FRESH AIR
Hamburg-born Astrid Kirchherr met the Beatles in 1960, before they were famous, when they came to perform in Germany. An art student in Hamburg, she took some of the earliest photographs of the group — now-classic shots that capture the foursome back before Ringo joined the band, back when Stuart Sutcliffe was playing bass. And Kirchherr has often been credited with convincing the band to adopt those iconic mop-
tops.
Kirchherr and Sutcliffe fell in love and got engaged — he was more of a painter than a bass player, as it turned out — and Sutcliffe quit the band to stay behind in Hamburg. But Sutcliffe died of a brain hemorrhage in 1962, and in 1964 Kirchherr accompanied her photographer friend Max Scheler to London to shoot behind-the-scenes photographs on the film A Hard Day’s Night — and to capture the now internationally famous Beatles in their hometown of Liverpool.
The photos Kirchherr and Scheler took on that trip are collected in the new book Yesterday: The Beatles Once Upon a Time. Kirchherr tells Terry Gross that when she first saw the Beatles playing in a basement dive in Hamburg — a “dark, filthy cellar … not the kind of place where young ladies in the ’50s or ’60s were seen” — she was “amazed at how beautiful these boys looked. It was a photographer’s dream.”
RADIO TIMES
Hour 1
TODD GITLIN has written three articles for the Columbia Journalism review in which he lists eight questions reporters should ask the presidential candidates. So far he has tackled Obama, Romney and Huckabee. We talk with him about the campaign coverage and his new book The Bulldozer and The Big Tent: Blind Republicans, Lame Democrats and the Recovery of American Ideals. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
Hour 2
(Rebroadcast tonight at 11)
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recently ruled that dairies that do not inject their cattle with synthetic growth hormone can no longer label their milk as hormone-free. The decision, which has been put on hold until the beginning of February, raises serious questions for consumers, dairy farmers, and retailers. We talk to TERRY ETHERTON of Penn State University and MICHAEL HANSEN of Consumer’s Union. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
WORLD CAFE
Wednesday January 16, 2008
Frankie Valli
David Dye welcomes Frankie Valli to the World Café with music and conversation drawn from his first solo record in nearly 30 years. On Romancing the ‘60s Valli interprets a decade of classics, though not the songs one might predict. This is an intimate collection, focusing on the tunes he never recorded but always wished he had, as well as those he loved listening to during the Four Seasons’ height. The reminiscent album is a showcase of his unmistakable vocals – a winning return and a real treat.
FRANKIE VALLI: Beggin (Remix)