Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with late rapper Biz Markie, who died over the weekend at age 57. Markie joined us in 2015 to discuss living in Bowie, Maryland, his friendship with Doug E. Fresh and his collaborations with DJ Kool. He even beat-boxed the WTOP call letters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley celebrates the 80th birthday of Martha Reeves of the legendary Motown group Martha & The Vandellas! Reeves joined WTOP in 2015 for a trip down memory lane, sharing stories about the creation of "Nowhere to Run" and "Dancing in the Street." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter chats with Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath, who performs today at the Let's Go! Music Festival at the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds. They discuss the band's biggest hits from "Fly" to "Every Morning" to "Someday." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with Paul Schrader, screenwriter of Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival 45 years ago. Schrader also describes writing for Robert DeNiro in "Raging Bull" and directing Ethan Hawke in "First Reformed." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg as the Library of Congress screens "Shrek" outdoors tonight as part of its National Film Registry. Katzenberg joined us in 2020 to launch the now-defunct streaming platform Quibi, which just earned eight Emmy nominations this week despite no longer existing. He also reflects on running Walt Disney Studios at...

WTOP Entertainment Reporter Jason Fraley chats with filmmaker Carlos Lopez Estrada, whose new film "Summertime" opens nationwide this weekend. They also discuss his breakthrough film "Blindspotting" and his transition to animation in Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with ESPN's Kevin Blackistone and former NFL MVP Mark Moseley about the Washington Football Team's name change, which happened on this date exactly one year ago. These interviews were conducted in the week leading up to the decision, serving as a time capsule of a social breaking point in sports history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with "Big Tony" Fisher of Trouble Funk, which makes history this Sunday as the first go-go band ever to play Wolf Trap's Filene Center. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with rocker Chris Daughtry, who signed his first record deal 15 years ago today -- despite finishing fourth on "American Idol." Daughtry describes staying busy during the pandemic and how he turned a TV singing competition into Grammy-nominated success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Michael Fitzpatrick of the alt-rock band Fitz & The Tantrums, who perform a special livestream concert today. Fitzpatrick shares how he came up with the band's beloved whistles and hand claps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg, who brings his interactive "jukebox" concert to Wolf Trap this Saturday and Sunday. They discuss his prolific drumming career, from Bruce Springsteen to Conan O'Brien. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with D.C. sports columnist and radio personality Thom Loverro, who's hosting a King Soul concert this Sunday at Caddies in Bethesda, Maryland to benefit D.C. Grays Baseball. They discuss Loverro's memories of working at ESPN 980, as well as his favorite athletes, TV shows and movies, including a pair of brand new sports scripts that he wrote during the...

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with country music and southern rock legend Charlie Daniels, who died on this date exactly one year ago. The late Daniels shares how he first learned the fiddle and how he came up with the lyrics of the legendary song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with legendary filmmaker Spike Lee, who becomes the first Black jury president at the Cannes Film Festival tomorrow in Paris, France. Jason spoke with Spike and actress Teyonah Parris during their 2015 film "Chi-Raq." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with music icon Jimmy Buffett, who headlines Sunday's "A Capitol Fourth" concert on PBS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Brian "Damage" Forsythe of the homegrown rock band Kix, which headlines the M3 Rock Festival tonight at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Derek Trucks of Tedeschi Trucks, which brings blues rock to the Frederick Fairgrounds July 1-3.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with "Moana" star Auli'i Cravalho, who will perform this Sunday on PBS' "A Capitol Fourth." (Theme Music: Scott Buckley's "Clarion")

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley salutes the late Alex Trebek and Larry King, who both just posthumously won Daytime Emmy Awards for their iconic broadcasting careers. Jason spoke to King in studio at WTOP en route to being honored at the Newseum in 2015. He then spoke to Trebek at DAR Constitution Hall during a taping of "Jeopardy" in 2016. Trebek died in 2020 at age 80, while Kin...

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Carole Baskin, who is featured in the new animal rights documentary "The Conservation Game." They also discuss her reaction to "Tiger King" and the jailing of Joe Exotic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Jeff Foxworthy about his hilarious comedy career, from "You Might Be a Redneck" to the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which filmed its final show at D.C.'s Warner Theatre 15 years ago this weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Thom Filicia, one of the original "Fab Five" of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The original cast reunites for E! Entertainment's "Reunion Road Trip" now on Peacock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with Lee Grant, last year's honoree at the AFI Docs Film Festival, which continues this week in D.C. Jason spoke with the Oscar and Emmy winner about her prolific career from "Peyton Place" to "In the Heat of the Night." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog during the 2016 AFI Docs Film Festival, which returns today. They discuss his greatest films, from feature films ("Fitzcarraldo") to documentaries ("Grizzly Man"), as well as a warning against technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley chats with prolific documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple ("Desert One," "Harlan County, USA") as we kick off a tribute to the AFI Docs Film Festival, which returns tomorrow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices