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Playwright and Commentator Thom Jones talks about basketball and "Yo Mama" jokes, in a piece adapted from his play, "Birth of the Boom."

We continue our rebroadcast of our series on American Popular Song with a tribute to ragtime composer and performer Eubie Blake. He was born on February 7,1883 in Baltimore, Md. He wrote the songs for the Broadway hit Shuffle Along. African American ragtime musicians of the day sought out Eubie to write their songs. Two of Eubie Blake's best known songs are "I'm Just Wild About Harry" and "Love Will Find A Way." Just over one hundred years after his life began, on February 12, 1983, Eubie Blake died in Brooklyn, New York. We'll present a concert with singer Vernel Bagneris and pianist Dick Hyman and feature theater historian Robert Kimball. Singer Vernel Bagneris co-starred in the Broadway musical "The Life." He also co-created and starred in a Jelly Roll Morton revue, and the New Orleans music revue "One Mo' Time." Dick Hyman is an expert in piano styles of the teens, twenties and thirties. He has also composed music for several Woody Allen movies. Kimball rediscovered Blake in the the late 60's and co-authored the book "Reminiscing with Sissle and Blake." Kimball is also the co-author of "The Gershwins, and editor of "The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter." (ORIGINAL BROADCAST: 5/28/98)12:28:30 FORWARD PROMO (:29)12:29:00 I.D. BREAK (:59)12:30:00...

Commentator Cecilie Berry blames parents for the bad behavior of today's children. Parents, she says, don't speak up enough when they see other people's kids acting up. Parents are more interested in high achieving children than children who behave. Grownups used to be a "united front" who helped each other raise kids. Now things are more fragmented, and everyone, she says, suffers as a result.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr wonders if all the time spent on speculation about presidential running mates is time well spent.

Karen Michel reports on the Alice Neel retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Painter of New York's famous and not-so-famous, Neel's uncompromising adherence to figurative painting at the height of abstract expressionism left her outside the city's art scene for much of her life. The Whitney exhibit is the first major retrospective of Alice Neel's artwork since her death in 1984.

EUBIE BLAKE TRIBUTE CONTINUES.12:58:30 NEXT SHOW PROMO (:29) PROMO COPY On the next fresh air We continue our Monday encore presentations of our series on american popular song, with a tribute to Eubie Blake, composer of such songs as I'm Just Wild about Harry and Memories of You. Our guest performers will be Vernel Bagneris and pianist Dick Hyman, and we'll talk with theater historian Robert Kimball. Join us for the next fresh air.

Host Bob Edwards talks to NPR's Steve Inskeep about the possibility that Texas Governor George W. Bush will choose former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney as his running mate. Bush is expected to make the announcement today.

Scott Horsley of member station KPBS reports that San Diego is trying a new campaign to encourage more courteous use of cell phones. Cell phone maker Nokia and the San Diego city government are teaming up to post signs asking cell phone users to turn off their ringers, or their phones, in public places such as churches, libraries and movie theaters.

Linda talks to Jacob Weisberg, SLATE magazine's chief political correspondent, about the latest round of political ads for the presidential campaigns.

NPR's Ted Clark reports the summit at Camp David has reached a critical stage. President Clinton is holding intensive talks with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, and he is expected to decide within the next day or so whether there is any hope for a breakthrough.