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Fresh Air's resident rock historian remembers soul singer Lorraine Ellison, who recorded a handful of albums and dozens of singles in the '60s and '70s; though she charted a few R&B hits, she never quite broke through to stardom. Her biggest success was with the string-saturated ballad "Stay With Me," which topped out at No. 11 on the R&B charts and has since been covered by everyone from Bette Midler to teenybopper idol Rex Smith.

Christopher O'Riley, host of NPR's From the Top, considers Elliott Smith to be one America's greatest songwriters. Smith died in 2003 before ever achieving massive fame. O'Riley's latest release, Home to Oblivion, is a classical translation of Smith's work.

The investigation, prompted by the discovery of top-secret papers found at Mar-a-Lago, is at an early stage, a source told NPR.

In 1959, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck topped the pop charts and shook up the notion of rhythm in jazz with an odd-metered song called "Take Five." On the occasion of its golden anniversary and a new reissue of Time Out, Brubeck explains why it was such a hit.

One of the world's top female wrestlers is featured in this week's installment of the Weekend Edition Sunday summer reading series. Toccara Montgomery will compete in Athens in the 72-kilogram weight division. She talked about books with NPR's Liane Hansen before leaving for the Summer Games.

Folk artist Mose Tolliver's subjects were nature, people and animals. His medium was house paint. His canvasses were cabinet doors and discarded table tops. His paintings put him at the forefront of the Outsider Art movement.

The new film, set in l942 during the Japanese occupation of China, is about a dangerous affair between a young resistance fighter and a top Chinese collaborator. Lee, who won an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain, says this was much more difficult subject to tackle.

Vice President Gore today asserted that he remains optimistic as his appeal of a Florida circuit court ruling goes forward. The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of yesterday's lower court ruling that rejected Gore's call for hand counts of ballots in key counties. The court said it would take written briefs from the lawyers on both sides on Wednesday and hear oral arguments on Thursday. While Florida's top court hears that case, it has also been asked by the U.S. Supreme Court to explain its decision extending a deadline for counties to submit their vote tallies to the state for certification. That decision allowed hand counting to go forward in several Florida counties, counting that cut into the election lead held by Texas Governor George W. Bush. Robert talks to NPR's Melissa Block about the issues before the Florida Supreme Court.

A new poll by Siena College finds Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul leading Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin in the 2022 race to hold the state’s top elected post.

A new over-the-top "biopic" tells the story of Yankovic's life — sort of. David Bianculli reviews Wednesday. Journalist Steve Lopez turned his retirement question into a reporting project.