Way back on September 2, 1982, I was interviewed and performed on Studs Terkel's Daily Chicago WFMT radio show, which was syndicated nationwide. For those of you not familiar with Studs, here's part of what Wikipedia says about him.

"His own well-known radio program, titled The Studs Terkel Program, aired on 98.7 WFMT Chicago between 1952 and 1997. The one-hour program was broadcast each weekday during those 45 years. On this program, he interviewed guests as diverse as Martin Luther King Jr., Leonard Bernstein, Mort Sahl, Bob Dylan, Alexander Frey, Dorothy Parker, Tennessee Williams, Jean Shepherd, Alan Watts, Frank Zappa, and Big Bill Broonzy."

Unfortunately, the article doesn't mention Sylvia Woods, but I'm still proud to be part of such an amazing group of people!

I was surprised and delighted to receive the following email from Louise Frank at WFMT radio a few months ago. 
"I am now finalizing the Best of Studs Terkel for early 2026 and can tell you that your 1982 conversation will air on Friday, March 13, at 11:00 PM Chicago Time. You can listen, if you like, via streaming at WFMT.com and also on the WFMT app."

I'm proud to be considered one of the "Best." Hooray!

You don't have to wait until March 13th to listen to my interview. You can listen to it at any time on the Studs Terkel Radio Archive website.

You can also read about the other times I've been on the radio and TV on the About Sylvia Woods and

Harp Center on PBS TV pages on my website.

Studs Terkel photo credit: Chicago History Museum, ICHi-102942; Raeburn Flerlage, photographer.

This photo was taken in 1982 when I was recording the music for the "Chicago's Secret Wilderness" documentary.

In these newsletters, I often cite and link to previous issues. But this time, I'm copying parts of an article from my July 2019 newsletter to give you more information about Studs Terkel's radio show. I have tweaked the article a bit to make it more up-to-date. Here it is.

Author, historian, actor, and radio personality Studs Terkel read Whitman's poetry in the 1982 "Chicago's Secret Wilderness" documentary that I told you about in my June 2019 newsletter. So, while I was in Chicago recording the soundtrack, the producer set up an interview on Studs' daily WFMT radio show that was syndicated around the country.  

My 53-minute interview aired on September 2, 1982. We talked about harps and harp history, and I played pieces from my Harp of Brandiswhiere suite and my Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp book. You can listen to the entire interview here.

Please remember that this radio show was recorded over 40 years ago, so a lot has changed since then. For example, near the beginning, I discussed the differences between pedal harps and Irish harps, but I never mentioned levers. That's because many harps at that time had no levers, and if they did, the levers were not very good. Later in the interview, Studs saw me twisting my blade levers for a piece and asked me about them. You'll also notice that I call small harps Irish harps, Celtic harps, or folk harps. Back then, no one called them lever harps.

One thing I noticed when listening to the show recently was . . . WOW . . . I played FAST back in those days! 

P.S. By the way, my Los Angeles P.O. Box address mentioned several times is old and no longer exists.

Here are some of the PDFs I've recently added to harpcenter.com.

Douglas Beck

Those Who Dream: An original composition based on Psalm 126.

Kim Robertson

Lovely Little Lullabies Vol. 1: Twelve lullabies from around the world.

Verlene Schermer

Three volumes arranged for therapeutic harp players:

O'Carolan Tunes for Therapeutic Harp

Lullabies and Waltzes for Therapeutic Harp

Classical Music for Therapeutic Harp

Please note: The PDFs in this section are not part of the monthly sale.

Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp

by Sylvia Woods

Book, PDF, CD, mp3s

15% off with Radio code

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Harp of Brandiswhiere

composed by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Book

15% off with Radio code

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All of Me

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet Music

15% off with Radio code

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Hallelujah

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet Music

15% off with Radio code

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Unchained Medley

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet Music

15% off with Radio code

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Happy

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet Music

15% off with Radio code

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Fields of Gold

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet Music

15% off with Radio code

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Stairway to Heaven

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet Music

15% off with Radio code

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Photograph

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet Music

15% off with Radio code

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15% off select sale items when you use the code word Radio

Our newsletter promo codes are redeemable online and are only valid for the products listed above in the monthly sale section. They are not valid for phone or email orders. This month's code word is Radio.

Here's how to get your newsletter discount at harpcenter.com:

#1. Put the items you want to purchase in your cart.

#2. On the page where you view the items in your cart, type this month's code word Radio in the "Enter Promo Code" box and click "Apply."

The actual price of the featured sale products on this page will then automatically change to reflect the discount. For example,

   Unit Price: $9.95 (the original price)

   Total Price: $8.46 (the discounted price)

You'll also see a note below the Promo Code box stating the name of the promo code you entered and the percentage discount amount.

REMEMBER: You must enter this month's code word Radio in the Promo Code box and click "Apply" on your shopping cart page by March 31, 2026, to get the discount!

If you forget or have trouble adding it to your order, email Sylvia immediately.  

This offer expires at the end of the day on 3/31/26.

Sylvia Woods Harp Center

Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii