GBH Openvault

Rock and Roll; Make it Funky; Interview with Cynthia Robinson

Part of Rock and Roll.

Interview with Cynthia Robinson

Series

Rock and Roll

Program

Make it Funky

Program Number

108

Title

Interview with Cynthia Robinson

Series Description

This ten-part series, explores the musical styles, influences, and complex creative processes that have allowed rock to endure, from its renegade beginnings in the 1950s to the 1990s. From performers to producers, songwriters to studio engineers, session musicians to disk jockeys, ROCK & ROLL is an extensively researched and revealing history built on stories from and about the innovators who defined the music that has rocked the nation and the world for 40 years. 101 RENEGADES - THIS EPISODE INTRODUCES VIEWERS TO THE PIONEERS OF ROCK. THE SERIES TRAVELS SOUTHERN BACKROADS TO NEW ORLEANS, MEMPHIS AND NASHVILLE AND THEN MOVES NORTH TO CHICAGO, INTERVIEWING LITTLE RICHARD, BO DIDDLEY, CHUCK BERRY, JERRY LEE LEWIS, PIONEER DISC JOCKEY HOSS ALLEN AND PRODUCERS DAVE BARTHOLOMEW, SAM PHILLIPS, AND PHIL AND MARSHALL CHESS ALONG THE WAY. THESE MUSICAL RENEGADES OF THE '50'S REVEAL HOW THEY BORROWED FROM RHYTHM AND BLUES, COUNTRY, GOSPEL, AND JAZZ TO CREATE A WHOLE NEW SOUND - ROCK AND ROLL. 102 IN THE GROOVE - REPORTS ON THE YEARS BETWEEN ELVIS AND THE BEATLES, WHEN THE HIT SINGLE BECAME AN INTRICATELY CRAFTED WORK OF ART, AND PRODUCERS, SONGWRITERS AND MUSICIANS CREATED STUDIO MAGIC. IN INTERVIEWS WITH JERRY LEIBER AND MIKE STOLLER, BEN E. KING, BRIAN WILSON, CAROLE KING, SONNY BONO AND "KING OF THE SURF GUITAR" DICK DALE, AMONG OTHERS, THIS HOUR RECOUNTS THE ERA OF SWEET SOUL AND GIRL GROUPS WHEN A NEW ROCK GENIUS REIGNED: THE PRODUCER. 103 SHAKESPEARES IN THE ALLEY - THIS EPISODE LOOKS AT THE TOWERING INFLUENCES OF BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES ON ROCK AND ROLL AND AT THE BRIEF BUT INFLUENTIAL FLOWERING OF "FOLK ROCK" INSPIRED BY THE DYLAN/BEATLES AXIS IN THE MID-60'S. THIS EPISODE ALSO INCLUDES FOOTAGE OF DYLAN AND THE FAB FOUR AND INTERVIEWS WITH BEATLES PRODUCER GEORGE MARTIN, KEY DYLAN SESSION MUSICIAN AL KOOPER, PETER YARROW OF PETER, PAUL AND MARY, ROGER MCGUINN AND DAVID CROSBY OF THE BYRDS, AND POET ALLEN GINSBERG. 104 RESPECT - THIS EPISODE CHRONICLES THE TRANSFORMATION OF BLACK GOSPEL MUSIC INTO A DEFINING SOUND FOR ALL AMERICANS AND EXAMINES SOUL MUSIC'S ROLE IN THE SIMULTANEOUS QUEST FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN EQUALITY IN THE '60S. ON HAND TO TELL THE TALE: BERRY GORDY, JR., RAY CHARLES, MARTHA REEVES, MARY WILSON, BOOKER T. AND THE MGS, WILSON PICKETT, MAXINE POWELL OF THE MOTOWN "CHARM SCHOOL," MOTOWN CHOREOGRAPHER CHOLLY ATKINS, AND MANY MORE. THE HOUR JOURNEYS FROM DETROIT'S MOTOWN RECORDS TO STAX RECORDS IN MEMPHIS. LAST STOP: THE FAME STUDIO IN MUSCLE SHOALS, ALABAMA, WHERE ARETHA FRANKLIN, A DETROIT PREACHER'S DAUGHTER, MADE MUSICAL MAGIC 105 CROSSROADs - THIS EPISODE TRACES THE BLUES - ANOTHER AFRICAN AMERICAN TRADITION THAT CHANGED THE SOUND OF ROCK AND ROLL - FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA TO CHICAGO TO THE UNITED KINGDOM, WHERE THIS EARTHLY, RICH SOUND INSPIRED A HOST OF YOUNG BRITISH MUSICIANS BORED WITH THE POP MUSIC OF THE DAY. VAN MORRISON, ERIC BURDON OF THE ANIMALS, ERIC CLAPTON, JOHN MAYALL, KEITH RICHARDS AND BILL WYMAN OF THE ROLLING STONES, AND JEFF BECK TELL HOW THEIR STATESIDE HITS INTRODUCED AMERICAN ROCK FANS TO THEIR OWN INDIGENOUS BLUES MASTERS, LIKE HOWLIN' WOLF AND JOHN LEE HOOKER. ALSO IN THIS HOUR, LED ZEPPELIN'S ROBERT PLANT AND JIMMY PAGE TALK ABOUT JIMI HENDRIX, THE DAWNING OF THE GUITAR HERO AND THE BIRTH OF HEAVY METAL. 106 BLUES IN TECHNICOLOR - THIS EPISODE TAKES VIEWERS ON A TRIP INTO THE PSYCHEDELIC ROCK WORLD OF THE LATE '60S AND EARLY '70S. USING INTERVIEWS WITH THE BYRDS, THE GRATEFUL DEAD, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE AND PINK FLOYD, THIS HOUR SHOWS HOW A BOHEMIAN FOLK CULTURE BASED IN SAN FRANCISCO SET OFF AN INTERNATIONAL EXPLOSION OF MUSICAL EXPERIMENTATION AND ECLECTICISM - MUCH OF IT DRUG-INSPIRED. 107 THE WILD SIDE - TOURS THROUGH THE ROCK AND ROLL THEATRICS OF THE '70S, WHEN PERFORMERS LIKE THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE DOORS AND DAVID BOWIE BROUGHT THE DECADENT DRAMAS OF LIFE IN THE UNDERGROUND INTO THE LIMELIGHT. TAKE A WALK DOWN THE DARKER SIDE OF THE STREET IN LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, DETROIT AND BERLIN WITH THE DOORS' RAY MANZAREK AND PRODUCER PAUL ROTHCHILD, LOU REED, IGGY POP, DAVID BOWIE, ALICE COOPER AND KISS' GENE SIMMONS AND PAUL STANLEY. 108 MAKE IT FUNKY - SOUL MUSIC STRETCHES TO CREATE A ROCK AND ROLL REVOLUTION IN RHYTHM AND ATTITUDE IN THE '70S. INNOVATORS JAMES BROWN, SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE, GEORGE CLINTON AND FAMED BASS PLAYERS LARRY GRAHAM AND BOOTSY COLLINS TAKE VIEWERS ON A TOUR OF FUNK AS THE MUSIC BECOMES BOLDER AND MORE EXPRESSIVE OF THE REALITIES OF BLACK LIFE. FILMED IN NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO AND PHILADELPHIA, THE PROGRAM ALSO EXAMINES HOW FUNKY DANCE HITS BLAZED A MUSICAL TRAIL TO THE DISCO CRAZE OF THE LATE '70S. 109 PUNK - THIS EPISODE EXPLORES TWO LATE '70'S MUSICAL INNOVATIONS THAT SHAPED ROCK AND ROLL THROUGH THE NEXT DECADE: PUNK AND REGGAE. IN NEW YORK, MEMBERS OF BLONDIE, TALKING HEADS, TELEVISION AND THE RAMONES TELL HOW THEY INADVERTENTLY CREATED THE CYNICAL, URBAN, GRIPPED-DOWN SOUND THAT BECAME PUNK ROCK. IN LONDON, PUNK TAKES OFF WITH THE SEX PISTOLS, AND MEMBERS OF THE WAILERS AND THE CLASH RECALL HOW JAMAICAN REGGAE, ANOTHER MUSICAL FORM OF REBELLION, CROSSED INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES, DEEPLY INFLUENCING PUNK AND POP ROCK. 110 THE PERFECT BEAT - BEGINS AT A TIME WHEN MEGASTARS LIKE BRUCE SPRINGSTEIN, U2 AND METALLICA FILLED ARENAS AROUND THE WORLD AND MOVES ON TO CHRONICLE THE RISE OF A NEW MUSICAL FORM: RAP. FROM THE BRONX TO DETROIT, FROM CHICAGO TO MANCHESTER, ENGLAND; FROM GRANDMASTER FLASH TO RUN-DMC; FROM DE LA SOUL TO BRITISH INNOVATORS NEW ORDER TO THE BEASTIE BOYS, THE PROGRAM TRACES THE EVOLUTION OF THIS NEW SOUND IN THE'80S AND EARLY '90S. THE HOUR SHOWS HOW SUPERSTARS LIKE MADONNA AND PRINCE FOLDED RAP AND ITS FUNKY ELECTRONIC OFFSHOOTS, TECHNO AND HOUSE, INTO THEIR MUSIC, AND HOW MTV ULTIMATELY EMBRACED IT. AND THE BEAT GOES ON...

Series release date: 9/1995

Program Description

Soul music stretches to create a rock and roll revolution in rhythm and attitude in the '70s. Innovators james brown, sly and the family stone, george clinton and famed bass players larry graham and bootsy collins take viewers on a tour of funk as the music becomes bolder and more expressive of the realities of black life. Filmed in new york, san francisco and philadelphia, the program also examines how funky dance hits blazed a musical trail to the disco craze of the late '70s.

Duration

00:02:52

Asset Type

Raw video

Media Type

Video

Subjects

Sly and the Family Stone

Robinson, Cynthia

Trumpet

Rock and Roll

Funk

Genres

Documentary

Topics

Music

Creators

Deane, Elizabeth (Series Producer)

Contributors

Robinson, Cynthia (Interviewee)

Publication Information

Funded by a grant from the GRAMMY Foundation®.

Citation

Chicago: “Rock and Roll; Make it Funky; Interview with Cynthia Robinson,” GBH Archives, accessed December 26, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_4BB38AE4B5134F4C91ECF9CC7699AF82.

MLA: “Rock and Roll; Make it Funky; Interview with Cynthia Robinson.” GBH Archives. Web. December 26, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_4BB38AE4B5134F4C91ECF9CC7699AF82>.

APA: Rock and Roll; Make it Funky; Interview with Cynthia Robinson. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_4BB38AE4B5134F4C91ECF9CC7699AF82