If you love music, or if you're a musician, then I bet those TV programs that feature music get your attention. Now I am not talking about The Voice or America's Got Talent or American Idol. I am talking about real musicians playing live. Not some reality show or unimportant music in the background. Not that there's anything up with those programs.
Now of course this idiom of TV has a lengthy record. Way back you had American Bandstand and that actually was THE show where kids could see their idols and the hottest popular stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in some cases, particularly later you had actual bands playing live.
And obviously the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music might be heard. Again there was stacks of lip-syncing in a number of cases but eventually more and more of these shows had real music playing live. Certainly the best, actually live show during the early days was Don Kirchner's show Rock Concert. That was pre-dated by a program called In Concert where taped versions of live shows were shown. But I believe that Rock Concert was the first live program featuring live musicians.
But the grandfather of them all, and possibly the very first onstage music show, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years in advance of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most youths where introduced to their idols live for the 1st time on those Sun. night shows. That is where Elvis Presley and The Beatles and countless other acts got their first live TV introductions. And the great thing about the Ed Sullivan show is he usually attempted to make the show as fine quality as possible. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in England, the large live program was Top of the Pops. That show started in the mid 1960's and went on for a long while. It featured whatever bands where at the top of the pop charts that week. The Beatles, Stones, and all of the pop acts were on.
And over the years, many shows 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 the ones that essentially have actual musicians as an element of the cast or storyline. 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 genuine band The Cowsills. But in The Partridge Family the only "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a popular music career of his very own.
But today, there really haven't been many programs that feature live music aside from the variety shows or programs like Sat. Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other series.
My Favorite Television Show
The HBO original program Treme is the only one that springs to mind where the actual cast actors are musicians. In fact , the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the whole show. That with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the congressmen, form the primary story lines of the TV series.
But it is the live performances of the musicians in the cast that are the stars of the show for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, bistros, fancy music halls and at streetlevel corner. You see high school bands during practice at school. You see bands performing at aeroports hospitable new visitors. You actually have music everywhere possible in the town. The point being, that music actually does define what New Orleans is about.
And it seems like everyone sings. At clubs and bars the audience will sing along to classic New Orleans music they appear to know well. It makes New Orleans appear like the most musical town worldwide. Perhaps it is.
Now of course this idiom of TV has a lengthy record. Way back you had American Bandstand and that actually was THE show where kids could see their idols and the hottest popular stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in some cases, particularly later you had actual bands playing live.
And obviously the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music might be heard. Again there was stacks of lip-syncing in a number of cases but eventually more and more of these shows had real music playing live. Certainly the best, actually live show during the early days was Don Kirchner's show Rock Concert. That was pre-dated by a program called In Concert where taped versions of live shows were shown. But I believe that Rock Concert was the first live program featuring live musicians.
But the grandfather of them all, and possibly the very first onstage music show, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years in advance of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most youths where introduced to their idols live for the 1st time on those Sun. night shows. That is where Elvis Presley and The Beatles and countless other acts got their first live TV introductions. And the great thing about the Ed Sullivan show is he usually attempted to make the show as fine quality as possible. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in England, the large live program was Top of the Pops. That show started in the mid 1960's and went on for a long while. It featured whatever bands where at the top of the pop charts that week. The Beatles, Stones, and all of the pop acts were on.
And over the years, many shows 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 the ones that essentially have actual musicians as an element of the cast or storyline. 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 genuine band The Cowsills. But in The Partridge Family the only "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a popular music career of his very own.
But today, there really haven't been many programs that feature live music aside from the variety shows or programs like Sat. Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other series.
My Favorite Television Show
The HBO original program Treme is the only one that springs to mind where the actual cast actors are musicians. In fact , the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the whole show. That with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the congressmen, form the primary story lines of the TV series.
But it is the live performances of the musicians in the cast that are the stars of the show for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, bistros, fancy music halls and at streetlevel corner. You see high school bands during practice at school. You see bands performing at aeroports hospitable new visitors. You actually have music everywhere possible in the town. The point being, that music actually does define what New Orleans is about.
And it seems like everyone sings. At clubs and bars the audience will sing along to classic New Orleans music they appear to know well. It makes New Orleans appear like the most musical town worldwide. Perhaps it is.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a while blues guitar player. He's played in numerous bands over time and now helps others learn to play the blues guitar on his website. He also thinks Treme is the best music show on TV.
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