The ten episode series of documentaries, "The History of Rock & Roll" moves along with momentum with the second episode, "Good Rockin' Tonight". The series really begins to hit it's rhythm after a first hour that works mostly as an introductory first act by comparison. Like the first episode, these sixty minutes crosscut legendary rock and R&B artists with archival footage, including some great hard-to-find live performances. This episode continues to explore America's racial issues that led to many white artists like Pat Boone re-recording songs recorded by black artists, as well as the continued importance of Chuck Berry and those famed Sun Records artists Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
The History of Rock 'n' Roll (TV Mini Series)
Good Rockin' Tonight (1995)
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Episode 2: Good Rockin tonight
ebiros221 October 2005
This episode shows after the formative years, Rock n Roll becomes a main stream media with more integration going on with white musicians taking in black influence and vice a versa. There was still fear of integration by the status quo, but Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lewis crossed the racial barrier, and rock n roll music was coming into mainstream America.
Rock n roll was still pretty much an American phenomena in the '50s, and as rock n roll gained wide acceptance, producers and composers were writing for both black and white artists. Most notable of these producers was Phil Spector. With his many hits and introduction of Ronettes, rock n roll music sees its first golden age.
As the '50s rockers stopped playing (Little Richard becoming a priest, Chuck Berry going to jail, Jerry Lewis marrying his teenage cousin, and Buddy Holly getting killed in a plane accident), early '60s rock gets filled with manufactured stars such as Bobby Vee, Fabien, Rick Nelson, Paul Anka, and Niel Sedaka in which America was about to get a wake up call from a country across the Atlantic.
Rock n roll was still pretty much an American phenomena in the '50s, and as rock n roll gained wide acceptance, producers and composers were writing for both black and white artists. Most notable of these producers was Phil Spector. With his many hits and introduction of Ronettes, rock n roll music sees its first golden age.
As the '50s rockers stopped playing (Little Richard becoming a priest, Chuck Berry going to jail, Jerry Lewis marrying his teenage cousin, and Buddy Holly getting killed in a plane accident), early '60s rock gets filled with manufactured stars such as Bobby Vee, Fabien, Rick Nelson, Paul Anka, and Niel Sedaka in which America was about to get a wake up call from a country across the Atlantic.
'Good Rockin' Tonight' - Yes, Indeed!
ccthemovieman-13 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This may wind up as my favorite episode in this 10-series set, only because I love this period in rock 'n roll history and love the performers that were featured in it. I grew up listening to these people.
On this disc, for instance, we hear Chuck Berry doing "Roll Over Beethoven;" Elvis Presley singing his famous "Hound Dog;" Carl Perkins, ditto for "Blue Suede Shoes;" Jerry Lee Lewis, "Whole Lotta Shaking' Going On;"
In addition are goodies like Buddy Holly's "Oh, Boy;" The Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love;" Roy Orbison's "Only The Lonely;" Danny And the Juniors' "At the Hop;" The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling;" The Ronettes "Be My Baby," and Ben E. King's "Stand By Me."
Orbison, by the way, was seen with light hair and no glasses! During most of "At the Hop" we saw the kids wildly dancing away on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" TV show.
Discrimination against early rock stars - black and white - was shown. The "n-word" was used by people who were afraid their white kids were being poorly influenced by the black singers, whose rhythm-and-blues songs were the real beginnings of rock music. It was pointed out that this was the first time of separation between kids and parents regarding music. (Yeah, I can relate - my father busted by first Elvis LP in half and gave me my money back!)
As Don Everly of the Everly Brothers comments, "the first five years of rock n' roll were really tough on the performers. Parents, the media, religious and social groups - about every adult, it seemed, was dead set against rock 'n roll and banned it wherever they could. The singers and musicians didn't have it easy." . We are shown a short video in which some junior high school parents give us a demonstration (and they are serious) of how kids should NOT for school - leather jackets, tee-shirts, tight skirts, dropped earrings, etc.) Looking at it today, It's pretty funny.
By the way, what rock song did both kids and parents finally like?" Chubby Checker's "The Twist" in 1960. We are shown videos of old folks twisting the night away at "The Peppermint Lounge."
I found it also interesting to see Fabian again, and reflect on his days and what is was like as a "teen idol." The same goes for Neil Sedeka, who talks about about a building in New York City (the Brill Building) where songwriters were put in cubicles and told to crank out hit songs.....and, amazingly, they did!
As for a touching moment in this second episode, Carl Perkins gives a wonderful tribute to Elvis Presley. That's fitting, as Perkins was probably the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. Sadly, he died shortly after these interviews. You could tell he was in trouble as his voice was a little raspy.
It was a wild, short era, and was about to become wilder when the British "invaded." However, that's the next episode.
On this disc, for instance, we hear Chuck Berry doing "Roll Over Beethoven;" Elvis Presley singing his famous "Hound Dog;" Carl Perkins, ditto for "Blue Suede Shoes;" Jerry Lee Lewis, "Whole Lotta Shaking' Going On;"
In addition are goodies like Buddy Holly's "Oh, Boy;" The Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love;" Roy Orbison's "Only The Lonely;" Danny And the Juniors' "At the Hop;" The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling;" The Ronettes "Be My Baby," and Ben E. King's "Stand By Me."
Orbison, by the way, was seen with light hair and no glasses! During most of "At the Hop" we saw the kids wildly dancing away on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" TV show.
Discrimination against early rock stars - black and white - was shown. The "n-word" was used by people who were afraid their white kids were being poorly influenced by the black singers, whose rhythm-and-blues songs were the real beginnings of rock music. It was pointed out that this was the first time of separation between kids and parents regarding music. (Yeah, I can relate - my father busted by first Elvis LP in half and gave me my money back!)
As Don Everly of the Everly Brothers comments, "the first five years of rock n' roll were really tough on the performers. Parents, the media, religious and social groups - about every adult, it seemed, was dead set against rock 'n roll and banned it wherever they could. The singers and musicians didn't have it easy." . We are shown a short video in which some junior high school parents give us a demonstration (and they are serious) of how kids should NOT for school - leather jackets, tee-shirts, tight skirts, dropped earrings, etc.) Looking at it today, It's pretty funny.
By the way, what rock song did both kids and parents finally like?" Chubby Checker's "The Twist" in 1960. We are shown videos of old folks twisting the night away at "The Peppermint Lounge."
I found it also interesting to see Fabian again, and reflect on his days and what is was like as a "teen idol." The same goes for Neil Sedeka, who talks about about a building in New York City (the Brill Building) where songwriters were put in cubicles and told to crank out hit songs.....and, amazingly, they did!
As for a touching moment in this second episode, Carl Perkins gives a wonderful tribute to Elvis Presley. That's fitting, as Perkins was probably the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. Sadly, he died shortly after these interviews. You could tell he was in trouble as his voice was a little raspy.
It was a wild, short era, and was about to become wilder when the British "invaded." However, that's the next episode.
"...we put the blues and the boogie woogie together. Rock 'n' Roll! - Little Richard
classicsoncall20 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This second chapter in 'The History of Rock 'n' Roll' series explains how the music successfully entered the American mainstream after traversing it's share of bumps in the road. The most notable one of course was the idea that 'black music' was beginning to make inroads into white America, causing consternation among various members of the media, politics and the entertainment industry itself. But when singers like Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis began interpreting songs in their own distinctive styles with a nod to their forbears, the walls gradually came crumbling down.
Elvis in particular gets a lot of play in this chapter. Following his very first television appearance on Milton Berle's 'Star Texaco Theater', Berle explains how he received seven hundred thousand! pieces of 'pan mail' - not fan mail. In other words, how could he have the audacity to put such a performer on his program with the swinging hips and suggestive gyrations?
But Presley's new fans demanded more, and shortly after he appeared with a 'new' look on 'The Steve Allen Show', dressed in jacket and tie in an effort to make him look more like a responsible adult. I don't think that worked too well. Just as Pat Boone singing 'Tutti Frutti' in the first chapter of this series was the most surreal moment of that episode, this time it's Elvis singing his hit 'You Ain't Nothing' but a Hound Dog' to, what else, a sad looking basset hound!
While Elvis was making great strides with his music, other performers were also up and coming, and included Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison. But as fans demanded more and more, record producers met the demand with hundreds of new songs churned out at a manic pace. With so many new records hitting radio stations, 'payola' became an industry dirty word, with DJ's like Alan Freed suffering the consequences of accepting money for playing certain records, even if it never got beyond the accusation stage.
This period of turmoil in the industry eventually gave way to a bit of a calm down period in the late Fifties, with a new crop of performers like Bobby Rydell, Fabian, Paul Anka, and Neil Sedaka. Producer Phil Spector made a splash with The Ronettes, and America's adults and teens finally found a song they could both like and enjoy in The Twist. I have to say though, it was a little surreal in itself to see folks like Senator Jacob Javits twisting away at New York City's Peppermint Lounge.
Lest I forget (which I did in my review of the first chapter), this series is narrated by Gary Busey. Funny, but I didn't recognize his voice right off, so here on in I'll have to pay more attention. Even so, he's doing a good job with his voice over work describing the era.
Elvis in particular gets a lot of play in this chapter. Following his very first television appearance on Milton Berle's 'Star Texaco Theater', Berle explains how he received seven hundred thousand! pieces of 'pan mail' - not fan mail. In other words, how could he have the audacity to put such a performer on his program with the swinging hips and suggestive gyrations?
But Presley's new fans demanded more, and shortly after he appeared with a 'new' look on 'The Steve Allen Show', dressed in jacket and tie in an effort to make him look more like a responsible adult. I don't think that worked too well. Just as Pat Boone singing 'Tutti Frutti' in the first chapter of this series was the most surreal moment of that episode, this time it's Elvis singing his hit 'You Ain't Nothing' but a Hound Dog' to, what else, a sad looking basset hound!
While Elvis was making great strides with his music, other performers were also up and coming, and included Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison. But as fans demanded more and more, record producers met the demand with hundreds of new songs churned out at a manic pace. With so many new records hitting radio stations, 'payola' became an industry dirty word, with DJ's like Alan Freed suffering the consequences of accepting money for playing certain records, even if it never got beyond the accusation stage.
This period of turmoil in the industry eventually gave way to a bit of a calm down period in the late Fifties, with a new crop of performers like Bobby Rydell, Fabian, Paul Anka, and Neil Sedaka. Producer Phil Spector made a splash with The Ronettes, and America's adults and teens finally found a song they could both like and enjoy in The Twist. I have to say though, it was a little surreal in itself to see folks like Senator Jacob Javits twisting away at New York City's Peppermint Lounge.
Lest I forget (which I did in my review of the first chapter), this series is narrated by Gary Busey. Funny, but I didn't recognize his voice right off, so here on in I'll have to pay more attention. Even so, he's doing a good job with his voice over work describing the era.
Absolutely riveting.
MaRX-410 December 1999
Far superior to "The History of Rock 'n' Roll Vol. 1", in both depth and style. With deep interests in early rock groups, Volume 2 is a must for all music lovers.
This excellent documentary most definitely puts it's pre-quel in it's shadow.
A must for any music fan.
This excellent documentary most definitely puts it's pre-quel in it's shadow.
A must for any music fan.
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