Highway 61 Revisited

By Liane Hansen

Published October 20, 2002 at 12:00 AM EDT

Brothers Eddie and Frank Thomas spent three years traveling Highway 61 between Memphis and New Orleans studying the history of the music created along that stretch of road. Then they recorded their interpretations on location at significant spots along the way. For Weekend Edition Sunday, Liane Hansen talks with the brothers about the resulting collection of songs, Angels on the Backroads.

Liane Hansen

Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.