SOUNDS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY - 1955

Each programme is dedicated to one year from 1951 to 2000 and features nothing that wasn't heard, seen or read at the time. There's no hindsight, no "I-heart-the-80s"-style reminiscences; just the music, the news, the radio, the TV and the movies as they were first experienced.
Jeremy Vine introduces 1955. A year when when a young singer called Elvis Presley starts to get noticed. BBC Television gets its first competitor with the arrival of ITV and shows like Take Your Pick and Dragnet. James Dean is killed before moviegoers have seen him in Rebel without a Cause, Ruth Ellis becomes the last woman in Britain to be hanged and Kim Philby is unmasked as the Third Man.
The music comes from rock 'n' rollers like Little Richard, Chuck Berry and - with his music for the controversial film Blackboard Jungle - Bill Haley.

Last broadcast on Thu, 5 May 2011, 22:00 on BBC Radio 2

http://www.fileserve.com/file/hbb66zX

©BBC Radio Productions 2011

Chris Barber : Leader Of The Band - part 2

Jools Holland presents the second part of a profile of the British jazz great. With contributions from Chris himself, Mark Knopfler, Paul Jones, and Jon Hiseman.
This week's programme looks at the second part of Barber's career - including his collaboration with Paul McCartney - and examines the often unexpected ways in which he has influenced the British music scene.

Last broadcast on Wed, 27 Apr 2011, 22:00 on BBC Radio 2.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/msmebm

©BBC Radio Productions 2011

SOUNDS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY - 1954

Sounds of the 20th Century is an audio journey through five decades of triumph, tragedy and trivia in 50 hour-long episodes.
Each programme is dedicated to one year from 1951 to 2000 and features nothing that wasn't heard, seen or read at the time. There's no hindsight, no "I-heart-the-80s"-style reminiscences; just the music, the news, the radio, the TV and the movies as they were first experienced.
Jeremy Vine introduces part four of the 50 part series: 1954. The year when Roger Bannister breaks the "unbreakable" record - the 4-minute mile; the Prime Minister celebrates his 80th birthday; and a young American preacher launches his London Crusade.
Journey into Space is the big radio hit; and Ted Ray, Tony Hancock and The Goons keep Britain laughing as rationing continues for yet another year. The big dance hit of the year is the mambo. But the Teddy Boys are slipping on their drapes and creepers and starting to shake, rattle and roll!

Last broadcast on Thu, 28 Apr 2011, 22:00 on BBC Radio 2.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/7uwn5bR

©BBC Radio Productions 2011

Chris Barber : Leader Of The Band - part 1

Jools Holland presents the first part of a major profile of this British jazz great, one of the most influential of all time. In addition to his own very successful recording career, Chris was responsible for bringing blues greats like Muddy Waters and Sister Rosetta Tharpe to the UK for the first time; the impact of those performances went a long way to creating the British blues boom of the 1960s. His involvement in the fledgling Marquee Club in London gave the Rolling Stones a valuable early platform and he was also one of the founding fathers of the Reading Festival. The skiffle movement was created by members of the Chris Barber Band, and he broke new ground for jazz both in the US and behind the Iron Curtain, where his fame was once so great that he was able to travel without a passport! He played for President Kennedy and in the black blues clubs of 1950s Chicago and crossed musical boundaries as though they didn't exist.
The programme features extensive recollections from Chris himself, alongside contributions from Mark Knopfler, Paul Jones, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Van Morrison, Jon Hiseman, Phil Collins, Lonnie Donegan, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and more.

Last broadcast on Wed, 20 Apr 2011, 22:00 on BBC Radio 2.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/JW6tbUj

©BBC Radio Productions 2011

SOUNDS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY - 1953

Sounds of the 20th Century is an audio journey through five decades of triumph, tragedy and trivia in 50 hour-long episodes.
Each programme is dedicated to one year from 1951 to 2000 and features nothing that wasn't heard, seen or read at the time. There's no hindsight, no "I-heart-the-80s"-style reminiscences; just the music, the news, the radio, the TV and the movies as they were first experienced.
Jeremy Vine introduces part three of Sounds of the 20th Century: 1953. A year dominated by the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing are feted as the conquerors of Everest and England win the Ashes.
At Wembley, Stanley Matthews stars in one of the best ever FA Cup Finals, but England are taught a footballing lesson by Hungary. On the radiogram, in the corner of the lounge, American crooners like Dean Martin and Perry Como are joined by a young British rival, Jimmy Young. And big comedy hits are Take It from Here and The Glums.

Last broadcast on Thu, 21 Apr 2011, 22:00 on BBC Radio 2.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/AMHCjvk

©BBC Radio Productions 2011

Mr Mojo Risin'

To mark the 40th anniversary of the death of Jim Morrison - The Doors' lead singer and one of rock's most enigmatic performers - Jerry Hall explores the hedonistic lifestyle of one of counterculture's most dynamic and influential poets.
The programme takes its title from the anagram of Jim's name - Mr Mojo Risin' - which was the refrain Jim sang on the title track of The Doors' final album LA Woman in 1971. At the time Jim told several friends that he was planning to fake his death and live in isolation in Africa, from where he would eventually contact them using his pseudonym. But 40 years on there is still no word from Mr Mojo Risin'.
The Doors were one of the most successful and influential bands of the late 60s and their lead singer was both hailed as a poet of the counterculture and reviled as a debauched demon. Jim Morrison was worshipped by his fans as a rock god and hated by the establishment as a corruptor of youth. Inspired by the poet William Blake who wrote "if the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is - infinite", Jim experimented with psychedelics and probed "the bounds of reality to see what would happen".
But his decadent lifestyle slowly began to take its toll. After years of pushing the limits of experimentation with drink and drugs, Jim began to tire of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. After The Doors finished recording their sixth album, LA Woman in 1971, Jim moved to Paris with his girlfriend Pam Courson and concentrated on writing poetry. On 3 July, Pam discovered Jim's body in the bath of their Paris apartment. Jim's death has been shrouded in mystery and many different versions have appeared - none of which has ever been confirmed, as Pam died three years after Jim.
Jerry's programme will explore Jim's love of poetry, The Doors' inspirational music, the impact Jim and the band had on following generations of rock stars and how Jim was forced out of America by the authorities and why he went to indulge his love of poetry in Paris. The mystery surrounding the cause and actuality of Jim's death has helped fuel the Morrison myth that extends beyond his grave.
The programme features contributions from the three surviving members of The Doors - Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore; as well as their producer/engineer Bruce Botnick; Jim's biographer Jerry Hopkins; Jim's close friend photographer Frank Lisciandro; author Phil Steele, who met Jim when he lived in Paris; and Tom DiCillo who wrote and directed The Doors' film When You're Strange.

Broadcast originally June 2011.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/PMt7Pnf

©BBC Radio Productions 2011.

SOUNDS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY - 1952

Sounds of the 20th Century is an audio journey through five decades of triumph, tragedy and trivia in 50 hour-long episodes.
Each programme is dedicated to one year from 1951 to 2000 and features nothing that wasn't heard, seen or read at the time. There's no hindsight, no "I-heart-the-80s"-style reminiscences; just the music, the news, the radio, the TV and the movies as they were first experienced.
Jeremy Vine introduces part two of Sounds of the 20th Century: 1952. It features the death of a king and the accession of a new queen; chaos in London as the Great Smog kills thousands; the UK's first pop chart and number one single (Al Martino's Here in My Heart); the Helsinki Olympics, Gene Kelly Singin' in the Rain and much more.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/y5kGync

©BBC Radio Productions 2011

Satchmo By Satchmo : The Louis Armstrong Tapes

4 August 2011 marks the 110th birth anniversary of one of the most important musicians in the history of jazz - Louis Armstrong. Satchmo By Satchmo, the first of two Radio 2 programmes marking this occasion, takes a visit to the jazz legend's private tape vault.
Broadcaster and journalist Paul Sexton sets the scene for a unique review of great man's life and times - unique because it's by Louis himself, talking about his life and times in largely unheard home recordings. Armstrong was one of the first artists to embrace reel-to-reel home tape technology. He loved to record his own voice for posterity, whenever the occasion allowed, from around 1950 (when he had already been an artist for some 30 years) until shortly before his death in 1971.
The tapes make for an extraordinary and often hilarious first-hand commentary on a singular life. Satchmo looks back on his earlier career, talking about recording in the 1920s with Joe "King" Oliver, "Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith and others, and describes the contemporary events in his life in this fascinating audio diary.
We hear Louis talk about the day that he and his wife Lucille met the Pope ("such a fine little old fellow!") and how the pontiff prayed for them; there's the time he took a phone call in the middle of one of his "audio letters" from his drummer in the Louis Armstrong All-Stars, "Cozy" Cole; and, to illustrate just how long his incredible career lasted, we also hear what he thought of the Beatles.
In one of the most remarkable excerpts, Satchmo issues a severe verbal reprimand to his fellow jazz musician Jelly Roll Morton, who had expressed the opinion that "scat" singing had started before Armstrong established the style (according to Louis, on the 1926 recording Heebie Jeebies). "I'm not going to let you get away with that, young man," says Louis, before we realise that at the point he makes the admonishment, Morton is already dead.
There are clips of Armstrong singing to himself on his home tapes, (including completely acappella versions of Beale Street Blues and the calypso from High Society) and Louis tells some of his favourite jokes, such as the one about the alimoney and the one about the alligator! Plus, there are songs from his superb catalogue to illustrate the speech, including C'Est Si Bon, When It's Sleepy Time Down South and, as he makes a moving final analysis of his life as it nears the end, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen.

First broadcast July 2011.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/ZpAKPkT

©BBC Radio Productions 2011

SOUNDS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY - 1951

Sounds of the Twentieth Century is an audio journey through five decades of triumph, tragedy and trivia in 50 hour-long episodes.
Each programme is dedicated to one year from 1951 to 2000 and features nothing that wasn't heard, seen or read at the time. There's no hindsight, no "I-heart-the-80s"-style reminiscences; just the music, the news, the radio, the TV and the movies as they were first experienced.
Jeremy Vine introduces part one of Sounds of the 20th Century: 1951. It features the real King's speech (as he opens the Festival of Britain); a General Election victory for the Conservatives and their Liberal allies; the first hit single with multi-tracking (Les Paul's How High the Moon); the first rock 'n' roll record (Jackie Brenston's Rocket 88); screen heroes from Marlon Brando to the Lone Ranger; and much more.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/7DH6Cpf

©BBC Radio Productions 2011

Exile Of The Stones

Paul Sexton tells the tangled tale of one of the most celebrated albums in rock history, the Rolling Stones' epic Exile On Main Street.
As the album is re-issued, 38 years after its 1972 release, Paul speaks to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts. He finds out how, and why, the celebrated rock 'n' roll band became rock's first tax exiles, and wound up making an album with producer Jimmy Miller in the dingy basement of Keith's villa in the south of France.
Amid chemical indulgence, technical problems and the presence of endless hangers-on, the sessions dragged on for months, before the whole project was transported to Los Angeles for final mixing. What emerged, at last, was what some fans call the greatest album the Rolling Stones ever made.
"There's no flim-flam on this record," observes Richards. "It's a bunch of guys trying to say 'Hey, we're more than just pop stars.'"
The programme features classics from the original album, such as Tumbling Dice, Happy and Rocks Off; plus recently-discovered outtakes; and newly-completed tracks like Following The River.

First broadcast in May 2010.

http://www.fileserve.com/file/zTYgmRk

©BBC Radio Productions 2010