The singer and pianist perform classic American popular songs for a live studio audience. They talk to Fresh Air producer and guest host Amy Salit about what makes some popular music endure.
Composer William Bolcom. He is best known for his humorous and accomplished piano accompaniment of his wife, the singer Joan Morris, in their performances of American popular songs. His own compositions include the vast choral cantata "Songs of Innocence and Experience," that sets the poems of William Blake to music. He won this year's Pulitzer Prize in Music. Bolcom is also renown for his ragtime compositions, especially his work "Graceful Ghost."