Date: November 12, 2003
TRAVEL CHANNEL’S UNIQUE SPECIAL, TEMPLES OF ROCK, CHRONICLES THE LEGENDARY STUDIOS, VENUES AND ALTERNATIVE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE AGE OF ROCK AND ROLL
- From the
graffiti-laden walls of the CBGB to the Whisky a Go Go’s
“Pope of
the Sunset Strip,” host Ray Manzarek shares the unique environment in which the
rock and roll age had its roots –
On Sunday,
November 30 from 9-11P ET/PT, host Ray Manzarek, organist for The Doors,
takes Travel Channel viewers on a psychedelic tour through time in the world
premiere special TEMPLES OF ROCK.
The two-hour special visits some of the most important performing and
recording sites in rock and roll, namely: The Cavern, CBGB, Fillmore
Auditorium, the Fillmore East, Motown’s Hitsville USA, Sun Studio and the
Whisky a Go Go. Along the way, viewers
will share in the eyewitness accounts of how The Cavern audience attacked
George Harrison on the night of Ringo Starr’s debut with the Beatles,
will hear stories of the unique relationship between the Fillmore East and the
neighboring Tisch School of the Arts, and will get a peek at the less than stately
bathrooms of the NY Bowery’s CBGB.
In
addition, this unique documentary interviews rock and roll legends Dickey Betts, Graham Nash, Johnny Ramone, Martha Reeves, Smokey Robinson, Ringo Starr and
members of the bands The Byrds, Chicago, Grateful Dead, and Talking Heads.
TEMPLES OF ROCK features
over 15 original songs from the golden days of the rock and roll age including:
“Blue Suede Shoes,” “Dark Star,” “Ferry Cross the Mersey,” “Heat
Wave,” and “White Rabbit.” Rare
photos and archival footage of this period in music history are also
included. Viewers will see film of The Temptations recording “My
Girl,” in the original Motown Studio and video of the Allman Brothers Band performing
“Whipping Post” live at the Fillmore East. And, they’ll meet a young punk rocker who traveled 1,013 miles
for the opportunity to work at Sun Studio.
A highlight of the program is host Ray Manzarek’s monologue performed on
the stage of the Whisky a Go Go, set to The Doors’ song “The End” in
which he recounts the infamous tale of The Doors final performance there.
Viewers
will learn about the philosophy of Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, who
required his budding musical talent to participate in a finishing school of
sorts where “students” learned how to dance, dress and act, both on and off
stage.
At L.A.’s
Whisky a Go Go, viewers will meet owner Mario Malieri, nicknamed the “Pope of
the Sunset Strip” because of the outspokenness with which he dealt with
performers regarding everything from the use of drugs to sexual hygiene.
TEMPLES OF ROCK explores
the social and political climate that influenced and accompanied the
development of rock and roll music and demonstrates its impact on the people
and venues that were its anchors.
TEMPLES OF ROCK is an
original co-production of the Travel Channel and Betelgeuse Productions in
partnership with Clearchannel Entertainment Television. For Betelegeuse Productions, the executive
producer is John Servidio and the producer is Carlo Gennarelli. For Clearchannel, the executive producer is
Joe Townley. For the Travel Channel,
the executive producer is Mark Finkelpearl.
The Travel Channel is the only television network devoted exclusively to travel entertainment. Capturing the fascination, freedom and fun of travel, Travel Channel delivers insightful stories from the world's most popular destinations and inspiring diversions. It is available in 74 million homes and is a service of Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc.
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