Rock&Roll, PBS's biggest program event of fall This 10-part documentary mini-series traces the history and evolution of rock and roll music, from its rhythm and blues, country, gospel and jazz roots in the early 1950s, through the advent of folk rock, soul, psychadelia, heavy metal, glam, funk, punk, and reggae, to the emergence of rap in the early 1990s1995, envisioned a history of the music without reference to obvious names, footage and lore. The central idea throughout the 10-hour series, which debuts over five nights beginning Sept. 24 [2005], has been to tell the story of rock from the perspective of its innovators.
The resulting documentary skips over many Top-40 bands to spend time with more than 200 new interviews with artists, producers, musicians and others who made music rock.
"We were very determined that it should not be a 'clip show'," says Hugh Thomson, co-executive producer for the BBC. "We thought that there should be an attempt to understand and explain continually." Concert footage and music are interspersed with old and new interviews with the goal of demonstrating particular sounds or musical influences. Often music is layered under narration, location footage and interviews.
Each of the 10 segments, five produced by the BBC and five by WGBH, is directed to convey a strong sense of place, explains WGBH Executive Producer Elizabeth Deane. With no on-camera host, the films use narration and on-location interviews to tell the story of rock, evoking connections between the music, the artists and such interview sites as a Mississippi church and a Memphis recording studio.
Here's a rundown of each episode:
* "Renegades" Rock's roots in New Orleans, Chicago and Memphis; early rockers Chuck Berry, Ike Turner, Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Bo Diddley.
* "In the Groove" Rock songwriters Leiber and Stoller; vocal soul groups; doo-wop and girl groups; Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys.
* "Shakespeares in the Alley" Dylan and the Great Folk Scare; the English skiffle craze and the Beatles; the Byrds.
* "Respect" Motown; the soul of Memphis and Muscle Shoals, Ala.
* "Crossroads" British blues-rock and Jimi Hendrix.
* "Blues in Technicolor" Psychedelic-rock; Woodstock and Altamont.
* "The Wild Side" Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground; the Doors; David Bowie; Iggy Pop; Alice Cooper; Kiss.
* "Make It Funky" Pioneers of funk and the disco craze.
* "Punk" The proto-punk rock of Jonathan Richman; American and British punk; reggae and grunge.
* "The Perfect Beat" Rap, electro-funk, MTV, techno, house and ambient music.
