Anthony Bourdain: “96 Tears”Rebel Chef Anthony Bourdain is best known for his raucous ways in the world of the professional kitchen, which he details in his book “Kitchen Confidential.” We asked him to put away his pans and think back to when he was a kid — is there a song from childhood that brings it all back? Bourdain can pinpoint his desire for a rebellious drug- and sex- drenched youth to one song: “96 Tears” by ? and the Mysterians. We asked him what he loved about that song.
Ann Fine: “Chattanooga Choo Choo”Ann Fine was the oldest of 7 children raised in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona. A poet and executive director of a non-profit writing center (Casa Libre en la Solana, which she founded with her partner Kristen Nelson in 2003), Fine talks about the enduring memory of her grandfather’s love affair with big band music, as overheard through the doors of his Victorian drawing room in the early seventies.
Luc Sante: The New Christy MinstrelsIn our latest installment of Song and Memory, we hear from acclaimed non-fiction writer Luc Sante. He was born in post-war Belgium, but his parents soon emigrated to New Jersey. It was while living in the suburbs of the Garden State that Luc Sante first discovered folk music. At the time, folk was so big that it had its own television program, “Hootenanny.” The show made quite an impression on a boy from a strict Catholic family in post-war Europe.
