Great American Rock Anthems: Turn it up to 11


Great American Rock Anthems: Turn it up to 11

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This programme contains very strong language

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Post-Woodstock, at the dawn of the '70s, American rock stopped

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looking for a revolution and started looking for a good time.

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Enter the classic American rock anthem.

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I love deep cuts and B-sides,

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but, shit, give me a huge anthem any day.

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Big drums,

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a soaring guitar,

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a huge chorus and screaming solos.

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MUSIC: I Love Rock 'N' Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

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During the glory years of classic rock,

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America bossed the world while the kids held their arms aloft

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and sang along.

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# Ohhhh Livin' on a prayer... #

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From School's Out to Smells Like Teen Spirit...

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MUSIC: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

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Welcome to our tour of classic American rock.

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With lighters at the ready,

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we tune it up and take you inside some of the greatest rock anthems.

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An American rock anthem has to have sort of an epic sound.

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It has to be pretty big.

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# So now I'm praying for the end of time

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# To hurry up and arrive... #

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We tend to be more upfront and in your face.

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Whether it's as simple as pumping your fist...

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or...you know, giving the finger to the world.

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MUSIC: Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor

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The witch's brew must contain certain elements.

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Number one - and most important -

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it must have a monster riff.

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MUSIC: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

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If you don't get them on the chorus, you don't have an anthem.

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That's where the anthem lives and breathes.

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MUSIC: Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf

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In 1968, America wanted freedom, rebellion and rock and roll.

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Born To Be Wild was the blueprint for the '70s and beyond.

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# Born to be wild... #

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But perhaps the main inspiration for the American rock anthem

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came from elsewhere, across the pond...

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Britain, of all places.

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And it's a first-time welcome for that top four with their top hit,

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You Really Got Me Going - the Kinks!

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# Girl, you really got me going

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# You got me so I don't know what I'm doing... #

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Throughout the mid-'60s,

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the British invasion was arguably the major influence

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on all upcoming bands across America.

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The harder it got in Britain,

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the better it got for us.

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I'm driving along with the band,

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then all of a sudden I heard...

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HUMS OPENING RIFF

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And I went... We stopped the car.

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# Oh, yeah, you really got me now... #

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I said, "What was that?"

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The Kinks, you know... It was angry.

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The guitar sounded like a dog barking.

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You know? And I went, "What is THAT?!"

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To me, that was the beginnings of, you know,

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real hard rock, heavy metal.

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And then The Who were doing all this...

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destroying their instruments on stage.

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So we learned attitude, I think, from The Who.

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We learned creativity from the Yardbirds.

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And all of us learned melody from the Beatles.

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MUSIC: Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles

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And maybe we learned our strut from Mick Jagger.

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Inspired by the British invasion,

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American rockers in the Midwest set out to snatch back rock and roll

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and set it in their own landscape,

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and in the hearts and minds of the kids in America.

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MUSIC: School's Out by Alice Cooper

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It was 1972 when Detroit's Alice Cooper

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blended horror theatrics, a monster riff and a killer chorus

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into a celebration of a key moment in every kid's life.

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It was my anthem,

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as it was so many of the kids that I knew.

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I was a big fan, even though I didn't know what the hell it was,

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in the very beginning.

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We loved it from the opening # Der der-der... #

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PLAYS OPENING RIFF

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I don't care how big the audience is,

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if it's a tiny audience, a gigantic audience.

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You start up that riff, the place goes insane.

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It's incendiary.

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# We got no choice

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# All you girls and boys

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# Makin' all that noise... #

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Alice Cooper was brilliant.

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He was probably 30 years old when he was tapping into the psyche

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of the American teen.

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School's Out was like a shot of B12 in your butt.

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# School's

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# Out for summer

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# School's

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# Out for ever... #

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We sat there and said, "What does everybody have in common?"

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One thing - school.

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What does 99% of people think about high school?

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I hated school.

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My mother

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was a public school teacher. The most brilliant woman

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I've ever met in my entire life.

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She had to deal with assholes like me every day.

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I said, "What's the best time about school?"

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It was the last three minutes...

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..before summer vacation.

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You sat there and you looked at that clock and it was...

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57 minutes to three! You know?

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You got three more minutes

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until you're going to have three months off.

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Capture that three minutes.

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I put it on before the alarm went off

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and cranked it through the PA through the whole school.

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I started walking down the corridor

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and it came on, blasting through the speakers.

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BELL RINGS

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# School's out for summer... #

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Aaargh! School's out, motherfucker!

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# No more pencils

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# No more books

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# No more teachers'

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# Dirty looks... #

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It took the British to accept us

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before the Americans would accept us.

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We're sitting there going,

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"We want to make the Stones look like choirboys."

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Rock needs a villain.

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Alice Cooper was such an alien to us.

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We were teenagers

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and his outfits and his lyrics

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and the fact that his band was so dangerous...

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And, you know,

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danger is not a bad element to have in an anthem.

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# School's out for ever... #

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The funny thing was

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I didn't have a problem with high school.

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I was Ferris Bueller.

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I mean, I ran my high school. It was great.

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For me to write School's Out as an anthem

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was me writing it for every other kid.

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But I didn't have a problem with school!

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# School's

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# Been blown to pieces. #

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BELL RINGS

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CHEERING

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If Alice shoved the Brits out of the way

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by speaking directly to American teens,

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in 1973, another Michigan band, Grand Funk Railroad,

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gave their blue-collar fans something to believe in -

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dreams of being in an American band.

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MUSIC: We're An American Band by Grand Funk Railroad

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Unusually, it was the band's drummer

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who tapped into those teenage rock star dreams.

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How do you define

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this band compared to the British bands

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and Led Zeppelin and all this other stuff going on?

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Well, we're an American band. That's what it was.

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Freedom...abandon...

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debauchery...

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rock and roll. That song had it all.

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"They're coming to your town, they're going to party down."

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And who can't relate to that?

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You're a kid, sitting around. You look on the schedule.

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Who's coming to the Coliseum next week? Grand Funk Railroad.

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I'm going to the show.

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And you're going to sit in the parking lot

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and drink a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer

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and get your mojo going for when they walk on stage.

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We're An American Band starts with all that fancy drums,

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then comes in this fantastic line.

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HE PLAYS RIFF from "We're An American Band"

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That's almost like a trumpet saying,

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"Here we are. We're coming to your town. Lock up the kids!"

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# Out on the road for 40 days

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# Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze... #

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There was a hole

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where an American...

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rock anthem was going to fit in perfectly at the time.

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And thank God we took advantage of that.

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# We're coming to your town

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# We'll help you party down

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# We're an American band... #

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Taking inspiration from life on the road,

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Grand Funk littered the song

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with stories of their rock and roll lifestyle.

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It's telling a bunch of little stories

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about the band when we were on tour.

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I just took these little snippets from what was going on on the road

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with Sweet Sweet Connie in Little Rock, the famous groupie.

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# The hotel detective He was outta sight

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# Now these fine ladies... #

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Maybe that's the essence of the American rock anthem.

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You sing about how glad you are

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being an American in a rock and roll band!

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And, uh...

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it's pretty nice work if you can get it.

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I didn't hear it as a hit

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until the first time I heard it on the radio.

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I was driving over to Mel's house

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and it just blew me away.

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I couldn't believe it, how great it sounded.

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It was... Yeah, we knew it was a hit right then.

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It just...

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raced up the charts like a rabid dog

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after a mangy cat!

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# Come on dudes, let's get it on

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# And we proceeded to tear that hotel down

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# We're an American band... #

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After finally capturing lightning in a bottle,

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where could this all-American band go next?

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Anything I wrote after that was just something I felt at the time

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and so I wrote it.

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If it wasn't a rock anthem, you know, so what?

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I guess one rock anthem in one's life is enough.

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How was that?

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MUSIC: More Than A Feeling by Boston

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But Grand Funk Railroad couldn't come to your town every week,

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which gave rise to the growth of FM radio.

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Now rock had its own radio stations.

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Anthems became a mainstay of the new rock radio.

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But anthems could be long, intricate and profound.

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Sometimes all at once.

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FM radio in the '70s was

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so important to the pop culture.

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We were smoking pot.

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We were hearing the dimensions of the music.

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We were home-spinning our vinyl.

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FM radio was like your bedroom coming with you

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in your car.

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To me, the radio was like the lifeline to

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what's going on in the rest of the world

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and I couldn't wait every night

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to get up and turn the radio on.

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Some nights I wouldn't go to sleep

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because I'd want to hear what the next song was.

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MUSIC: (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult

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The longer it went into the night,

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the weirder the songs got.

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They would play all these long eight-minute tracks

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by Blue Oyster Cult.

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It was unusual to have a song like that

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succeed at radio in 1976.

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# Seasons don't fear the reaper

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# Nor do the wind the sun or the rain

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# We can be like they are

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# Come on, baby Don't fear the reaper... #

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The experimental nature of early FM radio

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encouraged Blue Oyster Cult's Buck Dharma to get heavy, man.

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He wrote The Reaper in his house.

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-In the basement, I think.

-Yeah, in the basement.

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He was down there for nine days.

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At the time, he had discovered that

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he had this heart condition and was very upset.

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He thought that he was going to die at any minute.

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And this was a way to make himself feel better about it.

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I heard it and I was like, "Wow!"

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-The riff is good, but the song itself is great.

-Yeah.

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And then he was going to change the "las", put some words in there.

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And...no, no, leave the las!

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-Yeah, leave that.

-Leave the las.

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# La la la la la la

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# La la la la la la... #

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Through the conduit of experimental FM radio,

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The Reaper appealed to the dark side of the audience's imagination.

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It's almost like you're running from your own death.

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It's like you're running from your own death to try and get into light.

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I always thought I was running and the darkness is coming after me,

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but if I can just stay in the sunlight, I'll make it.

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# Baby, take my hand

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# Don't fear the reaper

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# We'll be able to fly

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# Don't fear the reaper... #

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And when it came to the killer solo,

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this baby was epic

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and it encouraged folks everywhere to take it to the bridge.

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People were controlled by that very strange, very angular solo.

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Rock and roll bands

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are designed, created for concerts.

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With fireworks and lasers and energy.

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The solo's job is to give a taste of that.

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To me, the guitar was just sex.

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It was the primal element,

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the thing that no other kind of music has.

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There was another element that finished the track.

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Cowbell.

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One of David Lucas's suggestions was to add a cowbell,

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which kind of like...

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Everybody, like, looked at David and said, "Are you out of your mind?!"

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"Really?! A cowbell?!"

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I just felt it needed...

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four on the floor.

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It needed a linear...drive.

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That's it.

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In April 2000, the cowbell gave the song an afterlife,

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when Saturday Night Live spoofed The Reaper.

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A whole other generation has been exposed to that song,

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which is great for us.

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In the new millennium,

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"more cowbell" is the stuff of legend.

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It's definitely taken on a philosophical reference.

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Rising above your problems.

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Like, you have a problem and you resolve it...

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-Just put more cowbell.

-More cowbell.

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It means that you overcome your problems.

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So I'm like, "Wow! That's cool."

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For all my achievements,

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the cowbell seems to be what I'm known for!

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It's really annoying.

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CROWD CHEERS

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# FM

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# No static at all... #

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By 1978, rock radio was professionalising,

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commercialising,

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growing up.

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Rock had another home on the corporate version of FM radio - AOR.

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The letters AOR...that stands of course for album-oriented rock.

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And that's when the suits came in and started programming everything.

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We're not playing album cuts any more -

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we're only playing the hit singles from those albums.

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Tracks like Don't Fear The Reaper

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were too long and heavy for the way radio was heading.

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Now bands were writing a lot of concise rock songs

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with a perfectly honed sound for radio.

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The three minute and 30 second rule was one of those things.

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A lot of the all-time great songs are long songs

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and were never edited down to singles.

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Hello, everybody.

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Remember us?

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By now the rock anthem was becoming more sophisticated and adult.

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This was the perfect opportunity

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for the hottest session musicians in town,

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who penned radio-friendly tracks

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for Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan, to step forward.

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The session cats - Toto.

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The myth about our band is

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somebody put us together as session musicians.

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We were high school guys who had studied music, could read music

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and could interpret other people's music.

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At the time, David Paich was our primary writer.

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He'd already come off of writing all those great big hit songs for Boz

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and other artists, so we all would look to him - "Dave, what you got?"

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I got a little upright piano in my first apartment

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and the first riff I played was...

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HE PLAYS OPENING RIFF of "Hold The Line"

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Talk about rock and roll anthems,

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that was my shout of, "I'm free! I'm in my own place."

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So I decided to write the rest of it

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and that was the first song that I brought in

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for the band to learn.

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When he played that one and Jeff started playing the drum groove...

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Jeff was a magical drummer.

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And the two of them played together.

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It was just like... It almost played itself.

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Everyone was like, "I know what to do!"

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It's Lukather's guitar that makes that song anthemic.

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HE HUMS THE RIFF

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RIFF PLAYS

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It just had this infectious groove,

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and the fact it had a little bit more rock thing to it,

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made it interesting. It stuck out.

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# It's not in the way you look

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# Or the things that you say that you do

0:18:430:18:45

# Hold the line

0:18:450:18:46

# Love isn't always on time

0:18:490:18:51

# Oh, no, no... #

0:18:520:18:54

Certain chords appeal to me

0:18:540:18:57

and appeal to my ears and my heart,

0:18:570:18:59

that move me, and I can't describe what they are.

0:18:590:19:01

Elton John did one in Someone Saved My Life Tonight.

0:19:010:19:05

# Someone saved my life tonight

0:19:060:19:08

# Sugar bear... #

0:19:080:19:11

So when I wrote...

0:19:110:19:12

# It's not in the way you look

0:19:120:19:14

# Or the things that you say that you do #

0:19:140:19:16

..I put that chord in there, because when I hear that chord...

0:19:160:19:19

that grabs me, and that chord represents hope to me,

0:19:190:19:23

that I still have a chance with this girl.

0:19:230:19:26

# Hold the line

0:19:260:19:27

# Love isn't always on time

0:19:300:19:32

# Love isn't always Love isn't always on time

0:19:320:19:36

# Hold the line... #

0:19:360:19:38

Toto's professional sound was welcomed on the charts,

0:19:390:19:42

but the song failed to grab the critics.

0:19:420:19:44

Toto was never a critics' band.

0:19:440:19:47

In fact, they've been the butt of too many jokes over the decades -

0:19:470:19:50

but fans love them all around the world.

0:19:500:19:53

We got roasted.

0:19:530:19:55

We were eviscerated by the critics.

0:19:550:19:58

Despite being panned by the critics,

0:19:590:20:02

these session cats were pros

0:20:020:20:03

and there was no stopping them in the '80s

0:20:030:20:05

with the huge success from the Toto IV album.

0:20:050:20:08

# I bless the rains down in Africa

0:20:080:20:12

# I bless the rains down in Africa

0:20:140:20:17

# I bless the rains... #

0:20:170:20:19

Your fans are the ones who tell you what they like

0:20:190:20:21

and they're really honest and I really listen to them.

0:20:210:20:23

There's some really valid constructive criticism.

0:20:230:20:26

Just slagging us off - "Oh, those LA slicks..."

0:20:260:20:28

That's such a tired... Come on, man, look at what we've done.

0:20:280:20:32

Look, really look, at the contribution of what we've done.

0:20:320:20:35

You can't slag us off like you would some teen idol

0:20:350:20:37

that had one hit record in 1978.

0:20:370:20:40

# Love isn't always on time

0:20:400:20:42

# Oh, oh, oh. #

0:20:440:20:46

In the late '70s, AOR radio

0:20:490:20:51

may have favoured the three-and-a-half minute cut,

0:20:510:20:54

but they also liked a bit of theatre, something big and bombastic

0:20:540:20:58

and totally over the top.

0:20:580:21:00

They just didn't know it yet.

0:21:000:21:01

Would you offer your throat

0:21:010:21:04

to the wolf with the red roses?

0:21:040:21:07

Yes.

0:21:070:21:08

I bet you say that to all the boys.

0:21:120:21:17

In 1978,

0:21:170:21:18

composer Jim Steinman and actor Meat Loaf

0:21:180:21:21

embarked on a series of record label auditions.

0:21:210:21:24

But a rock-Goth odd couple

0:21:240:21:26

with a retro '50s fixation

0:21:260:21:28

wasn't most record execs' idea of the next big thing.

0:21:280:21:31

They had been to every label,

0:21:310:21:33

talked to every producer

0:21:330:21:35

and nobody really...got what it was they were trying to do.

0:21:350:21:39

People invented record labels to turn us down.

0:21:390:21:44

I was...

0:21:440:21:46

kind of a desperate last resort.

0:21:460:21:48

MUSIC: Paradise By The Dashboard Light

0:21:480:21:51

# Well, I remember every little thing

0:21:560:21:59

# As if it happened only yesterday

0:21:590:22:01

# Parking by the lake

0:22:020:22:03

# And there was not another car in sight... #

0:22:030:22:06

What popped into my head was,

0:22:060:22:08

this is a spoof of Bruce Springsteen.

0:22:080:22:10

They may not know it,

0:22:100:22:12

but in my mind, it's a spoof of Bruce Springsteen.

0:22:120:22:14

And somebody needs to do that.

0:22:140:22:17

Because they're taking Bruce Springsteen

0:22:170:22:19

too damn seriously at this point!

0:22:190:22:21

I'm thinking, "Wait a minute - this is so old!"

0:22:210:22:24

# Girls comb their hair in rear-view mirrors

0:22:240:22:27

# And the boys try to look so hard... #

0:22:270:22:30

So I saw Meat Loaf as a way to kind of...

0:22:300:22:33

..take the piss out of that!

0:22:350:22:37

# Though it's cold and lonely

0:22:370:22:40

# In the deep dark night

0:22:400:22:43

# I can see paradise

0:22:450:22:47

# By the dashboard light... #

0:22:470:22:50

Finally signed to Epic Records,

0:22:500:22:53

Jim Steinman could at last deliver a nostalgic rock anthem

0:22:530:22:56

for the baby boomers of the 1970s.

0:22:560:22:58

It's more of a song about the '50s,

0:23:000:23:02

when people had sex in cars.

0:23:020:23:04

And that's the only place that kids could get together.

0:23:040:23:08

There were things called lovers' lanes,

0:23:080:23:10

where kids went either to make out or have sex.

0:23:100:23:14

Jimmy's exact quote is he wanted to write "the ultimate sex car song".

0:23:140:23:19

# Paradise by the dashboard light. #

0:23:190:23:25

I used to go out with this girl.

0:23:250:23:27

We'd always do this heavy petting thing.

0:23:270:23:30

But every time, it was always, "Stop right there!"

0:23:300:23:34

You know? I mean, it's like...aargh!

0:23:340:23:36

I said, "Can you write a song like that?"

0:23:360:23:39

Jimmy's very witty, and he goes, "Well, we'll see."

0:23:390:23:43

Three or four weeks later, he came back with Paradise.

0:23:430:23:46

# We're going to go all the way tonight

0:23:460:23:48

# We're going to go all the way tonight, tonight

0:23:480:23:50

# We're going to go all the way tonight

0:23:500:23:52

# We're going to go all the way tonight, tonight... #

0:23:520:23:54

Rock was beginning to look back

0:23:540:23:56

and Paradise By The Dashboard Light

0:23:560:23:58

and its parent album, Bat Out Of Hell,

0:23:580:23:59

sold by the millions.

0:23:590:24:01

And then it was time for Meat to be served up to a British audience.

0:24:040:24:08

The guy who presented The Old Grey Whistle Test

0:24:080:24:10

was like so low-keyed and so underplayed.

0:24:100:24:14

The band has had such an impact during the first few months of 1978.

0:24:140:24:18

Meat Loaf and Paradise By The Dashboard Light.

0:24:180:24:21

Then all of a sudden we start and we're like...

0:24:210:24:24

like, you know...

0:24:240:24:26

18 chainsaws coming through your television screen.

0:24:260:24:29

I used to get to start the song every night.

0:24:370:24:39

Of course, it was nerve-racking when the camera zoomed in on me!

0:24:390:24:42

On British television, for millions to see!

0:24:420:24:45

I was well aware of The Old Grey Whistle Test

0:24:450:24:48

being like a place where bands broke.

0:24:480:24:51

# I remember every little thing

0:24:520:24:54

# As if it happened only yesterday

0:24:540:24:55

# Parking by the lake

0:24:570:24:58

# And there was not another car in sight... #

0:24:580:25:00

We certainly made an impact on the...

0:25:000:25:03

-LAUGHS:

-..on the...

0:25:030:25:05

on the English public!

0:25:050:25:06

Because probably no-one had ever done

0:25:060:25:08

a make-out scene on TV like that in the middle of the song.

0:25:080:25:12

Still one of the best-selling albums of all time,

0:25:160:25:19

with 43 million sold to date,

0:25:190:25:22

perhaps because it continues to let fans relive their lives

0:25:220:25:24

through Steinman's stories.

0:25:240:25:26

Paradise allows people to remove me

0:25:270:25:31

from the song

0:25:310:25:33

and place themselves in my position.

0:25:330:25:36

What I love is that people tell me they go to weddings,

0:25:360:25:40

you know, bar mitzvahs, whatever,

0:25:400:25:43

and the girls are on one side of the room and the guys are on the other

0:25:430:25:46

and they act it out.

0:25:460:25:48

So, to be part of that, it's like...

0:25:480:25:50

Those girls are me!

0:25:500:25:52

After recording the album,

0:25:520:25:54

Ellen decided to concentrate on her solo career.

0:25:540:25:57

So it was Karla DeVito who ended up

0:25:570:25:58

lip-synching the vocal in performances.

0:25:580:26:01

So maybe a reunion is long overdue.

0:26:010:26:03

# Before we go any further Do you love me?

0:26:030:26:07

# And will you love me forever? #

0:26:070:26:10

Hey, Meat, if you're watching, which you probably are,

0:26:100:26:13

you should have me come and sing the song with you.

0:26:130:26:16

How great would that be?

0:26:160:26:18

# OHHHHHHH... #

0:26:180:26:20

MUSIC STOPS

0:26:280:26:30

MUSIC: I Love Rock 'N' Roll by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

0:26:310:26:35

Joan Jett's homage to rock and roll

0:26:360:26:37

was a timely reassertion of old-school values

0:26:370:26:40

with a take-no-prisoners female front woman on the mic.

0:26:400:26:43

# I saw him dancing there by the record machine... #

0:26:460:26:49

There was still a thing happening in the '70s and early '80s

0:26:500:26:53

when Joan Jett was coming out.

0:26:530:26:55

The idea of saying "I love rock and roll"

0:26:550:26:57

was still an important thing,

0:26:570:26:58

especially for a woman to say it.

0:26:580:27:00

For a woman to say it was a big deal.

0:27:000:27:02

Just the term "rock and roll" was rebellious.

0:27:030:27:05

It was rebellious for me.

0:27:050:27:07

I mean, I grew up -

0:27:070:27:08

I started playing classical when I was four

0:27:080:27:11

and I absolutely loved it.

0:27:110:27:12

But when I discovered rock and roll,

0:27:120:27:15

that was a whole other ballgame.

0:27:150:27:17

I always loved Joan Jett. I just thought she was such a pioneer.

0:27:170:27:21

# ..Yeah, me

0:27:210:27:22

# Singing I love rock 'n' roll

0:27:220:27:25

# So put another dime in the juke box, baby... #

0:27:250:27:27

She was fighting for women -

0:27:270:27:30

this was back in the 1980s -

0:27:300:27:32

to, you know, not take shit

0:27:320:27:34

and be empowered,

0:27:340:27:36

stand up and face the enemy.

0:27:360:27:38

In your face!

0:27:380:27:39

# Singing I love rock 'n' roll

0:27:390:27:42

# So put another dime in the juke box, baby

0:27:420:27:44

# I love rock 'n' roll

0:27:440:27:46

# Come on take your time and dance with me... #

0:27:460:27:49

Keep in mind, y'all, I Love Rock 'N' Roll

0:27:490:27:52

was a cover of a 1975 song by the Arrows,

0:27:520:27:54

an Anglo-American outfit who achieved minor success in the UK

0:27:540:27:58

in the post-glam era.

0:27:580:28:00

# When I'm without you

0:28:000:28:02

# Without you

0:28:020:28:04

# With my dreams about you

0:28:040:28:06

# About you

0:28:060:28:08

# Will you still love me...? #

0:28:080:28:09

Arrows had had three singles out

0:28:090:28:12

and we did get Top Of The Tops. Boom!

0:28:120:28:15

We needed a fourth single.

0:28:150:28:17

# I love rock 'n' roll

0:28:210:28:23

# So put another dime in the juke box, baby... #

0:28:230:28:26

I was at a Top Rank ballroom

0:28:260:28:29

and I saw these kids by the juke box,

0:28:290:28:32

and they were meeting and walking off together into the night.

0:28:320:28:35

I thought, "This is really cool.

0:28:350:28:37

"Imagine this song coming out of the juke box."

0:28:370:28:40

I wrote it from the point of view of the guy who's 17

0:28:430:28:46

and singing "I love rock 'n' roll".

0:28:460:28:48

I knew it was a hit chorus.

0:28:480:28:50

# Singing I love rock 'n' roll

0:28:520:28:54

# So put another dime in the juke box, baby

0:28:540:28:57

# I love rock 'n' roll

0:28:570:28:59

# Come on take your time and dance with me. #

0:28:590:29:02

Woo!

0:29:040:29:05

The chorus didn't score a hit for the Arrows.

0:29:050:29:07

It did, however, present them with new opportunities.

0:29:070:29:10

I Love Rock 'N' Roll served the Arrows very well,

0:29:130:29:15

in that it got us the television series in 1976.

0:29:150:29:18

# I saw her dancing there by the record machine

0:29:180:29:22

# I knew she must have been about 17

0:29:240:29:28

# Mm... #

0:29:280:29:30

If we hadn't done the TV show,

0:29:300:29:32

Joan Jett would never have seen us do I Love Rock 'N' Roll.

0:29:320:29:35

# School days

0:29:370:29:39

# School days

0:29:390:29:40

# I'm older now What will I find... #

0:29:400:29:43

Joan Jett saw the potential of the song

0:29:430:29:45

when she toured the UK with her all-girl band, the Runaways.

0:29:450:29:48

Having not managed to secure a hit with the Runaways,

0:29:480:29:51

things needed to change.

0:29:510:29:53

In 1982, with her new band the Blackhearts,

0:29:540:29:57

and having joined forces with pop producer Kenny Laguna,

0:29:570:30:00

Joan finally managed to achieve a hit single.

0:30:000:30:02

# Singing I love rock 'n' roll

0:30:020:30:05

# So put another dime in the juke box, baby

0:30:050:30:09

# I love rock 'n' roll... #

0:30:090:30:11

Joan Jett's the reason why I Love Rock 'N' Roll is an anthem.

0:30:110:30:15

She pulled all the juice out of that track.

0:30:150:30:18

Gave it its monster beat,

0:30:180:30:21

its huge hook

0:30:210:30:23

and its anthemic chorus.

0:30:230:30:26

# So come on take your time and dance with me. #

0:30:260:30:28

Joan Jett wasn't the only long-serving rocker

0:30:380:30:41

to finally make it in the '80s.

0:30:410:30:42

Chicago's Survivor were exactly that -

0:30:420:30:45

rock and roll survivors who finally got signed to Atlantic in 1978.

0:30:450:30:50

Survivor... Every song that they ever wrote,

0:30:500:30:54

whether they were successful at it or not,

0:30:540:30:56

was designed to be an anthem.

0:30:560:30:57

HE PLAYS "Eye Of The Tiger"

0:30:570:31:01

It was a decade that saw America's movie star leader

0:31:010:31:04

playing out the biggest role of his life,

0:31:040:31:07

and the popularity of the American rock anthems

0:31:070:31:09

meant Hollywood wanted in on the act.

0:31:090:31:12

So when Rocky Balboa calls to ask you to write a rock anthem,

0:31:120:31:15

you do it.

0:31:150:31:16

I got a phone call out of the blue

0:31:160:31:19

on my answering machine.

0:31:190:31:21

"Hey, yo, Jim, give me a call. It's Sylvester Stallone."

0:31:210:31:24

And I go, "Yeah, right, whatever."

0:31:240:31:26

We called him back and he said, "Yeah, I love your band.

0:31:260:31:28

"I want a song for my movie Rocky III. I want something for the kids.

0:31:280:31:33

"Something with a pulse. Do you think you can help me out?"

0:31:330:31:36

Is the Pope a Catholic? Yeah!

0:31:380:31:40

I think we can do this.

0:31:400:31:42

We were waiting our whole life for a moment like this.

0:31:420:31:44

Stallone says, "I want you to write it

0:31:440:31:46

"for the montage at the beginning."

0:31:460:31:48

We play it and what do we hear

0:31:480:31:50

but Another One Bites The Dust by Queen.

0:31:500:31:53

We go, "Well, you already had a song."

0:31:530:31:56

He goes, "I can't get the publishing."

0:31:560:31:58

I said, "Frankie, how are we ever going to match or beat that song?"

0:31:580:32:01

And we decided, well, we've got to go for it, you know?

0:32:010:32:04

So we turned down the sound

0:32:040:32:06

and I just started going...

0:32:060:32:08

PLAYS INTRO

0:32:080:32:10

Just like that.

0:32:100:32:12

It feels pretty good. Then the punches are being thrown...

0:32:140:32:17

MUSIC: Eye Of The Tiger

0:32:190:32:21

That's when we got the story of the underdog rising up.

0:32:270:32:30

This trainer going, "Rocky, you've got to keep the eye of the tiger."

0:32:300:32:35

And that's where we got the title.

0:32:350:32:37

# Ooh, rising up

0:32:370:32:39

# Back on the street

0:32:390:32:41

# Did my time, took my chances

0:32:430:32:46

# Went the distance Now I'm back on my feet

0:32:470:32:50

# Just a man and his will to survive... #

0:32:500:32:55

# It's the eye of the tiger

0:32:550:32:57

# It's the thrill of the fight

0:32:570:32:59

# Rising up to the challenge of our rival

0:32:590:33:03

# And the last known survivor

0:33:030:33:06

# Stalks his prey in the night

0:33:060:33:08

# And he's watching us all with the eye

0:33:080:33:12

# Of the tiger... #

0:33:120:33:15

And we literally wrote this song in about an hour and a half.

0:33:150:33:19

Sent it to Stallone. He said, "You guys really did it."

0:33:190:33:23

# It's the eye of the tiger It's the thrill of the fight... #

0:33:230:33:27

Once it hit, there was no stopping the song's success,

0:33:270:33:30

as it clinched the double platinum title.

0:33:300:33:32

I remember back when it was on the radio

0:33:320:33:35

and we were performing it live, the people would scream...

0:33:350:33:38

deafening screaming.

0:33:380:33:41

We'd just look at each other like "Wow!"

0:33:410:33:44

# Eye of the tiger... #

0:33:440:33:46

What we didn't know is that it would be embraced for decades,

0:33:480:33:52

you know, where it's actually as big now or bigger

0:33:520:33:55

than it was in 1982 when we created it.

0:33:550:33:59

Oh, my God!

0:33:590:34:01

That was a good hour and a half.

0:34:010:34:02

I got to do that again!

0:34:020:34:04

# Eye of the tiger. #

0:34:060:34:08

# You're as cold as ice

0:34:100:34:13

# You're willing to sacrifice our love... #

0:34:130:34:17

When British songwriter Mick Jones

0:34:180:34:20

and soaring American vocalist Lou Gramm got together in 1976,

0:34:200:34:23

they wanted to create the ultimate global rock band.

0:34:230:34:27

We wanted to establish ourselves as a rock band.

0:34:270:34:32

Not necessarily a heavy, heavy rock band, but a rock band nonetheless.

0:34:320:34:37

The first album...

0:34:370:34:38

just blew away any expectations anybody had.

0:34:380:34:42

# But someday you'll pay... #

0:34:440:34:48

In the beginning, their songwriting was on an intuitive level

0:34:510:34:54

and Mick and Lou penned rock classics together.

0:34:540:34:57

Between the two writers, as you move along,

0:34:570:35:01

the excitement builds.

0:35:010:35:02

You can almost...you can almost feel the electricity.

0:35:020:35:06

He would pick up what I felt and he would bring it out.

0:35:060:35:10

We had a lot of ideas

0:35:100:35:12

that we felt didn't compromise at all who we were.

0:35:120:35:16

MUSIC: I Want To Know What Love Is

0:35:160:35:19

But Mick's new love was about to give a softer, soulful edge

0:35:220:35:26

to Foreigner's rock sound.

0:35:260:35:27

My wife, or who was to become my wife,

0:35:290:35:31

Anne...

0:35:310:35:33

..was asleep in the other room

0:35:340:35:36

and I had the beginning of this song and I had the chorus.

0:35:360:35:39

And I ran in there and woke her up.

0:35:390:35:41

I told her what the title was. She drowsily looked at me.

0:35:410:35:45

"What do you mean, you want to know what love is?

0:35:450:35:48

"Haven't you found it with me?"

0:35:480:35:50

# I want to know what love is

0:35:510:35:54

# I want you to show me... #

0:35:570:36:00

I remember standing next to him, listening to him sing it

0:36:010:36:06

and hearing the chords and stuff, and...

0:36:060:36:09

..the hairs just stood up on the back of my neck.

0:36:100:36:13

It was kind of clear that it was more than just a love song.

0:36:130:36:16

It was more of a...

0:36:160:36:19

of a spiritual nature.

0:36:190:36:22

I was out visiting a friend and I played him the rough of the song.

0:36:220:36:27

He said, "I think I've got an idea for that.

0:36:270:36:30

"I've got a great choir that I just signed."

0:36:300:36:33

So the choir came in and we were recording in New York.

0:36:330:36:35

They got in their positions around the microphone

0:36:350:36:38

and then they sang and it was...

0:36:380:36:41

It was like angels.

0:36:410:36:43

# I want to know what love is

0:36:430:36:46

# Love that you feel inside

0:36:460:36:48

# I want you to show me

0:36:480:36:52

# I'm feeling so much love

0:36:520:36:54

# I want to feel what love is... #

0:36:540:36:56

It was just an experience I'll never forget.

0:36:560:36:58

# You just can't hide

0:36:580:37:01

# I want you to show me... #

0:37:010:37:06

In 1984, the rock anthem was expanding.

0:37:080:37:10

And by scoring a Number 1 hit with the song,

0:37:100:37:12

arena band Foreigner proved that anthems now had heart AND soul.

0:37:120:37:16

I guess the line gets fuzzy between anthem and power ballad, maybe.

0:37:160:37:21

Because that may, to me, lean more into the power ballad area.

0:37:210:37:25

# Yeeeahhh... #

0:37:270:37:29

But when rock bands veer into ballad territory,

0:37:290:37:32

things can get emotional

0:37:320:37:33

and they risk losing their rock credibility.

0:37:330:37:36

After that certain point

0:37:360:37:37

with the success of I Want To Know What Love Is,

0:37:370:37:40

our rock songs that we wrote sounded like afterthoughts.

0:37:400:37:45

Radio programmers would skim over our rock songs

0:37:450:37:48

from that point forward

0:37:480:37:50

and only want the ballad.

0:37:500:37:52

It started to splinter in the...

0:37:520:37:55

mid-'80s, let's say.

0:37:550:37:57

We carried on. There were personal problems with Lou and I.

0:37:570:38:02

We could still tour reasonably and sell a fair amount of albums.

0:38:020:38:06

# Now this mountain I must climb

0:38:060:38:09

# Feels like a world upon my shoulders... #

0:38:120:38:15

Other members of the band were just thrilled with the success,

0:38:150:38:20

no matter what type of song it was.

0:38:200:38:22

To me, that was nails in the coffin.

0:38:240:38:26

# Ohhhhhhhhhh. #

0:38:290:38:32

CROWD CHEERS

0:38:360:38:39

Choosing between your rock roots

0:38:430:38:45

or commercialising your sound is tricky,

0:38:450:38:47

because this was the era of MTV

0:38:470:38:49

and record companies were marketing their bands on chart success

0:38:490:38:52

and image.

0:38:520:38:54

There's no way in the world me or anybody else

0:38:540:38:57

could have ever predicted

0:38:570:38:59

the impact that

0:38:590:39:01

this new cable channel would really go on to change the world.

0:39:010:39:06

'MTV. Music television.'

0:39:060:39:09

We've got the music here on MTV. You've also got me, Mark Goodman.

0:39:090:39:12

MTV became the place to go

0:39:120:39:16

for new music. We were doing things

0:39:160:39:19

that AOR radio was not doing.

0:39:190:39:21

If you had an anthem, it would be played over and over and over

0:39:210:39:26

and not only would the song become embedded in your consciousness,

0:39:260:39:30

but the image that the song left behind,

0:39:300:39:33

because of MTV.

0:39:330:39:35

MTV could now make or break a band nationally almost overnight.

0:39:380:39:41

With big hair and stadium rock ruling the scene,

0:39:410:39:44

these New Jersey rockers became MTV's sweethearts.

0:39:440:39:47

MUSIC: Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi

0:39:470:39:51

Bon Jovi came along at a time that was absolutely perfect

0:39:530:39:56

for them, for MTV.

0:39:560:39:58

MTV had become pretty big by then.

0:39:580:40:00

They were really a great-looking - pardon me, Jonny - "hair band",

0:40:000:40:04

as one might be called back in those '80s,

0:40:040:40:07

that delivered songs that worked.

0:40:070:40:10

# Gina works the diner all day

0:40:100:40:13

# Working for her man She brings home her pay

0:40:150:40:18

# For love... #

0:40:180:40:20

If Foreigner had taken the anthem into spiritual territory,

0:40:200:40:22

Bon Jovi offered up a redemption song for a whole new generation.

0:40:220:40:26

Livin' On A Prayer was, for us at MTV,

0:40:260:40:29

just...

0:40:290:40:31

gigantic. It was just unstoppable.

0:40:310:40:34

I think the reason that Jon in particular worked

0:40:340:40:38

and why his band worked for video,

0:40:380:40:40

was that he was cute and he was comfortable.

0:40:400:40:44

We used to get slammed for that,

0:40:440:40:45

because Jon's a really good-looking guy.

0:40:450:40:48

Right? We'd get slammed for that.

0:40:480:40:50

I was like, "Dude, play that up!"

0:40:500:40:52

Awesome, you know?

0:40:520:40:54

You bring these crowds in because, you know, you have a certain look.

0:40:540:40:57

But then you have the substance.

0:40:570:41:00

After all these years, it's like...

0:41:000:41:01

Listen. You can't just be a pretty face. You have to have substance.

0:41:010:41:05

They may have been pretty boys,

0:41:090:41:11

but Bon Jovi's turbo-charged rewrite of the American Dream

0:41:110:41:13

didn't shy away from the economic downturn of the mid-'80s

0:41:130:41:16

so much as leap right over it.

0:41:160:41:18

# Tommy used to work on the docks

0:41:180:41:21

# The union were on strike

0:41:220:41:24

# He's down on his luck

0:41:240:41:27

# It's tough... #

0:41:270:41:28

They talk about the American Dream, but the American Dream

0:41:280:41:32

is actually really hard to get and out of reach for a lot of people.

0:41:320:41:35

When you need to have a reservoir of faith,

0:41:360:41:39

a lot of kids go to rock and roll.

0:41:390:41:41

And they hear their story.

0:41:410:41:42

When you really need faith and you need to turn to rock and roll,

0:41:420:41:45

you can turn to Livin' On A Prayer.

0:41:450:41:47

# What'd she say?

0:41:470:41:48

# She says we've got to hold on to what we've got

0:41:480:41:53

# It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not

0:41:530:41:56

# We've got each other and that's a lot

0:41:560:42:00

# For love... #

0:42:000:42:02

Livin' On A Prayer reflected the political climate

0:42:020:42:04

in that it was...we're going to get by, regardless of what you say.

0:42:040:42:08

We're going to make it happen.

0:42:080:42:10

We may be livin' on a prayer,

0:42:100:42:11

but that prayer will come true. It will be answered.

0:42:110:42:14

That sentiment is an American sentiment.

0:42:140:42:17

It's us against the world. We can do this.

0:42:170:42:20

When I heard Livin' On A Prayer, I said, "Dammit!

0:42:200:42:23

"They did it again."

0:42:230:42:25

I'm talking about not only Bon Jovi,

0:42:250:42:26

but Desmond Child.

0:42:260:42:28

He is pop. He is the king of the modulation, I call him.

0:42:280:42:33

We wrote Livin' On A Prayer in a little apartment

0:42:330:42:36

where I was staying

0:42:360:42:37

on the Upper East Side in New York.

0:42:370:42:39

It was a little railroad apartment.

0:42:390:42:41

My girlfriend at the time, Maria Vidal,

0:42:410:42:44

worked as a waitress

0:42:440:42:46

at a place called Once Upon A Stove.

0:42:460:42:48

And everybody there called her Gina.

0:42:480:42:51

because she reminded them of Gina Lollobrigida.

0:42:510:42:54

So we started telling the story of a rocker

0:42:540:42:58

who works on the docks

0:42:580:43:00

and had to give up his guitar so they could eat another day

0:43:000:43:03

and they had dreams.

0:43:030:43:06

# Ohhhhhh

0:43:060:43:07

# We're halfway there

0:43:070:43:09

# Ohhhhhh

0:43:090:43:11

# Livin' on a prayer

0:43:110:43:13

# Take my hand

0:43:130:43:14

# We'll make it, I swear

0:43:140:43:17

# Ohhhhhh

0:43:170:43:18

# Livin' on a prayer

0:43:180:43:20

# Livin' on a prayer... #

0:43:200:43:24

When it came to interpreting the lyric,

0:43:240:43:27

Jon Bon Jovi never fails to deliver to an audience.

0:43:270:43:29

As a lead singer, I think you have to not only be the entertainer,

0:43:290:43:33

but you also have to service the song.

0:43:330:43:35

The lyric of the song.

0:43:350:43:37

And make that audience

0:43:370:43:39

realise what that lyric actually holds

0:43:390:43:42

in their hearts.

0:43:420:43:44

A great singer will raise an anthem to another level.

0:43:440:43:48

The front man can't see you eye to eye,

0:43:480:43:51

but you have to feel that he's singing that song right to you.

0:43:510:43:54

One of my favourite moments at a Bon Jovi concert

0:43:540:43:57

is to stand there in the middle of the audience

0:43:570:44:00

when he's singing Livin' On A Prayer.

0:44:000:44:02

I never really look up on the stage.

0:44:020:44:04

I look up all around to the rafters.

0:44:040:44:07

Everybody's on their feet.

0:44:070:44:09

Everybody's screaming the song.

0:44:090:44:11

You can't even hear the band.

0:44:110:44:13

# Ohhhhhh

0:44:130:44:15

# We're halfway there

0:44:150:44:17

# Ohhhhhh

0:44:170:44:19

# Livin' on a prayer

0:44:190:44:21

# Take my hand

0:44:210:44:23

# We'll make it, I swear... #

0:44:230:44:25

In the early Reagan era, Bon Jovi had managed to pull off the trick

0:44:250:44:28

of reaffirming the American Dream.

0:44:280:44:30

But by the early 1990s,

0:44:300:44:32

things hadn't gotten better for the working-class kids

0:44:320:44:35

and suddenly the optimism and escapism

0:44:350:44:37

of the hair-band era seemed out of touch.

0:44:370:44:39

There were all these hair bands

0:44:390:44:41

and they have ruled the rock landscape for literally ten years.

0:44:410:44:45

In one stroke of Smells Like Teen Spirit,

0:44:450:44:48

it's like the sickle came and lopped all their heads off.

0:44:480:44:51

They became a style that had ended, almost immediately.

0:44:510:44:54

Personally, I couldn't relate to a dude wearing Spandex

0:44:540:44:58

and whose hair's this big,

0:44:580:45:00

in a limousine with a fucking stripper.

0:45:000:45:02

Because I was making minimum wage...

0:45:020:45:06

busting ass just to pay the rent

0:45:060:45:09

and playing punk rock,

0:45:090:45:11

because I was angry or empowered or inspired like...yeaahhhh!

0:45:110:45:15

I think there were a lot of people like me that were like,

0:45:150:45:18

"Godammit, I want something fucking real and noisy

0:45:180:45:22

"and I want someone to break their shit in front of me."

0:45:220:45:25

-I'm Krist.

-And I'm Dave.

-And I'm Kurt.

0:45:250:45:28

And we are...

0:45:300:45:31

Nirvana!

0:45:330:45:34

MUSIC: Smells Like Teen Spirit

0:45:340:45:37

When the music scene doesn't connect with a generation,

0:45:410:45:43

an anti-anthem anthem takes it back to the kids.

0:45:430:45:47

Teen Spirit is the black sheep of...

0:45:470:45:50

rock anthems.

0:45:500:45:51

First time I heard it, I went, "Huh! Why didn't I write that?" You know?

0:45:510:45:56

This is School's Out 20 years later.

0:45:560:46:00

But...WAY angrier.

0:46:000:46:03

# A mulatto

0:46:030:46:04

# An albino

0:46:040:46:06

# A mosquito

0:46:060:46:09

# My libido... #

0:46:090:46:11

When Kurt Cobain sings "A mosquito, my libido",

0:46:120:46:14

I always thought..."Oh, wow!"

0:46:140:46:16

What an amazing, poetic way to say...

0:46:160:46:20

to feel the frustration of being a young man in America at that time.

0:46:200:46:23

Speaking possibly as the voice of a generation, saying...

0:46:230:46:28

Hmm...what's happened to culture in the early '90s?

0:46:280:46:31

Where are we?

0:46:310:46:33

Why does the 18-year-old man feel impotent?

0:46:330:46:36

Hence mosquito-sized libido.

0:46:360:46:39

# Hello, hello, hello

0:46:390:46:41

# How low? #

0:46:410:46:43

Smells Like Teen Spirit came from a jam.

0:46:430:46:46

That's where that quiet verse and loud chorus came from.

0:46:460:46:50

We were just doing it by instinct.

0:46:500:46:52

It feels like it's going to explode right now!

0:46:520:46:55

And then you go on to the next part.

0:46:550:46:57

# Hello, hello

0:46:570:46:59

# With the lights out

0:46:590:47:00

# It's less dangerous

0:47:000:47:02

# Here we are now

0:47:020:47:04

# Entertain us... #

0:47:040:47:06

Nirvana sought out up-and-coming indie producer Butch Vig.

0:47:060:47:10

When we got into rehearsals,

0:47:100:47:12

Kurt started the guitar riff

0:47:120:47:14

and Dave hit that drum fill

0:47:140:47:16

and they kicked in and I was absolutely blown away.

0:47:160:47:19

And when they finished the song,

0:47:190:47:21

I sort of stood there and I got up and started pacing around.

0:47:210:47:24

I looked at all the other songs and I didn't know what to do.

0:47:240:47:26

I was like..."Play it again!"

0:47:260:47:28

Butch comes to the studio

0:47:280:47:30

and then he makes little suggestions

0:47:300:47:32

that are never overwhelming or intrusive.

0:47:320:47:36

And you record and then you come back and listen

0:47:360:47:38

and it's like, "Jesus, Butch, how did you do that?!"

0:47:380:47:41

Kurt still had this punk ethic

0:47:410:47:43

that he felt like he didn't want to cheat.

0:47:430:47:45

It had to kind of be live in the studio.

0:47:450:47:47

Even though I recorded the live vocal,

0:47:470:47:49

I liked going back and having a little more control.

0:47:490:47:52

He didn't like to do that,

0:47:520:47:54

so I'd have to push him

0:47:540:47:56

and using Beatles references was a good way.

0:47:560:47:59

When I wanted to double his voice and he said, "No, that's cheating",

0:47:590:48:02

I said, "Well, John Lennon did it on everything he sang".

0:48:020:48:05

Kurt would think about that for about ten seconds and he'd go,

0:48:050:48:08

"OK".

0:48:080:48:09

# Hello, hello, hello

0:48:090:48:12

# How low?

0:48:120:48:14

# Hello, hello, hello

0:48:140:48:16

# How low? #

0:48:160:48:17

The band decided to do a secret gig

0:48:170:48:21

at a tiny little club on Pico called Jabberjaw

0:48:210:48:24

and the word had got out on one of the local radio stations

0:48:240:48:28

and there was a huge line to get in.

0:48:280:48:31

Probably 500 or 600 people.

0:48:310:48:32

It was so cramped, and they started out with Teen Spirit.

0:48:320:48:36

Even though no-one there had ever heard this song,

0:48:440:48:47

people's jaws dropped.

0:48:470:48:48

They knew that they were

0:48:480:48:50

at ground zero to hearing...

0:48:500:48:52

Nirvana's music explode.

0:48:520:48:55

If you were into that song,

0:48:550:48:58

in those years, then you were a part of something.

0:48:580:49:01

# With the lights out

0:49:010:49:03

# It's less dangerous

0:49:030:49:05

# Here we are now

0:49:050:49:07

# Entertain us... #

0:49:070:49:09

It's hard for me to really, like, think of

0:49:090:49:12

that song or Nirvana in that way.

0:49:120:49:14

Cos, to me, it was like...

0:49:140:49:16

It was me and Krist and Kurt, you know?

0:49:160:49:19

And we were kids.

0:49:190:49:21

Whenever I think about the impact that album had or that song,

0:49:220:49:27

I just think about the impact it had on my life, you know?

0:49:270:49:30

All of a sudden I could pay the rent.

0:49:300:49:32

I don't have to work at the fucking furniture warehouse

0:49:320:49:35

any more, you know? It's like...cool!

0:49:350:49:38

I was going to go back to college, but fuck that!

0:49:390:49:41

# A denial

0:49:430:49:45

# A denial. #

0:49:450:49:47

CROWD CHEERS

0:49:470:49:49

MUSIC: School's Out by Alice Cooper

0:49:500:49:52

From teenage anthems to AOR anthems

0:49:570:50:00

to MTV anthems to anti-rock anthems,

0:50:000:50:03

these classics make up an American soundtrack

0:50:030:50:05

to 20 years of world domination.

0:50:050:50:07

And now, in the new millennium,

0:50:090:50:10

when America's no longer quite the leader of the world it once was,

0:50:100:50:13

the American rock anthem keeps it real,

0:50:130:50:16

drops the arrogance

0:50:160:50:17

and has become...well, less proudly American.

0:50:170:50:20

# Don't want to be an American idiot

0:50:200:50:23

# One nation controlled by the media

0:50:230:50:25

# Information age of hysteria... # Go!

0:50:250:50:27

CROWD: # It's calling out to idiot America

0:50:270:50:30

# Welcome to a new kind of tension... #

0:50:300:50:33

I think the American rock anthem is still very much alive today.

0:50:330:50:36

I think it's coloured in different hues and shades.

0:50:360:50:39

I think it's taken on a different texture.

0:50:390:50:42

I think it's a little grittier.

0:50:420:50:44

# Ohhhhh

0:50:440:50:46

# Your sex is on fire... #

0:50:480:50:51

I think most bands are trying to write that song.

0:50:510:50:54

Most bands are trying to write that one song

0:50:540:50:57

that is definitive to them.

0:50:570:51:00

Foo Fighters have written some great anthems,

0:51:000:51:03

great anthems.

0:51:030:51:04

In fact, when you go see them live,

0:51:040:51:06

they play an incredible song and you go...

0:51:060:51:09

"That is...a mind-bending powerful anthem."

0:51:090:51:14

CROWD: # Ohhhhhhhh

0:51:140:51:17

# Ohhhhhhhh... #

0:51:190:51:21

When you're on the lip of the stage

0:51:210:51:24

and you're conducting a stadium full of people

0:51:240:51:27

singing a lyric that you wrote...

0:51:270:51:30

on a fucking napkin, you know?

0:51:300:51:32

And it means something different to each one of those people,

0:51:320:51:35

that's really inspiring.

0:51:350:51:38

# Is someone getting the best the best, the best

0:51:380:51:41

# The best of you? #

0:51:410:51:44

These songs all kind of give us some thrill.

0:51:440:51:46

We're all feel-good junkies, aren't we?

0:51:460:51:49

And an anthem absolutely is a feel-good junkie's fix.

0:51:490:51:53

# You trust

0:51:530:51:54

# You must confess

0:51:540:51:56

# Getting the best, the best

0:51:560:51:58

# The best, the best of you. #

0:51:580:52:02

CROWD CHEERS

0:52:180:52:20

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