If you like music, or if you are a musician, then I bet those TV programs that feature music get your interest. 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 real life show or some music in the background. Not that there's anything wrong with those shows.
Now of course this genre of Television has a long history. Way back you had American Bandstand and that truly was THE show where children 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, especially later on , you had real bands playing live.
And the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music could be heard. Again there was plenty of lip-syncing in a number of cases but at last more of these shows had real musicians playing live. Certainly the best, actually live show in 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 concerts were shown. But I think that Rock Concert was the 1st live show featuring live musicians.
But the grandaddy of them all, and probably the very first live 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 first time on those Sun. night shows. 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 show is he usually attempted to make the presentation as top quality as practical. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in Britain, the huge live show was Top of the Pops. That program 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 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 favourite programs are the ones that basically have real musicians as part of the cast or story. Naturally you had The Monkees back in the old days which was actually a take off The Beatles "A Hard Days Night." And there had been The Partridge Family which was again taken from a real band The Cowsills. But in The Partridge Family the sole "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a popular music career of his very own.
But today, there truly have not been many programs that feature onstage music apart from the variety programs or programs like Sat. Night Live or Austin City Limits and a few other shows.
My Favourite Television Program
The HBO original program Treme is the only one that springs to mind where the cast members are musicians. Actually the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the entire show. That with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the congressmen, form the primary story lines of the show.
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 in the street corner. You see high school bands during practice at school. You see musicians performing at aeroports hospitable new visitors. You really have music everywhere possible in the town. The point being, that music truly does define what New Orleans is about.
And it seems like everyone sings. At bars and clubs patrons sing along to classic New Orleans music they appear to know well. It makes New Orleans appear like the most musical town on the planet. Maybe it is.
Now of course this genre of Television has a long history. Way back you had American Bandstand and that truly was THE show where children 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, especially later on , you had real bands playing live.
And the other biggie was Soul Train, where the black side of the equation and more soulful music could be heard. Again there was plenty of lip-syncing in a number of cases but at last more of these shows had real musicians playing live. Certainly the best, actually live show in 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 concerts were shown. But I think that Rock Concert was the 1st live show featuring live musicians.
But the grandaddy of them all, and probably the very first live 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 first time on those Sun. night shows. 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 show is he usually attempted to make the presentation as top quality as practical. And they were often all live. He set the bar for that.
And in Britain, the huge live show was Top of the Pops. That program 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 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 favourite programs are the ones that basically have real musicians as part of the cast or story. Naturally you had The Monkees back in the old days which was actually a take off The Beatles "A Hard Days Night." And there had been The Partridge Family which was again taken from a real band The Cowsills. But in The Partridge Family the sole "real" musician was David Cassidy who had a popular music career of his very own.
But today, there truly have not been many programs that feature onstage music apart from the variety programs or programs like Sat. Night Live or Austin City Limits and a few other shows.
My Favourite Television Program
The HBO original program Treme is the only one that springs to mind where the cast members are musicians. Actually the life of New Orleans musicians is a central story line for the entire show. That with plot lines about New Orleans ' chefs, police, redevelopment and the congressmen, form the primary story lines of the show.
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 in the street corner. You see high school bands during practice at school. You see musicians performing at aeroports hospitable new visitors. You really have music everywhere possible in the town. The point being, that music truly does define what New Orleans is about.
And it seems like everyone sings. At bars and clubs patrons sing along to classic New Orleans music they appear to know well. It makes New Orleans appear like the most musical town on the planet. Maybe it is.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a considerable time blues guitar strummer. He's played in several bands over time and now helps others learn to play the blues guitar on his website. He thinks Treme is the best music show on the T. V..
