History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, The – Nostalgia Central

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1 9 9 5 (USA)
10 x 60 minute episodes

Produced by Time-Life and narrated by Gary Busey, this major 10-hour television miniseries aired initially in the US from March to May in 1995.

The series covers the history of rock music from the 1950s to the 1990s and features over 200 exclusive interviews with many well-known artists and other music industry figures.

Episode 4 (‘Plugging In’), which covers Dylan and his influence from 1964 through ’69, works the best.

The rare clips, revealing comments from David Crosby and Roger McGuinn, and a clear storyline give the episode its strength.

Episode 9 (‘Punk’) also uses narration and follows a cogent timeline of performers: Iggy Pop, New York Dolls, The Ramones, Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Sex Pistols and The Clash.

But for viewers unfamiliar with the history, it is confusing to determine who did what, where, and when. For those who know the music and timeline, the sequential jumps are often illogical.

The 10 hours feature an impressive collection of clips and big-name performers – including The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Janis Joplin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Madonna, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Who and many, many more – but the series suffers from the use of anecdotes to drive the narrative and an abundance of lacklustre interviews.

Far too many clips reduce the stars’ comments to soundbites. Often they are commenting on movements of which they were not a part – Graham Nash on the thrill of meeting Bill Haley and The Everly Brothers is effective; The Who’s Pete Townshend on punk is useless.