Behind the Music 

Musical artists, their careers, their highs, their lows and everything in between are profiled and interviewed.

Creator:

Gay Rosenthal

Stars:

Jim Forbes, David Wild, Rick Rubin

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jim Forbes	...	Narrator / ... 145 episodes, 1997-2013

Storyline

One of two VH1 music biography series...this one profiles those artists not qualified to be "Legends", but have made enough contribution to be merited a subject of "Behind The Music". This series documents the ups & downs and personal & professional lives of the artists in question. Subjects have included Milli Vanilli, Jefferson Starship, Gloria Estefan, M.C. Hammer, and Selena.

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Plot Keywords:

retroculture | music history | celebrity interview | narration | three word title | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Music

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Did You Know?

Trivia

An episode about The Temptations was announced for March 1999 but was pulled before the airdate. It is believed that it was pulled either because of the popularity of NBC's The Temptations (1998) or because of the lawsuit filed against the film's producers by members of the group's family.

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Goofs

In the Metallica episode, it is stated that Reload was released in early 1998, when it was actually released in late 1997.

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Alternate Versions

Many of the older segments of the series have been revamped and are now airing as "remastered" versions. These new versions add in details that have happened to the bands since the original segments on the bands aired. However, these are a double-edged sword, in that a good deal of the material previously present in the episode has been cut out to maintain the hour-long time slot.

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Connections

Featured in One Hit Wonderland: You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive (2013)

User Reviews

Behind The Music should hang it up if BRITNEY SPEARS is thier idea of a seasoned rock star

When BEHIND THE MUSIC on VH1 first came out it was Must See TV. We never missed an episode. Even when it wasnt an artist we particularly cared for, we watched (an example: TLC who I dont like ANY of thier songs...but thier story was quite interesting: how they were selling millions of albums and making very little money or (who can ever forget?) Lisa torching the house because her boyfriend didnt buy her sneakers. My all-time favorite Behind The Musics were Milli Vanilli and Leif Garrett....again, not my favorite celebrities, but still great stories! I remember one year on my birthday they were going to do Bon Jovi. I was psyched. When I watched it within the first ten minutes you were pretty much told that Bon Jovi had fully consented to this BTM and that no dirt was going to be dished. Well, what fun is that?????!!!!! Then a couple of months later BTM was doing newer artists like Barenaked Ladies and Creed...who had only been around a few years and not really made thier marks on the world(as far as Im concerned: neither band HAS made thier mark to date.) So i lost interest and stopped watching. Now this week while watching SOMETHING ELSE on VH1 I saw a commercial for BEHIND THE MUSIC BRITNEY SPEARS. Oh please! Lets list the great songwriters of our time folks: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and...Britney Spears???(does she even WRITE those bubblegum melodys, or are they indeed written for her?) Tell us how in 4 years she has gone from a flirty school girl to a serious artist. oh wait...she hasnt. Note to BTM 20 years from now when we're all wondering whatever happened to her (like Tiffany!) THATS when you do a show telling us about her substance abuse, relationship problems, and short-lived career in porn.(if anything that exciting ever happens to Brit, and I doubt it will)

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

VH1 Behind the Music

Company Credits

Production Co:

VH1 Television, Gay Rosenthal Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Color:

Black and White Color