here. Harmer performed previously with the indie rock band Weeping Tile and put out three records with them, but never thought of herself as a solo artist. All that changed when she recorded a collection of old jazz and country songs as a gift for her dad. It became the album Songs for Clem, which garnered her critical attention and a record contract. (NOTE: SARAH HARMER'S ALBUM YOU WERE HERE IS AVAILABLE ON ROUNDER RECORDS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HARMER'S ALBUM SONGS FOR CLEM VISIT HER WEBSITE AT www.SARAHHARMER.COM)