| SaturdayAugust 30th from 8:00pm - 2:00am |
| The Camel is at the
Beach This Weekend |
| but has a
Rockin' Evening of Music for you on |
| Whole Lotta Shakin |
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"Whole Lotta Shakin'" is an exciting documentary series
of Six hour-long programs that explores rockabilly, the
brash, fast-paced 1950s mix of blues, gospel, jazz,
country and popular music that is a foundation of rock
and roll. Hosted by Rosie Flores, the series visits the
cradle of rockabilly, Memphis, presents the music's
female stars, and profiles the influential radio program,
"The Louisiana Hayride." |
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In an era when America was tuning into Patti Page and
Mitch Miller, rockabilly was a bold, young upstart, like
Marlon Brando in the movie "The Wild One." "Whole Lotta
Shakin'" profiles the stars of the genre, including
Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly,
and shares the stories of the period's best-loved songs,
from "Rave On" to "I Walk the Line." |
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Rosie Flores, HostRosie Flores,
Host
The King, Elvis Presley > |
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| 1. Good
Rockin' Tonight - 8:00pm ---
The first stop is Memphis in the segregated
1950s, where blues, gospel and country music came
together to create the upbeat sounds of rockabilly. The
program profiles two of the first rockabilly artists on
the Sun Records label, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins.
Founded by an Alabama farmer's son, Sun boasted a
rebellious cast of rockabilly stars. Sam Phillips opened
his tiny brick-front recording company with a promise:
"We'll record anyone, anywhere, anytime." First
releasing blues records from African American singers
who migrated north from the Mississippi cotton fields,
Phillips then switched to recording primarily
rockabilly, which appealed to a growing audience of
teenagers with its emotional lyrics, searing guitar
solos and a big beat for dancing. |
| 2.
Fujiyama Mamas - 9:00pm
--- In an era when women were singing about
the price of doggies in the window or imaging a
breakfast at Tiffany's, other women were rocking out
just like their male counterparts. "Fujiyama Mamas"
showcases the women rockabilly artists who rebelled
against the traditional female roles of housewives and
mothers during the '50s. World War II brought great
changes to American society; women emerged emboldened by
their experiences during the war, working in defense
plants. This show profiles Cordell Jackson, who toiled
as a Rosie the Riveter during the war in an aircraft
factory before launching her own record label in 1956.
It also features Little Miss Dynamite Brenda Lee; Janis
Martin, aka The Female Elvis; and rockabilly queen Wanda
Jackson. |
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Carl Perkins |
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Wanda
Jackson |
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| 3. The Cradle of the
Stars - 10:00pm --- A radio
revolution was launched in Shreveport, La., with the Saturday night
broadcasts of "The Louisiana Hayride." That show broke the rules and
took programmatic risks by putting on young rockabilly artists,
introducing Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins to a large
audience. Its colorful emcee, Horace Logan, appeared on stage decked out
in a black cowboy outfit complete with a pair of six shooters. Its
hook-up on the CBS Radio Network enabled it to reach listeners coast to
coast, and its first star was the hillbilly Shakespeare, Hank Williams.
This part of "Whole Lotta Shakin'" tells the story of the rise and
fall of that influential radio program, one that made so many artists
famous, it was dubbed, "the cradle of the stars." |
| 4. Real Wild Child -
11:00pm --- Jerry Lee Lewis
grew up praising the Lord and playing piano in the Pentecostal Church in
Ferriday, La. His church is known for its ecstatic services, where
worshipers who feel the Holy Ghost "speak in tongues." Much of the
emotional abandon in Lewis' songs comes straight from that experience.
Yet his fame in the secular music world created all kinds of spiritual
conflicts. "Real Wild Child" tells the story of one of Lewis' most
celebrated songs, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On," which launched his
career in 1957. He had the Sun Records rhythm section backing him up,
who were also members of one of the wildest rockabilly acts ever, Billy
Lee Riley and His Little Green Men. |
| 5. Shake This Shack -
12:00 Mid --- Texas is home to a
style its creators dubbed "Cat Music," for the "cool cats and kittens"
who played it with their hip dress and on-stage demeanor. Texas
rockabilly artists mixed Western swing, the blues and jazz, and included
Sid King & the Five Strings and Lew Williams. "Shake This Shack" also
profiles Roy Orbison, one of the most enigmatic of the rockabilly cats,
who came from the tiny, wind-swept oil town of Wink, Texas. He formed a
teenage band, The Teen Kings, who played at high school dances and rowdy
honky-tonk bars before recording their first hit, "Ooby Dooby." Yet it
took several years of experimenting with new sounds before Orbison
developed his own operatic-rock style of singing that was a departure
from his raw rockabilly, with such hits as "Pretty Woman" and "Only the
Lonely." |
| 6. Rave On - 1:00am
--- "Rave On" profiles a true American original,
Buddy Holly, who crossed musical barriers in forging his unique musical
style with country, R & B, pop, gospel and jazz. Like rockabilly itself,
his national career was brief, but in the 18 months between his first
hit "That'll Be the Day" and his death in a plane crash, he left his
mark on popular music. The Beatles named themselves as a tribute to his
group, The Crickets. "Rave On" explores Holly's musical roots and
meteoric rise with interviews from family members, band mates and fellow
musicians. And it tells the stories behind his most famous songs, from
"Rave On" to "Peggy Sue." |
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Buddy Holly and His Band |
Jerry Lee Lewis |
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