A Classic Interview With Rock Icon George Harrison, Part 1
by George Harrison
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George Harrison (February 25, 1943 - November 29, 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle," Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation. After the break-up of The Beatles, Harrison had a notable solo career and success as part of The Traveling Wilberys. Some of Harrison's best-known compositions as part of The Beatles, include "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Something," and "Here Comes the Sun." The following interview was recorded in 1975.
A Classic Interview With Rock Icon George Harrison, Part 2
by George Harrison
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Part of the Classic Interview with… series
George Harrison (February 25, 1943 - November 29, 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle," Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation. After the break-up of The Beatles, Harrison had a notable solo career and success as part of The Traveling Wilberys. Some of Harrison's best-known compositions as part of The Beatles, include "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Something," and "Here Comes the Sun." The following interview was recorded in 1975.
A Classic Interview With Rock Icon John Lennon
by John Lennon
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John Winston Lennon (October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. His works included music, writing, drawings, and films. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history as the primary songwriters of the Beatles. The following recording is from a 1975 interview.
A Classic Interview With Rock Icon Jim Morrison
by Jim Morrison
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James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 - July 3, 1971), born in Melbourne, FL, was an American singer, songwriter and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band The Doors. Due to his distinctive voice, poetic lyrics, erratic and unpredictable performances, along with the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most influential frontmen in rock history. The following recording is from a June 1970 interview.
A Classic Interview With Music Icon Cass Elliot
by Cass Elliot
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Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 - July 29, 1974), known professionally as Cass Elliot, of "Mama Cass," was an American singer and a member of the group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. Elliot received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance for "Monday, Monday" (1967). In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas. The following audio is from a television interview from the early 1970s.
A Classic Interview With Rock Icon Janis Joplin
by Janis Joplin
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Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 - October 4, 1970), born in Port Arthur, TX, was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals, as well as her electric stage presence. The following recording is from a November 1968 interview.
A Classic Interview With Music Icon Brian Wilson
by Brian Wilson
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Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 - June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the 20th century. His best-known work is distinguished for its high production values, complex harmonies and orchestrations, vocal layering, and introspective themes. The following is from an interview recorded in the mid 1970s.
A Classic Interview With Music Icon Elvis Presley
by Elvis Presley
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Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977), born in Tupelo, Mississippi, was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll," he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexually provocative performance style, combined with a mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, brought both great success and initial controversy. The following audio clips are from an interview in 1960, and press conferences in 1970 and 1972.
A Classic Interview With Music Icon Tiny Tim
by Tiny Tim
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Herbert Butros Khaury (April 12, 1932 - November 30, 1996), also known as Herbert Buckingham Khaury, and known professionally as Tiny Tim, was an American musician and musical archivist. He is especially known for his 1968 hit recording of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips," a cover of the popular song from the 1929 musical Gold Diggers of Broadway. Tiny Tim was renowned for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching falsetto. The following interview was recorded in July 1988.
A Classic Interview With Rock Icon Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd
by Syd Barrett
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Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (January 6, 1946 to July 7, 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of Pink Floyd. He was the band's frontman and primary songwriter for their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), and portions of their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from Pink Floyd amid speculation of mental illness and his use of psychedelic drugs. In 1972, Barrett retired from public life and guarded his privacy until his death of pancreatic cancer in 2006. The following is from an August 1967 interview.
A Classic Interview With Music Icon Miles Davis
by Miles Davis
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Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 - September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Born into an upper-middle-class family in Alton, Illinois, and raised in East St. Louis, Davis is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musical directions in a roughly five-decade career that kept him at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz. The following audio recordings are from a 1953 radio interview in East St. Louis and a 1984 television interview in Norway.
A Classic Interview With Music Icon Buddy Holly
by Buddy Holly
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Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 - February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his two siblings. In 1956 Holly created the band, The Crickets, with drummer Jerry Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin, and, from 1956 to 1958, rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan. On February 3, 1959, Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event became known as "The Day the Music Died" after singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as such in his 1971 song "American Pie." The following audio includes several brief interviews Holly made in the late 1950s.
A Classic Interview With Rock Icon Jerry Garcia
by Jerry Garcia
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Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 - August 9, 1995), born in San Francisco, was the co-founder, lead guitarist, and a vocalist for the rock band Grateful Dead (1965-1995), which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. Garcia was renowned for his musical and technical ability, particularly his skill at playing a variety of instruments and sustaining long improvisations. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as part of the Grateful Dead. The following interview was recorded in 1976.
A Classic Interview With Opera Singer Maria Callas
by Maria Callas
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Maria Callas, born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos (December 2, 1923 to September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini, and further to the works of Verdi, Pucciniand Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina ("The Divine One"). The following recordings are from 1959 and 1962 TV interviews.