This 1972 recording (which wasn't officially released until nearly 20 years later) captures Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, & Butch Hancock swapping songs back during their days together in Lubbock, Texas.  Tune in for this folk/country classic, as we celebrate Gilmore's birthday (May 6th)as well as Hancock's Asheville concert (May 11th.)  

This Thursday, on Peak of the Week, we'll samples Chuck Prophet's latest CD Temple Beautiful.

With one of the most emotionally gripping voices we've heard in a long time, we're happy to announce the return of Dayna Kurtz, both to Studio B and to the recording studio: she has two new releases, one exploring her country & rock roots, the other harkening more to her love of mid-century jazz and R&B.  “I’ve always been a bit of a genre outlaw. which I guess makes it a little rough to market me,” Kurtz states.  “But I’m in love with music, not with genres."  

Another football tragedy this week renews questions about the safety of the game that made many stars rich, but at some cost. Also, it may be closing time for one of the all-time greats. Over in hockey playoffs, are they going Hollywood? Host Scott Simon talks with Howard Bryant of ESPN.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This week, the British Parliamentary committee that was convened to investigate accusations of phone hacking and executive misconduct at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., delivered its findings. And the headlines it created make uncomfortable reading for a media magnate who has been under the microscope for 18 months now.

MPs accused News Corp. as a whole of what they call willful blindness. And they went on to make some further damning observations on Rupert Murdoch's own competency.

Here's Labour Member of Parliament Tom Watson.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

President Obama tried to best the face on yesterday's jobs report. He told students at a Virginia high school that private employers have added more than four million jobs over the last two years, but he acknowledge recovery is not happening fast enough.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The federal corruption trial of John Edwards continued this week in Greensboro, North Carolina. Government witnesses painted an ugly portrait of the former senator and presidential candidate. But the prosecution may have been less successful in making the case that he deliberately violated campaign finance law. North Carolina Public Radio's Jeff Tiberii was in the courtroom.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has left China after a diplomatic roller coaster of a trip fraught with human drama. Now, this revolved around the fate of Chen Guangcheng, the blind dissident who is still in a Beijing hospital. But last night, China indicated that it would let Mr. Chen apply for permission to study overseas, hinting at a way out of the crisis that had overshadowed the summit Secretary Clinton had gone to China to attend. Our Beijing correspondent Louisa Lim joins us. Louisa, thanks for being with us.