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He wrote the words, and sometimes the music, for more than 1,500 songs, among them "Skylark," "Blues in the Night" and "Moon River." He had a few hits himself on Capitol Records — which he started. He was a great American lyricist, and today marks the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Liane Hansen isn't the only one celebrating 20 years at Weekend Edition. Director Ned Wharton has been around since Hansen's first music interview, and has been making music recommendations for a decade. He checks up on three artists previously featured on the program.

Nirvana's Bleach (reissued this month) didn't make much of a splash when it was released in 1989. But with hindsight, the album shows a band clearly hurtling toward greatness. A mere two years later, Nirvana headlined England's Reading Festival; by then, the greatness was obvious.

Irish singer Imelda May is a walking, talking, singing embodiment of the 1950s. She wears leopard-print sweaters, tight bad-girl jeans and her hair in a ponytail. Although May has won numerous awards in 2009, her music harkens back to a style that was popular in the '50s: rockabilly.

His father was a Beatle, but Dhani Harrison wanted a musical project that didn't carry the burden of his family name. So he started a band called thenewno2, where he's created a sound and a promotional strategy that is all his own.

Blues musician Joe Bonamassa started playing with B.B. King when he was 12. He's performed on stage with Eric Clapton and averages about 200 shows per year. His new DVD is called Joe Bonamassa, Live From the Royal Albert Hall. Host Scott Simon speaks with Bonamassa about living with the blues and how he got his nickname, "Smokin' Joe."

The audiobook is here to stay — in one form or another. And that's fine with author Neil Gaiman, who has loved hearing stories since his childhood days. Gaiman talks to writer David Sedaris and reader Martin Jarvis about what makes a great audiobook — and a great reader.

The renowned rapper has finally issued his seventh album — his first in 10 years. Here, he reflects on the early breakthroughs that earned him his living-legend status.

It's a wonder Reed has time to get behind his drum kit at all, let alone lead two of Chicago's best bands. While his quintet Loose Assembly plays heavily improvised contemporary music, his quartet People, Places & Things has always embraced a strong historical current, paying homage to forgotten or overlooked Chicago music from six decades ago.

Why Corb Lund's wry storytelling and driving tempos aren't better known outside of his native Canada is a mystery. His new album, Losin' Lately Gambler, could change all that, and bust some south-of-the-border stereotypes about Canadians in the process.