If you adore music, or if you are a musician, then I bet those television programs that feature music get your interest. Now I am not talking about The Voice or America's Got Talent or American Idol. I'm talking about real musicians playing live. Not some real life show or some music in the background. Not that there's anything wrong with those shows.
Now of course this idiom of Television has a lengthy record. Way back you had American Bandstand and that truly was THE show where youngsters could see their idols and the freshest pop stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in a few cases, especially later you had actual bands playing live.
And 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 some cases but eventually more of these programs had real music playing live. Actually the best, actually live show during the early times 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 think that Rock Concert was the 1st live program featuring live musicians.
But the grandfather of them all, and probably the first live music program, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years in front of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most youths where introduced to their idols live for the first time on those Sun. night programs. That's where Elvis Presley and The Beatles and countless other acts got their first live TV introductions. And the great thing about the Ed Sullivan program is he always tried to make the recordings as fine quality as practical. And they were generally all live. He set the bar for that.
And in Britain, the huge live program was Top of the Pops. That show started in the mid 1960's and went on for some time. It featured whatever bands where at the very top of the pop charts that week. The Beatles, Stones, and all of the hit acts were on.
And over time, many shows developed that featured live performances. You had Austin Town Limits, Shindig, Saturday Night Live, Later with Jools Holland and others.
But my favourite shows are the ones that basically have actual musicians as an element of the cast or story. Of course you had The Monkees back in the old days which was truly a take off of 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 sole "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a popular music career of his own.
But today, there actually haven't been many programs that feature live music apart from the variety shows or programs like Saturday Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other series.
My Favourite TV Program
The HBO original program Treme is the only one that suggests itself where the particular cast members are musicians. Actually the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the entire show. That together with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the congressmen, 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 show for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, bistros, fancy music halls and on the street corner. You see high school bands during practice at college. You see bands performing at airports welcoming new visitors. You really have music everywhere possible in the town. The point being, that music actually does define what New Orleans is about.
And it feels like everyone sings. At watering holes and clubs everyone will sing along to classic New Orleans music they seem to know well. It makes New Orleans seem like the most musical city on the planet. Maybe it is.
Now of course this idiom of Television has a lengthy record. Way back you had American Bandstand and that truly was THE show where youngsters could see their idols and the freshest pop stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in a few cases, especially later you had actual bands playing live.
And 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 some cases but eventually more of these programs had real music playing live. Actually the best, actually live show during the early times 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 think that Rock Concert was the 1st live program featuring live musicians.
But the grandfather of them all, and probably the first live music program, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years in front of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most youths where introduced to their idols live for the first time on those Sun. night programs. That's where Elvis Presley and The Beatles and countless other acts got their first live TV introductions. And the great thing about the Ed Sullivan program is he always tried to make the recordings as fine quality as practical. And they were generally all live. He set the bar for that.
And in Britain, the huge live program was Top of the Pops. That show started in the mid 1960's and went on for some time. It featured whatever bands where at the very top of the pop charts that week. The Beatles, Stones, and all of the hit acts were on.
And over time, many shows developed that featured live performances. You had Austin Town Limits, Shindig, Saturday Night Live, Later with Jools Holland and others.
But my favourite shows are the ones that basically have actual musicians as an element of the cast or story. Of course you had The Monkees back in the old days which was truly a take off of 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 sole "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a popular music career of his own.
But today, there actually haven't been many programs that feature live music apart from the variety shows or programs like Saturday Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other series.
My Favourite TV Program
The HBO original program Treme is the only one that suggests itself where the particular cast members are musicians. Actually the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the entire show. That together with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the congressmen, 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 show for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, bistros, fancy music halls and on the street corner. You see high school bands during practice at college. You see bands performing at airports welcoming new visitors. You really have music everywhere possible in the town. The point being, that music actually does define what New Orleans is about.
And it feels like everyone sings. At watering holes and clubs everyone will sing along to classic New Orleans music they seem to know well. It makes New Orleans seem like the most musical city on the planet. Maybe 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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