Fred Rogers - Archive Interview Part 5 of 9

[M1sT3rM4n]

Forgiveness..... Something that we no longer have a concept of.

[RHMETAL]

Most kids today don't know anything about this. They're too busy watching mindless cartoons on Cartoon Network, which I've lost faith in after the early 2000's. I'm 15, and I grew up watching Mr. Rogers. Now I host my own radio program that deals with music and politics, and I'm a 24/7 conservative activist! In fact, my musical and political oppinions crossed on Saturday. I saw Ted Nugent. One of my personal favorites.

[RHMETAL]

Nothing left on TV like it.

[chalky5678]

Pause at 00:49

:)

[shadowbox000]

He mentions Paul Winchell early on. For those of you who don't know -- PW was the voice of Tigger.

[NorthWriter]

I thank Fred Rogers & Co. for introducing me to jazz at such a young age. I didn't realize it for many years, but Johnny and Joe both helped me realize how important music is. And they always had such great musical guests, too...I remember one time they had a Russian organist on the show, and he played "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the foot pedals! It was amazing!

[dsquidnizzle]

Good point. His trio really swung. They remind me a little bit of the old Nat Cole trio. Also, shades of Bill Evans at times. I don't think people take Mr. Rogers love of music as seriously as they should. He was a pretty out cat.  Fred's wife Joanne says he would sit at the piano for hours in a sort of reverie: "Sometimes he'd improvise music that would be very complex and emotional in tone." Can you imagine what these recordings must be like? Like Mingus Plays Piano meets Raymond Scott.

[DAVWAVE]

What a wonderful man and I did not know that he was an ordained minister.

[nunlover]

i'd like to see what his thoughts were on gays

[rotcbrad]

why?

[xGerald2011x]

@nunlover he would despise it like anybody should

[Waluigi101]

@nunlover Much to the dismay of fundamentalists, Mr. Rogers would tell non-Christians and gays that God loved them just the way they were.

[SCLOGSE]

If you ever noticed this brilliant piano music that would come at the end of the show, it was Johnny Costa. If you find the right album of his, he plays like Charlie Parker on the piano. brilliant, bright, fabulous. Fred Rogers did a NASA special that has great wisdom in it. It's quite moving.