MICHEL MARTIN, Host:
Phyllis Schlafly has been an icon of conservative women in the U.S. for decades. The longtime political strategist, author, and mother of six recently stopped by our studios to talk about her work and her life. She also shared with us some of the songs that have inspired her throughout the years, part of our occasional series we call "In Your Ear."
PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY: I'm Phyllis Schlafly, president of Eagle Forum, and politics has been my hobby all my life. When I started my organization, Eagle Forum, I climbed up on the stage of a riverboat on the Mississippi River, and I got one of my singing friends to sing one of my most favorite songs, "Stout-Hearted Men."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STOUT-HEARTED MEN")
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) You who have dreams, if you act, they will come true. To turn your dreams to a fact, it's up to you.
SCHLAFLY: I was urging my followers to be stout-hearted, and take on the battle against all the powers that be. After 10 years, we succeeded in defeating them and defeating the Equal Rights Amendment.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STOUT-HEARTED MEN")
GROUP: (Singing) When stout-hearted men can stick together, man for man.
SCHLAFLY: I'm also a fan of Beethoven's music. I like Beethoven's Ninth.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEETHOVEN'S NINTH SYMPHONY")
SCHLAFLY: The Ode to Joy, the first symphony that had a full choral group.
(SOUNDBITE OF "BEETHOVEN'S NINTH SYMPHONY")
SCHLAFLY: And I like the musical operettas. "Showboat" is my most favorite. I'm a big fan of "Ol' Man River." Of course, I've lived here in St. Louis, on the great Mississippi River, all my life.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OL' MAN RIVER")
PAUL ROBESON: (Singing) There's an old man called the Mississippi. That's the old man that I'd like to be. What does he care if the world's got troubles? What does he care if the land ain't free?
SCHLAFLY: I like to hear it, and whoever sings that has to have a deep and rich voice.
ROBESON: (Singing) Ol' man river, that ol' man river, he must know something.
MARTIN: To hear my full conversation with Phyllis Schlafly, please go to the program page of NPR.org and select TELL ME MORE.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OL' MAN RIVER")
ROBESON: (Singing) He keeps on rolling along. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.