Fresh Air Weekend: Folk musician Jerron Paxton; Ira Gershwin gets his due

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, as well as new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and it often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Folk musician Jerron Paxton stops by for music and conversation: Paxton plays guitar, banjo, piano and harmonica — among other instruments. He's known for performing music from the 1920s and '30s. Paxton's new album of original songs is Things Done Changed.

'Beatles '64' revisits an intense two-week period in musical and cultural history: A new Disney+ documentary chronicles the Beatles' first trip to America. By combining footage, stories and songs, Beatles '64 makes it clear why the group, and its music, continue to be revered.

Canonical lyricist Ira Gershwin gets his due:
Gershwin wrote lyrics for enduring jazz standards, including "I Got Rhythm" and "Embraceable You". We talk with Michael Owen, author of Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words, and listen to some of his hits.

You can listen to the original interviews here: