Fascinatin' Rhythm

KPBX 91.1fm, Saturday, 1pm to 2pm

About the Program
Michael Lasser explores the history and themes of
American popular song and musical theater each week.
This Peabody Award winning series shares nostalgic
recordings from the 1920s onward.

The program explores the history and themes of American popular music from Stephen Foster to Stephen Sondheim.
These weekly "radio essays" illustrated by recordings won the 1994 George Foster Peabody Award for letting "our treasury of popular tunes speak (and sing) for itself with sparkling commentary tracing the contributions of the composers and performers to American society." The Peabody citation called Fascinatin' Rhythm "a celebration of American culture."

Each program features a theme - a particular kind of stage or movie musical, a single composer or lyricist, a distinctive performer, or defining image or idea. Fascinatin' Rhythm blends education and entertainment, as it also shows how songs from the Golden Age of American popular music (1920-1960) anticipate today's popular music. Heard nationally from Orlando to San Francisco and Honolulu, Fascinatin' Rhythm reveals America to America through popular songs.