If you love music, or if you are a musician, then I bet those television shows that feature music get your interest. Now I'm not talking about The Voice or America's Got Talent or even American Idol. I'm talking about real musicians playing live. Not some real life program or unimportant music in the background. Not that there's anything wrong with those shows.
Now of course this category of TV has a long record. Way back you had American Bandstand and that actually was THE show where children could see their idols and the latest hit music stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in a number of cases, especially later on , you had real bands playing live.
And of course the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music could be heard. Again there was stacks of lip-syncing in some cases but finally more and more of these programs had actual music playing live. Definitely the best, really live show in the early days was Don Kirchner's show Rock Concert. That was pre-dated by a show 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 granddaddy of all of them, and potentially the first live music show, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years ahead of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most teens 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 bands got their first live TV introductions. And the fantastic thing about the Ed Sullivan program is he always attempted to make the show as top quality as practical. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in Britain, the large live show 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 pop 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 programs are those that actually have real musicians as part of the cast or story. Naturally 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 only "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a pop music career of his own.
But today, there really have not been many programs that feature live music apart from the variety programs or programs like Saturday Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other shows.
My Favourite Television Show
The HBO original show Treme is the only one that springs to mind where the cast members are musicians. In reality the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the whole show. That together with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the congressmen, form the key story lines of the TV series.
But it's the live performances of the musicians in the cast that are the stars of the program for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, restaurants, 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 really does define what New Orleans is about.
And it feels like everyone sings. At bars 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 town on the planet. Perhaps it is.
Now of course this category of TV has a long record. Way back you had American Bandstand and that actually was THE show where children could see their idols and the latest hit music stars of the day do their thing. Some of it was lip-synced but in a number of cases, especially later on , you had real bands playing live.
And of course the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music could be heard. Again there was stacks of lip-syncing in some cases but finally more and more of these programs had actual music playing live. Definitely the best, really live show in the early days was Don Kirchner's show Rock Concert. That was pre-dated by a show 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 granddaddy of all of them, and potentially the first live music show, was The Ed Sullivan Show. It started in 1948, years ahead of American Bandstand or Soul Train. Most teens 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 bands got their first live TV introductions. And the fantastic thing about the Ed Sullivan program is he always attempted to make the show as top quality as practical. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in Britain, the large live show 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 pop 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 programs are those that actually have real musicians as part of the cast or story. Naturally 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 only "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a pop music career of his own.
But today, there really have not been many programs that feature live music apart from the variety programs or programs like Saturday Night Live or Austin City Limits and a couple of other shows.
My Favourite Television Show
The HBO original show Treme is the only one that springs to mind where the cast members are musicians. In reality the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the whole show. That together with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the congressmen, form the key story lines of the TV series.
But it's the live performances of the musicians in the cast that are the stars of the program for me. You see New Orleans musicians performing in clubs, restaurants, 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 really does define what New Orleans is about.
And it feels like everyone sings. At bars 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 town on the planet. Perhaps it is.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a long time blues guitarist. He's played in many bands over the years and now helps others learn how to play the blues guitar on his website. He also believes Treme is the best music show on telly.
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