Fifty years ago at this time, the world was just beginning to absorb the impact of Marvin Gaye’s seminal concept album What’s Going On. The LP, released on May 21, 1971, told a story in music from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to an America beset by poverty, injustice and ecological crisis.
In a plaintive tenor voice, Gaye sang in the title track, “Father, father/We don’t need to escalate/You see, war is not the answer/For only love can conquer hate.”
As revealed in the Emmy-contending documentary series 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, Gaye’s was not the only remarkable statement made in popular music within that turbulent time frame.
“I mean every major artist—male, female, group, individual—seems almost to a complete level deliver their masterworks that year. So many big records made,” executive producer James Gay-Rees tells Deadline.
In a plaintive tenor voice, Gaye sang in the title track, “Father, father/We don’t need to escalate/You see, war is not the answer/For only love can conquer hate.”
As revealed in the Emmy-contending documentary series 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, Gaye’s was not the only remarkable statement made in popular music within that turbulent time frame.
“I mean every major artist—male, female, group, individual—seems almost to a complete level deliver their masterworks that year. So many big records made,” executive producer James Gay-Rees tells Deadline.
- 6/21/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Was 1971 the best single year for recorded popular music, ever? Or merely the year in which it reached peak cultural significance? Maybe, just maybe, the answer could be: both. You’ll certainly be hard-pressed to come up with a better argument for another annum after watching all eight episodes of “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything,” which just premiered on Apple TV Plus.
Let’s face it: Your well-considered alternate pick is going to have a hard time besting the year that generated Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” Carole King’s “Tapestry,” Joni Mitchell’s “Blue,” the Who’s “Who’s Next,” Elton John’s “Madman Across the Water,” T. Rex’s “Electric Warrior,” Bill Withers’ “Just as I Am,” the Rolling Stones’ “Sticky Fingers,” Sly and the Family Stone’s “There’s a Riot Goin’ On,” Pink Floyd’s “Meddle,” the Doors’ “L.A. Woman,” Janis Joplin’s “Pearl,...
Let’s face it: Your well-considered alternate pick is going to have a hard time besting the year that generated Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” Carole King’s “Tapestry,” Joni Mitchell’s “Blue,” the Who’s “Who’s Next,” Elton John’s “Madman Across the Water,” T. Rex’s “Electric Warrior,” Bill Withers’ “Just as I Am,” the Rolling Stones’ “Sticky Fingers,” Sly and the Family Stone’s “There’s a Riot Goin’ On,” Pink Floyd’s “Meddle,” the Doors’ “L.A. Woman,” Janis Joplin’s “Pearl,...
- 5/23/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
When read as a single list, the sheer number of musical titans that “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything” addresses is staggering to take in full.
But over the course of the eight-episode season — all of which are available now on Apple TV+ — one thing that stands out even more than the ambitions of scale is how the world of 50 years ago absorbed some of the enduring songs and albums that still reverberate through the present day. Anchored by a strong collection of live performances, “1971” is an archival treasure trove, a good portion of that coming in the form of TV show spots where bands and artists introduced their newest hits to a captive audience.
“Apart from The Concert for Bangladesh, which was a technical nightmare for them to film, concert footage was actually really rare at that time,” producer and director Danielle Peck said.
“It’s more intimate as well,...
But over the course of the eight-episode season — all of which are available now on Apple TV+ — one thing that stands out even more than the ambitions of scale is how the world of 50 years ago absorbed some of the enduring songs and albums that still reverberate through the present day. Anchored by a strong collection of live performances, “1971” is an archival treasure trove, a good portion of that coming in the form of TV show spots where bands and artists introduced their newest hits to a captive audience.
“Apart from The Concert for Bangladesh, which was a technical nightmare for them to film, concert footage was actually really rare at that time,” producer and director Danielle Peck said.
“It’s more intimate as well,...
- 5/21/2021
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Apple TV+’s 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything is immersive and fairly ambitious. The eight-part documentary series wants to run 33 revolutions per minute, and only comes up about a third short. It captures how musicians’ fingers were on the pulse of the day’s headlines and the laid the tracks for the nights’ rhythms.
Artists sang the news, sometimes causing it, other times reacting. Rock and roll had grown up and rock musicians took on responsibilities. Rhythm and blues got loose and soul musicians took to the streets. A former University of California philosophy professor named Angela Davis was charged with aiding and abetting the murder of a judge and Aretha Franklin personally offered to post bail.
The documentary series points out how The Beatles took the lead on youth culture movement during the 1960s, and how the elder society tried to beat it down in the 1970s,...
Artists sang the news, sometimes causing it, other times reacting. Rock and roll had grown up and rock musicians took on responsibilities. Rhythm and blues got loose and soul musicians took to the streets. A former University of California philosophy professor named Angela Davis was charged with aiding and abetting the murder of a judge and Aretha Franklin personally offered to post bail.
The documentary series points out how The Beatles took the lead on youth culture movement during the 1960s, and how the elder society tried to beat it down in the 1970s,...
- 5/19/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Fifty years ago the Vietnam War was raging, the civil rights era had morphed into the Black Power movement, President Nixon declared a war on drugs and not only the U.S. but other countries seemed in danger of coming apart at the seams.
It was also a time of groundbreaking popular music—records that went beyond merely reflecting the moment to actually shaping it. That feeling of an artistic eruption in the midst of a society in crisis comes through in 1971: The Year Music Changed Everything, an eight-part documentary series from Apple TV+.
“So much music that we recognize today had its birth in that year,” editor and executive producer Chris King said during the panel discussion at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted awards-season event. “We wanted to root it there and make you live that year in a full way.”
Carole King released her album Tapestry...
It was also a time of groundbreaking popular music—records that went beyond merely reflecting the moment to actually shaping it. That feeling of an artistic eruption in the midst of a society in crisis comes through in 1971: The Year Music Changed Everything, an eight-part documentary series from Apple TV+.
“So much music that we recognize today had its birth in that year,” editor and executive producer Chris King said during the panel discussion at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted awards-season event. “We wanted to root it there and make you live that year in a full way.”
Carole King released her album Tapestry...
- 5/1/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Frist Fridays, the Frist Center?s popular summer concert series, kicks off May 29, 2009 with special musical guest Danielle Peck performing live in the Turner Courtyard. Now in its seventh year, the series, which this year takes place the final Friday evening of each month May through July from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., is one of Nashville?s most popular summer traditions, attracting visitors of all ages from Middle Tennessee and beyond. Patrons can enjoy an evening of live music, light snacks and beverages as well as visit the diverse exhibitions on view in the Frist Center?s galleries. Frist Fridays takes place rain or shine.
- 4/15/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
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