ROCK & ROLL: THE PERFECT BEAT {EPISODE 10} (TV)
Summary
Episode ten 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 ten, "The Perfect Beat," examines the rise of rap music as well as other forms of experimental music in the 1980s and 1990s. Events covered in this part include: how rap music can be traced to Jamaica where disc jockeys played a raw version of the music; the introduction of rap music to the streets of New York by Grandmaster Flash, a disc jockey in the Bronx; how rap or hip-hop became part of the underground culture in New York; the growing popularity of break dancing as the music took off; how electro-funk evolved out of the rap sound; the spread of the new sounds to England's bands, such as New Order, who performed the music in clubs; how MTV (Music Television) took rock and roll a step further and marketed the music to all generations; how Run DMC, pioneers in rap music, agumented their music with heavy guitar sounds; why record companies were reluctant to sign rap artists; how Run DMC changed that reluctance when they recorded the Aerosmith classic, "Walk This Way"; how rap music became acceptable to white rock-and-roll fans after that; the evolution of hip-hop when the Beastie Boys, three white upper-class performers, made the sound heavier; how most rap music sounded the same until Public Enemy came along and rapped about politics and social issues; why MTV refused to show videos from rap groups such as Public Enemy; how techno music came out of the club scene in Britain; how techno took longer to catch on in America; and how it made any form of music danceable because of the genius of the club disc jockeys. Includes interviews with the following individuals, among others: Darryl McDaniels and Joseph Simmons of Run DMC explain why they decided to use guitars in their music; producers Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons discuss the recording industry's decision to stay away from rap music; rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy talks about the message that rap sends; and club disc jockey Frankie Knuckles discusses how disc jockeys experimented with music and made it more exciting.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: September 28, 1995 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:56:46
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:43085
- GENRE: Arts documentaries; Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Arts documentaries; Music - Analysis, appreciation; Rap (Music); Rock music; African-American Collection - Music
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1995
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Elizabeth Deane … Executive Producer
- David Espar … Senior Producer
- Hugh Thomson … Producer
- Don Letts … Producer, Director
- Ian Pye … Associate Producer
- Liev Schreiber … Narrator
- Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Sadler) … Guest
- Afrika Bambaataa … Guest
- Arthur Baker … Guest
- Harry, Deborah (See also: Harry, Debbie) … Guest
- Bernard Sumner … Guest
- Peter Hook … Guest
- Seymour Stein … Guest
- Joseph Simmons … Guest
- Darryl McDaniels … Guest
- Rick Rubin … Guest
- Russell Simmons … Guest
- Mike Diamond … Guest
- Adam Horovitz … Guest
- Adam Yauch … Guest
- Chuck D … Guest
- Posdnuos (Kelvin Mercer) … Guest
- Muse (Vincent Mason, Jr.) … Guest
- Dave (David Jolicoeur) … Guest
- Derrick May … Guest
- Frankie Knuckles … Guest
- Alex Paterson … Guest
- Beastie Boys, The
- New Order
- Public Enemy
- Run DMC