If you like music, or if you're a musician, then I bet those TV programs that feature music get your interest. Now I'm not talking about The Voice or America's Got Talent or American Idol. I am talking about real musicians playing live. Not some reality program or canned music in the background. Not that there's anything up with those programs.
Now of course this idiom of TV has a long history. Way back you had American Bandstand and that really was THE show where children could see their idols and the latest popular stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in some cases, especially later on , you had real bands playing live.
And of course the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music might be heard. Again there was plenty of lip-syncing in a number of cases but eventually more of these programs had real music playing live. Definitely the best, truly live show in the early days was Don Kirchner's show Rock Concert. That was pre-dated by a show called In Concert where taped versions of live performances were shown. But I believe that Rock Concert was the first live show featuring live musicians.
But the grandfather of all, and probably the first music show, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years in front of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most teens where introduced to their idols live for the first time on those Sunday night shows. That's where Elvis Presley and The Beatles and numerous other acts got their first live Television introductions. And the fantastic thing about the Ed Sullivan program is he mostly attempted to make the show as high-quality as practicable. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in England, the huge live program was Top of the Pops. That program started in the mid 1960's and went on for some time. It featured whatever bands where at the top of the pop charts that week. The Beatles, Stones, and all of the hit acts were on.
And over time, many programs developed that featured live performances. You had Austin Town Limits, Shindig, Saturday Night Live, Later with Jools Holland and others.
But my favorite shows are those that actually have real musicians as part of the cast or story. Of course you had The Monkees back in the old days which was truly a take off The Beatles "A Hard Days Night." And there was The Partridge Family which was again taken from a real band The Cowsills. But in The Partridge Family the sole "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a pop music career of his very own.
But today, there truly haven't been many dramas that feature live music apart from the variety programs or programs like Sat. Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other programs.
My Favourite Television Program
The HBO original program Treme is the only one that suggests itself where the actual cast actors are musicians. In reality the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the whole program. That together with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the politicians, form the primary story lines of the TV series.
But it's the live performances of the musicians in the cast that are the stars of the program for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, eateries, fancy music halls and at streetlevel corner. You see high school bands during rehearsals at school. You see bands performing at airports friendly new visitors. You really have music everywhere possible in the city. The point being, that music really does define what New Orleans is about.
And it feels like everybody sings. At watering holes and clubs the audience will sing along to classic New Orleans music they seem to know well. It makes New Orleans appear like the most musical town on the planet. Perhaps it is.
Now of course this idiom of TV has a long history. Way back you had American Bandstand and that really was THE show where children could see their idols and the latest popular stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in some cases, especially later on , you had real bands playing live.
And of course the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music might be heard. Again there was plenty of lip-syncing in a number of cases but eventually more of these programs had real music playing live. Definitely the best, truly live show in the early days was Don Kirchner's show Rock Concert. That was pre-dated by a show called In Concert where taped versions of live performances were shown. But I believe that Rock Concert was the first live show featuring live musicians.
But the grandfather of all, and probably the first music show, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years in front of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most teens where introduced to their idols live for the first time on those Sunday night shows. That's where Elvis Presley and The Beatles and numerous other acts got their first live Television introductions. And the fantastic thing about the Ed Sullivan program is he mostly attempted to make the show as high-quality as practicable. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in England, the huge live program was Top of the Pops. That program started in the mid 1960's and went on for some time. It featured whatever bands where at the top of the pop charts that week. The Beatles, Stones, and all of the hit acts were on.
And over time, many programs developed that featured live performances. You had Austin Town Limits, Shindig, Saturday Night Live, Later with Jools Holland and others.
But my favorite shows are those that actually have real musicians as part of the cast or story. Of course you had The Monkees back in the old days which was truly a take off The Beatles "A Hard Days Night." And there was The Partridge Family which was again taken from a real band The Cowsills. But in The Partridge Family the sole "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a pop music career of his very own.
But today, there truly haven't been many dramas that feature live music apart from the variety programs or programs like Sat. Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other programs.
My Favourite Television Program
The HBO original program Treme is the only one that suggests itself where the actual cast actors are musicians. In reality the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the whole program. That together with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the politicians, form the primary story lines of the TV series.
But it's the live performances of the musicians in the cast that are the stars of the program for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, eateries, fancy music halls and at streetlevel corner. You see high school bands during rehearsals at school. You see bands performing at airports friendly new visitors. You really have music everywhere possible in the city. The point being, that music really does define what New Orleans is about.
And it feels like everybody sings. At watering holes and clubs the audience will sing along to classic New Orleans music they seem to know well. It makes New Orleans appear like the most musical town on the planet. Perhaps it is.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a considerable time blues guitar strummer. He's played in several bands over time and now helps others learn to play the blues guitar on his website. He thinks Treme is the best music show on the T. V..
No comments:
Post a Comment