On This Date in 1952: Eight-year-old Gladys Knight wins the top prize on 'Ted Mack's Amateur Hour' TV program with her rendition of Nat "King" Cole's 'Too Young.'

The Almanac Advises for July 15: "Reality-show singing contests such as 'American Idol,' though derided by many music and television critics, have unearthed undeniable talent."

Twenty years into a career that makes them, along with N.W.A., arguably the most influential group in hip-hop's history, Public Enemy continue to 'Fight the Power' through music and thought. The group, who've spent much of this summer on the road celebrating its 20-year anniversary, recently released a new album, 'How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?' The new album finds PE celebrating leader Chuck D's love of music, paying homage to Bob Dylan and fellow rap icons Run-DMC, among others. A few days after meeting backstage at the L.A. Rock the Bells stop, Chuck D spoke with Spinner about how AM radio shaped his love of music, the innovations that continue to inspire PE and how important a social-minded American festival like Rock the Bells is to hip-hop and music in general.

One of the things about Rock the Bells is that it's very socially conscious. How much does it mean to you to be playing with like-minded artists?

It allows artists to understand they can keep their consistent path and still further their careers here in the United States, because I think a lot of artists, be it Nas, the Roots, Cypress Hill especially, have seen there's been all these areas that have been set up festival-wise for their careers. But seeing it happen in the United States takes a concentrated effort, and Rock the Bells is able to make it come to fruition. It's proven to be a traveling Woodstock of hip-hop.

One of the things about the festival is that it mixes the established names with more up-and-comers, like the Coup, Murs and the like.

I don't think the artists have been up-and-coming. I think the up-and-coming is the new audience that's coming to the festivals, and also what's up-and-coming is the understanding of these artists that have been around seven to ten years, like Sage Francis, Mr. Lif, Living Legends, Murs and people like that. They're not rookies. The new artists bring more visibility to the older artists, and the mainstream artists bring visibility to everybody. This is a beautiful thing.

Though there are literally hundreds of African-American performing artists who could represent the rich palette of song during Black Music Month, Ella Fitzgerald makes a perfect ambassador. Considered one of the unsurpassed masters of 20th century music, the Newport News, Virginia, native, who died in 1996 at the age of 79, was the first African American to win a Grammy Award at its inaugural ceremony, in 1958. Not only did this giant of jazz and pop song gather up 13 Grammys throughout her storied career, she was bestowed the National Medal of Art by President Ronald Reagan, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H.W. Bush.