ROCK & ROLL: CROSSROADS {EPISODE 5} (TV)
Summary
Episode five of this ten-part documentary miniseries which traces the origins and history of rock and roll music from the late 1940s to the present. Interviews with artists and record executives, and performance footage are included throughout the program. Episode five, "Crossroads," examines the incorporation of the blues into rock music. Events covered in this part include: how the blues spread to London; what the appeal of the blues was to musicians and the public in London; the surprise and delight of record company owners, such as Marshall and Phil Chess of Chess Records, that people overseas were requesting blues records; the establishmnent of clubs that focused on the blues and recruited musicians from the crowds; the birth of the Rolling Stones and the musical influences that shaped them; the many lineup changes in the Yardbirds, which resulted in guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page each having brief stints with the group; the first American tour by the Rolling Stones and the Animals, and their belief that the tour would be a failure; how the original African-American blues musicians started to gain acceptance everywhere because of the success of the blues in London; how groups started creating their own brand of high-charged rhythm and blues music, such as Cream's remake of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads"; the discovery of Jimi Hendrix at a club in Greenwich Village, playing "Hey Joe"; how Hendrix went to London and took the blues to another level; the shock of many guitarists, such as Clapton and Beck, when Hendrix said he admired them; how Led Zeppelin formed out of the Yardbirds and began playing a hard-driving blues sound which would be coined "heavy metal" music; and the decline of the blues sound and the emergence of heavy metal/hard rock as the main focus after Hendrix's tragic death. Includes interviews with the following individuals, among others: musicians Eric Burdon and Chas Chandler talk about their band the Animals; musician John Mayall recalls seeking out new talent in the blues clubs; guitarist Jeff Beck reminisces about being a member of the Yardbirds and the genius of Jimi Hendrix; and singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page discuss forming Led Zeppelin.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: September 26, 1995 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:56:43
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:43065
- GENRE: Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Blues (Music); Heavy metal (Music); Interviews; Music - Analysis, appreciation; Rock music
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1995
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Elizabeth Deane … Executive Producer
- David Espar … Senior Producer
- Hugh Thomson … Producer
- Alan Lewens … Producer, Director
- Karen Walsh … Producer, Director
- Ian Pye … Associate Producer
- Liev Schreiber … Narrator
- Eric Burdon … Guest
- Chas Chandler … Guest
- Van Morrison … Guest
- Bill Wyman … Guest
- Marshall Chess … Guest
- Phil Chess … Guest
- Alexis Korner … Guest
- John Mayall … Guest
- Keith Richards … Guest
- Glorgio Gomelsky … Guest
- Mick Jagger … Guest
- Eric Clapton … Guest
- Jeff Beck … Guest
- Jimmy Page … Guest
- Redding Noel … Guest
- Robert Plant … Guest
- The Animals
- Cream
- Jimi Hendricks
- Led Zeppelin
- Rolling Stones, The
- The Yardbirds