The Museum presents American Pop
Thursday, January 1, 2004
New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA—The Museum of Television & Radio presents American Pop, a freewheeling survey of American popular music as experienced through the medium of television. Under the umbrella title American Pop, the series will offer thematic screenings that run for two months at a time at both the New York and Los Angeles Museums beginning February 6, 2004.
From Your Hit Parade to MTV, television has brought every significant performer of the last fifty years right into our living rooms. This multi-part screening series will feature performances and interviews with American pop stars as well as rarely seen programs produced to showcase popular music including a CBS News Special with an enthusiastic Leonard Bernstein shedding light on the exploding cultural impact of teen-oriented pop music in the mid-1960s; the first hour of MTV; the evolution of the teen pop idol featuring Fabian, the Monkees, Britney Spears; the music of Burt Bacharach; and the rarely seen Teenage Music International Show (TAMI); among others.
Soul Survivors, the first American Pop screening package, will present the work of Al Green and James Brown. Screening material will feature interview and performance footage of Al Green including his classics "Let's Stay Together" and "Tired of Being Alone," as well as the 1968 television special James Brown: Live in Boston. The Godfather of Soul convened this raw, powerful concert within twenty-four hours of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in an attempt to maintain peace and order in the African-American community. Sole Survivors will screen from February 6, 2004, through April 4, 2004, in New York on Thursdays through Sundays at 4:00 p.m. and in Los Angeles on Wednesdays through Sundays at 1:00 p.m.
American Pop screenings are included with the Museum's suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under fourteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles.
The Museum of Television & Radio, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, is a nonprofit organization founded by William S. Paley to collect and preserve television and radio programs and advertisements and to make them available to the public. Since opening in 1976, the Museum has organized exhibitions, screening and listening series, seminars, and education classes to showcase its collection of over 100,000 television and radio programs and advertisements. In 2001 the Museum initiated a process to acquire Internet programming for the collection. Programs in the Museum's permanent collection are selected for their artistic, cultural, and historic significance.
The Museum of Television & Radio in New York, located at 25 West 52 Street in Manhattan, is open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6:00 p.m. and until 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays. The Museum of Television & Radio in California, located at 465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. Both Museums are closed on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under fourteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles. The public areas in both Museums are accessible to wheelchairs, and assisted listening devices are available. Programs are subject to change. You may call the Museum in New York at (212) 621-6800, or in Los Angeles at (310) 786-1000. Visit the Museum's website at www.mtr.org.