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Watts, who died July 12, was born in Germany to a Hungarian mother and an African American father. He became famous at age 16 after performing with Leonard Bernstein. Originally broadcast in 1985.

During a turbulent year rife with personal and political trauma, the most memorable songs pulled no punches in the pursuit of pop.

On his latest album, the Atlanta rapper, who swept the hip-hop prizes at this year's Grammys, continues to turn personal turmoil into testimony.

"The idea was not to tear him down, nor was it to put him on a pedestal," says director Brett Morgen. Instead, executive producer Frances Bean Cobain told Morgen to "make it honest."

For the singer, introspection became a lens that nearly ended his career. Focusing on the lives of others changed that. "In a world of mouths," Lekman sings on his new album, "I want to be an ear."

The New York rapper's political and layered rhymes have been pegged as "conscious rap," a label that has now become pejorative. His latest album challenges that image, paying homage to old-school hip-hop and working with the present.

Just shy of 25, Swift's been in the music industry nearly half her life. In an extended interview with NPR's Melissa Block, she addresses what's changed in music, media, feminism and her own career.

Phillips, who died in 2003, discovered Elvis and produced his first records, and was one of the leading catalysts in post-WWII American music. Originally broadcast in 1997.

Stein, who died Sunday at 80, signed a wide range of pioneering artists: The Ramones, Madonna, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, k.d. lang and Ice-T. We'll listen back to two of his Fresh Air interviews.

Stein, who died Sunday at 80, signed a wide range of pioneering artists: The Ramones, Madonna, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, k.d. lang and Ice-T. We'll listen back to two of his Fresh Air interviews.