Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with country hitmaker Brandy Clark, who performs at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday. They spoke last December about her virtual holiday show "Christmas From Here, There and Everywhere," as well as her Grammy-nominated album "Your Life is a Record" and all of the hits she wrote for other artists, from "Follow Your Arrow" to "Mama's B...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with bass player Tom Drummond of the band Better than Ezra, which rocks The Anthem in Washington D.C. tomorrow night alongside Tonic and Collective Soul. They spoke when the band played Wolf Trap back in 2015 to break down their biggest hits from “Good” to “At the Stars.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley celebrates the 80th birthday of Art Garfunkel of the legendary folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. They spoke ahead of his 2017 concert at the Kennedy Center, breaking down his biggest hits, from “The Sound of Silence” to “The Boxer” to “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, who performs live at the Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, Virginia tomorrow night. They spoke about her biggest hits from "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" to "As I Lay Me Down." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, who perform live at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia tomorrow night. They discuss the band’s pioneering role in the British Invasion, including hits like “I’m Into Something Good” and “I’m Henry VIII, I Am.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with musician John Waite, who performs at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia tomorrow night. They discuss his long music career, from his British rock band The Babys, to his solo hit “Missing You” to his supergroup Bad English, most famous for the song “When I See You Smile.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with five-time Grammy winner Terence Blanchard, who headlines the Frederick Jazz Festival at the Weinberg Center in Frederick, Maryland on Saturday night. They spoke about his prolific film collaboration with Spike Lee, from “Do the Right Thing” to “Malcom X” to his Oscar nominations for “BlackKklansman” and “Da 5 Bloods.” Learn more about your ad cho...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley celebrates Halloween with an hour-long conversation with Oscar-winning filmmaker William Friedkin, who directed arguably the scariest movie of all time in "The Exorcist." They spoke in 2015 when Friedkin came to Washington D.C. to dedicate the Exorcist Steps as an official historical landmark in Georgetown. They also discussed his journey from directing TV...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with actor Dennis Quaid, who comes to New Spire Arts Center in Frederick, Maryland tonight! Quaid called in from the airport en route to the show to discuss his music career, as well as his most beloved movies from "Breaking Away" to "The Right Stuff" to "The Rookie." They even swapped their favorite quotes from brother Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie in...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with filmmaker Edgar Wright, who releases his new horror/thriller "Last Night in Soho" today, just in time for Halloween. They spoke in 2017 about his cool action flick "Baby Driver," as well as his legacy from "Hot Fuzz" to "Shaun of the Dead." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with singer Edwin McCain, who performs tonight at the Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, Virginia. They spoke in 2019 when McCain played City Winery in Washington D.C. to break down his biggest hits from "I'll Be" to "I Could Not Ask for More." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with The Temptations as the iconic Motown group performs at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland this Friday night. Jason spoke with co-founder Otis Williams when the group played the virtual “A Capitol Fourth” concert last year during the height of the pandemic. (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion")

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Grammy-winning R&B star Ledisi, who performs tonight at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland. They spoke in 2017 when Ledisi joined the National Symphony Orchestra for an epic concert at the Kennedy Center. At the time, she was a nine-time Grammy nominee, but she has since earned 13, including her win this year for Best Traditional R&B Performa...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Henry Winkler and co-author Lin Oliver about their new children's book "Hollywood vs. The Galaxy," which they'll virtually present at the 23rd annual Fall for the Book festival in Northern Virginia this Friday. Winkler also shares memories of playing The Fonz on “Happy Days," as well as his Emmy-winning role in HBO’s “Barry...

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with singer/songwriter Don McLean, who released his album “American Pie” exactly 50 years ago today on October 24, 1971. They spoke about the 50th anniversary of a song that not only became an iconic singalong but also served as a genius breakdown of American pop culture history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Eduardo Sanchez, co-director of "The Blair Witch Project" just in time for Halloween. They spoke in 2018 when the Library of Congress celebrated the film's 20th anniversary, examining how this low-budget horror flick pioneered the “found footage” subgenre to become one of the most profitable indie films ever made. Learn more about your ad choices....

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Emmylou Harris, who performs at Capital One Hall in Tysons, Virginia on Oct. 28th for “The Lantern Tour” to benefit the Women’s Refugee Commission. I spoke with her about the humanitarian cause, as well as her iconic career, evolving from folk music to country standards like "Two More Bottles of Wine." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Foreigner bass player Jeff Pilsen ahead of the band's concert this Saturday at MECU Pavilion in Baltimore, Maryland. They discuss the band's biggest hits, including "Feels Like the First Time," "Hot Blooded," “Double Vision,” "Cold As Ice," "Jukebox Hero,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and “I Want to Know What Love Is." Learn more about your ad cho...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle on the 44th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that killed his bandmates, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. They discuss the band's biggest hits from "Free Bird" to "Sweet Home Alabama" to "Simple Man," as well as the new movie "Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash.”Learn m...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with country star Clay Walker, who performs at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia on Friday night. They discuss his biggest hits from "If I Could Make a Living" to "A Few Questions," as well as detailing his brave battle with multiple sclerosis since his diagnosis in 1996. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with gospel legend BeBe Winans on the eve of the 52nd annual Dove Gospel Music Awards tomorrow night in Nashville, Tennessee. Winans joined us in 2016 when his life story was adapted into a musical at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. You'll also hear from his niece, actress Deborah Joy Winans, who portrayed her aunt CeCe Winans in the musical. Learn mor...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Judy Collins, who performs tonight at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. They spoke earlier this year when Collins hit Wolf Trap to recreate her first solo concert at New York City’s Town Hall in 1964. They also discussed her biggest hits from "Both Sides Now" to "Send in the Clowns." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley marks the return of the Middleburg Film Festival this weekend in Middleburg, Virginia by bringing back one of his favorite Middleburg interviews. In 2017, he spoke with Greta Gerwig upon the release of "Lady Bird," which made Gerwig the first woman to earn an Oscar nomination for her directorial debut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with actors Ann Dowd and Jason Isaacs of the new Oscar-contender drama "Mass," which hits movie theaters in Washington D.C. today. You'll also hear from writer/director Fran Kranz about why he made this harrowing film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with New Kids on the Block founder Jonathan Knight as tickets go on sale for the group's 2022 Mixtape Tour, which wraps at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. next July. They discuss the group’s formation in the 1980s, breakup in 1994 and reunion in 2008, inspiring countless boy bands along the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...