British Documentary on Pop Music

[markydefad]

Does anyone recall a British documentary [maybe 3 parts--an hour each or something like that] from maybe the late 1990s or early 2000s. It aired in the USA on either A&E or Bravo or some cable channel like that.

It was a fascinating look at pop music [seems like "Pop Music" was in the title] that interviewed pop music writers & producers. Vintage footage included going into the recording studio with the ABBA boys [Benny & Bjorn] and showed the mixing process track by track of "Dancing Queen" and also had the writers of Madonna's "Like A Virgin" explaining they lifted the bassline from the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself" just played backwards. Stuff like that sticks with me.

It was a fascinating doc featuring many more creators of pop music more so than the singers.

I think I might have taped it; I think it aired by episode over several weeks time; seems like it was in the summertime--but I have no idea of the title or where it might be found. I've searched Netflixs & tried to Google--but I don't have enough specifics to figure it out.

Does anyone recall this?

[drlove]

hey, Marky, based on the clues you provided .....I found online a reference to a BBC documentary from 2001 that had Madonna, Nile Rodgers and Benny & Bjorn all featured in the last of the 8 episodes. It was titled "Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song" and was described as:
*****
Told through countless archive clips, numerous celebrity interviews and a narrator, the eight-episode BBC series tells the story of one hundred years of popular song. Starting with the thesis of popular song developing through the joining of the musical traditions of European Jews and African blacks in USA in early 20th century, the series continues to cover the jazz era singers, the birth of rock'n'roll, the new-found role of the pop producer, the multiple style developments from Britain and America in the 1960's, the country music blossom period, the use of popular music on stage and on screen, and the background of the modern-day manufactured pop artist.
******

Here's a link to the cast listing (including who's featured in clips or interviews):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375495/epcast

Hope this helps in your search.

[markydefad]

I love you, drlove!!! That's it. Good detective work.

I must have only taped the rock era episodes.

I can't thank you enough. Now to see if it's available anywhere....

It comes up in an Amazon search-- walk on by the story of popular song--but it's not in the product listing when you click on it.
Must not be available anymore and it's not on Netflix. Damn.

[markydefad]

I found some of the clips from this show on YouTube--very interesting stuff

here's a link to clips:

http://www.videosurf.com/videos/Walk...f+Popular+Song

[drlove]

Hey, Marky ....glad my old detective skills I learned from watching "The Hardy Boys" back in the day worked for ya. While perusing Ebay, I saw that the producers of the Walk on By series also have one on Soul Music that looks equally fascinating ....and it's available for purchase:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SOUL-DEEP-STORY-...item3cb57b70c5

....and then click on "more items from this seller" and you'll see other BBC docs. If you write to the seller ....you might be able to find out if he/she has the Walk On By series available.

Happy hunting !

[langlang]

would highly,highly recommend the soul deep documentary to anyone interested in the orgins of soul and what disco evolved from. very entertaining and informative. extensive sections on ray charles,otis redding,sam cooke, motown. the 2 disc set is broken down into 5 sections: the birth of soul, gospel, motown,funk,hip hop. only 1 complaint on this- it seems disco is not really covered. i've watched all except the hip hop and no mention of disco,unless it's covered in the hip hop section. maybe they will show the connection of disco and early hip hop. but all that being said, would still encourage all to pick this up-very much worth it.