0:00:02 > 0:00:05This programme contains very strong language
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Post-Woodstock, at the dawn of the '70s, American rock stopped
0:00:08 > 0:00:10looking for a revolution and started looking for a good time.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Enter the classic American rock anthem.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15I love deep cuts and B-sides,
0:00:15 > 0:00:17but, shit, give me a huge anthem any day.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Big drums,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21a soaring guitar,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23a huge chorus and screaming solos.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26MUSIC: I Love Rock 'N' Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
0:00:26 > 0:00:28During the glory years of classic rock,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31America bossed the world while the kids held their arms aloft
0:00:31 > 0:00:32and sang along.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35# Ohhhh Livin' on a prayer... #
0:00:35 > 0:00:38From School's Out to Smells Like Teen Spirit...
0:00:38 > 0:00:40MUSIC: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Welcome to our tour of classic American rock.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45With lighters at the ready,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48we tune it up and take you inside some of the greatest rock anthems.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01An American rock anthem has to have sort of an epic sound.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03It has to be pretty big.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06# So now I'm praying for the end of time
0:01:06 > 0:01:09# To hurry up and arrive... #
0:01:09 > 0:01:12We tend to be more upfront and in your face.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Whether it's as simple as pumping your fist...
0:01:15 > 0:01:18or...you know, giving the finger to the world.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22MUSIC: Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor
0:01:24 > 0:01:27The witch's brew must contain certain elements.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Number one - and most important -
0:01:29 > 0:01:32it must have a monster riff.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35MUSIC: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
0:01:37 > 0:01:40If you don't get them on the chorus, you don't have an anthem.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44That's where the anthem lives and breathes.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46MUSIC: Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf
0:01:48 > 0:01:52In 1968, America wanted freedom, rebellion and rock and roll.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Born To Be Wild was the blueprint for the '70s and beyond.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01# Born to be wild... #
0:02:01 > 0:02:04But perhaps the main inspiration for the American rock anthem
0:02:04 > 0:02:07came from elsewhere, across the pond...
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Britain, of all places.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13And it's a first-time welcome for that top four with their top hit,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16You Really Got Me Going - the Kinks!
0:02:18 > 0:02:20# Girl, you really got me going
0:02:20 > 0:02:23# You got me so I don't know what I'm doing... #
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Throughout the mid-'60s,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28the British invasion was arguably the major influence
0:02:28 > 0:02:31on all upcoming bands across America.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33The harder it got in Britain,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35the better it got for us.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37I'm driving along with the band,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39then all of a sudden I heard...
0:02:39 > 0:02:42HUMS OPENING RIFF
0:02:42 > 0:02:44And I went... We stopped the car.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48# Oh, yeah, you really got me now... #
0:02:48 > 0:02:50I said, "What was that?"
0:02:50 > 0:02:54The Kinks, you know... It was angry.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56The guitar sounded like a dog barking.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59You know? And I went, "What is THAT?!"
0:02:59 > 0:03:02To me, that was the beginnings of, you know,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04real hard rock, heavy metal.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06And then The Who were doing all this...
0:03:06 > 0:03:09destroying their instruments on stage.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12So we learned attitude, I think, from The Who.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16We learned creativity from the Yardbirds.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18And all of us learned melody from the Beatles.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22MUSIC: Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles
0:03:24 > 0:03:27And maybe we learned our strut from Mick Jagger.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Inspired by the British invasion,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34American rockers in the Midwest set out to snatch back rock and roll
0:03:34 > 0:03:36and set it in their own landscape,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40and in the hearts and minds of the kids in America.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43MUSIC: School's Out by Alice Cooper
0:03:43 > 0:03:45It was 1972 when Detroit's Alice Cooper
0:03:45 > 0:03:49blended horror theatrics, a monster riff and a killer chorus
0:03:49 > 0:03:53into a celebration of a key moment in every kid's life.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55It was my anthem,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58as it was so many of the kids that I knew.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01I was a big fan, even though I didn't know what the hell it was,
0:04:01 > 0:04:02in the very beginning.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04We loved it from the opening # Der der-der... #
0:04:04 > 0:04:06PLAYS OPENING RIFF
0:04:08 > 0:04:10I don't care how big the audience is,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12if it's a tiny audience, a gigantic audience.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15You start up that riff, the place goes insane.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16It's incendiary.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24# We got no choice
0:04:26 > 0:04:28# All you girls and boys
0:04:29 > 0:04:31# Makin' all that noise... #
0:04:31 > 0:04:32Alice Cooper was brilliant.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35He was probably 30 years old when he was tapping into the psyche
0:04:35 > 0:04:37of the American teen.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40School's Out was like a shot of B12 in your butt.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42# School's
0:04:42 > 0:04:44# Out for summer
0:04:46 > 0:04:48# School's
0:04:48 > 0:04:50# Out for ever... #
0:04:52 > 0:04:55We sat there and said, "What does everybody have in common?"
0:04:55 > 0:04:57One thing - school.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00What does 99% of people think about high school?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03I hated school.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04My mother
0:05:04 > 0:05:07was a public school teacher. The most brilliant woman
0:05:07 > 0:05:09I've ever met in my entire life.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12She had to deal with assholes like me every day.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15I said, "What's the best time about school?"
0:05:15 > 0:05:17It was the last three minutes...
0:05:18 > 0:05:20..before summer vacation.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24You sat there and you looked at that clock and it was...
0:05:24 > 0:05:2757 minutes to three! You know?
0:05:27 > 0:05:28You got three more minutes
0:05:28 > 0:05:31until you're going to have three months off.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Capture that three minutes.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36I put it on before the alarm went off
0:05:36 > 0:05:40and cranked it through the PA through the whole school.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I started walking down the corridor
0:05:42 > 0:05:44and it came on, blasting through the speakers.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46BELL RINGS
0:05:46 > 0:05:48# School's out for summer... #
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Aaargh! School's out, motherfucker!
0:05:57 > 0:06:00# No more pencils
0:06:00 > 0:06:03# No more books
0:06:03 > 0:06:07# No more teachers'
0:06:07 > 0:06:10# Dirty looks... #
0:06:10 > 0:06:13It took the British to accept us
0:06:13 > 0:06:15before the Americans would accept us.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17We're sitting there going,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19"We want to make the Stones look like choirboys."
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Rock needs a villain.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Alice Cooper was such an alien to us.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27We were teenagers
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and his outfits and his lyrics
0:06:29 > 0:06:33and the fact that his band was so dangerous...
0:06:33 > 0:06:35And, you know,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39danger is not a bad element to have in an anthem.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44# School's out for ever... #
0:06:44 > 0:06:47The funny thing was
0:06:47 > 0:06:49I didn't have a problem with high school.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51I was Ferris Bueller.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54I mean, I ran my high school. It was great.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56For me to write School's Out as an anthem
0:06:56 > 0:06:58was me writing it for every other kid.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00But I didn't have a problem with school!
0:07:00 > 0:07:02# School's
0:07:02 > 0:07:07# Been blown to pieces. #
0:07:07 > 0:07:09BELL RINGS
0:07:09 > 0:07:10CHEERING
0:07:16 > 0:07:18If Alice shoved the Brits out of the way
0:07:18 > 0:07:21by speaking directly to American teens,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25in 1973, another Michigan band, Grand Funk Railroad,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27gave their blue-collar fans something to believe in -
0:07:27 > 0:07:30dreams of being in an American band.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33MUSIC: We're An American Band by Grand Funk Railroad
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Unusually, it was the band's drummer
0:07:46 > 0:07:48who tapped into those teenage rock star dreams.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55How do you define
0:07:55 > 0:07:58this band compared to the British bands
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and Led Zeppelin and all this other stuff going on?
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Well, we're an American band. That's what it was.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Freedom...abandon...
0:08:07 > 0:08:09debauchery...
0:08:09 > 0:08:11rock and roll. That song had it all.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14"They're coming to your town, they're going to party down."
0:08:14 > 0:08:16And who can't relate to that?
0:08:16 > 0:08:20You're a kid, sitting around. You look on the schedule.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Who's coming to the Coliseum next week? Grand Funk Railroad.
0:08:23 > 0:08:24I'm going to the show.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27And you're going to sit in the parking lot
0:08:27 > 0:08:29and drink a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and get your mojo going for when they walk on stage.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36We're An American Band starts with all that fancy drums,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38then comes in this fantastic line.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42HE PLAYS RIFF from "We're An American Band"
0:08:53 > 0:08:55That's almost like a trumpet saying,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57"Here we are. We're coming to your town. Lock up the kids!"
0:09:01 > 0:09:03# Out on the road for 40 days
0:09:05 > 0:09:08# Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze... #
0:09:08 > 0:09:09There was a hole
0:09:09 > 0:09:12where an American...
0:09:12 > 0:09:16rock anthem was going to fit in perfectly at the time.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19And thank God we took advantage of that.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21# We're coming to your town
0:09:21 > 0:09:23# We'll help you party down
0:09:23 > 0:09:25# We're an American band... #
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Taking inspiration from life on the road,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Grand Funk littered the song
0:09:29 > 0:09:31with stories of their rock and roll lifestyle.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It's telling a bunch of little stories
0:09:34 > 0:09:37about the band when we were on tour.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41I just took these little snippets from what was going on on the road
0:09:41 > 0:09:45with Sweet Sweet Connie in Little Rock, the famous groupie.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49# The hotel detective He was outta sight
0:09:49 > 0:09:52# Now these fine ladies... #
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Maybe that's the essence of the American rock anthem.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58You sing about how glad you are
0:09:58 > 0:10:01being an American in a rock and roll band!
0:10:01 > 0:10:03And, uh...
0:10:03 > 0:10:06it's pretty nice work if you can get it.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09I didn't hear it as a hit
0:10:09 > 0:10:12until the first time I heard it on the radio.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14I was driving over to Mel's house
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and it just blew me away.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19I couldn't believe it, how great it sounded.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22It was... Yeah, we knew it was a hit right then.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24It just...
0:10:24 > 0:10:27raced up the charts like a rabid dog
0:10:27 > 0:10:30after a mangy cat!
0:10:30 > 0:10:33# Come on dudes, let's get it on
0:10:33 > 0:10:37# And we proceeded to tear that hotel down
0:10:37 > 0:10:40# We're an American band... #
0:10:40 > 0:10:42After finally capturing lightning in a bottle,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44where could this all-American band go next?
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Anything I wrote after that was just something I felt at the time
0:10:48 > 0:10:50and so I wrote it.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53If it wasn't a rock anthem, you know, so what?
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I guess one rock anthem in one's life is enough.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04How was that?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09MUSIC: More Than A Feeling by Boston
0:11:12 > 0:11:15But Grand Funk Railroad couldn't come to your town every week,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18which gave rise to the growth of FM radio.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Now rock had its own radio stations.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Anthems became a mainstay of the new rock radio.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27But anthems could be long, intricate and profound.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Sometimes all at once.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32FM radio in the '70s was
0:11:32 > 0:11:35so important to the pop culture.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38We were smoking pot.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40We were hearing the dimensions of the music.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42We were home-spinning our vinyl.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45FM radio was like your bedroom coming with you
0:11:45 > 0:11:47in your car.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50To me, the radio was like the lifeline to
0:11:50 > 0:11:53what's going on in the rest of the world
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and I couldn't wait every night
0:11:56 > 0:11:58to get up and turn the radio on.
0:11:58 > 0:11:59Some nights I wouldn't go to sleep
0:11:59 > 0:12:02because I'd want to hear what the next song was.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05MUSIC: (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
0:12:05 > 0:12:07The longer it went into the night,
0:12:07 > 0:12:08the weirder the songs got.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11They would play all these long eight-minute tracks
0:12:11 > 0:12:12by Blue Oyster Cult.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19It was unusual to have a song like that
0:12:19 > 0:12:22succeed at radio in 1976.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27# Seasons don't fear the reaper
0:12:27 > 0:12:30# Nor do the wind the sun or the rain
0:12:30 > 0:12:32# We can be like they are
0:12:32 > 0:12:35# Come on, baby Don't fear the reaper... #
0:12:35 > 0:12:38The experimental nature of early FM radio
0:12:38 > 0:12:42encouraged Blue Oyster Cult's Buck Dharma to get heavy, man.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44He wrote The Reaper in his house.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- In the basement, I think. - Yeah, in the basement.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49He was down there for nine days.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51At the time, he had discovered that
0:12:51 > 0:12:54he had this heart condition and was very upset.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57He thought that he was going to die at any minute.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02And this was a way to make himself feel better about it.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I heard it and I was like, "Wow!"
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- The riff is good, but the song itself is great.- Yeah.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12And then he was going to change the "las", put some words in there.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14And...no, no, leave the las!
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- Yeah, leave that.- Leave the las.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21# La la la la la la
0:13:24 > 0:13:26# La la la la la la... #
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Through the conduit of experimental FM radio,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33The Reaper appealed to the dark side of the audience's imagination.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37It's almost like you're running from your own death.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40It's like you're running from your own death to try and get into light.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43I always thought I was running and the darkness is coming after me,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47but if I can just stay in the sunlight, I'll make it.
0:13:47 > 0:13:48# Baby, take my hand
0:13:48 > 0:13:50# Don't fear the reaper
0:13:50 > 0:13:52# We'll be able to fly
0:13:52 > 0:13:54# Don't fear the reaper... #
0:13:54 > 0:13:57And when it came to the killer solo,
0:13:57 > 0:13:58this baby was epic
0:13:58 > 0:14:02and it encouraged folks everywhere to take it to the bridge.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07People were controlled by that very strange, very angular solo.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13Rock and roll bands
0:14:13 > 0:14:16are designed, created for concerts.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19With fireworks and lasers and energy.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24The solo's job is to give a taste of that.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41To me, the guitar was just sex.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43It was the primal element,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46the thing that no other kind of music has.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56There was another element that finished the track.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Cowbell.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08One of David Lucas's suggestions was to add a cowbell,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10which kind of like...
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Everybody, like, looked at David and said, "Are you out of your mind?!"
0:15:15 > 0:15:17"Really?! A cowbell?!"
0:15:17 > 0:15:19I just felt it needed...
0:15:19 > 0:15:21four on the floor.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25It needed a linear...drive.
0:15:27 > 0:15:28That's it.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32In April 2000, the cowbell gave the song an afterlife,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35when Saturday Night Live spoofed The Reaper.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39A whole other generation has been exposed to that song,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41which is great for us.
0:15:41 > 0:15:42In the new millennium,
0:15:42 > 0:15:44"more cowbell" is the stuff of legend.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49It's definitely taken on a philosophical reference.
0:15:49 > 0:15:50Rising above your problems.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Like, you have a problem and you resolve it...
0:15:52 > 0:15:55- Just put more cowbell.- More cowbell.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57It means that you overcome your problems.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59So I'm like, "Wow! That's cool."
0:15:59 > 0:16:01For all my achievements,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04the cowbell seems to be what I'm known for!
0:16:04 > 0:16:06It's really annoying.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12CROWD CHEERS
0:16:14 > 0:16:17# FM
0:16:17 > 0:16:19# No static at all... #
0:16:22 > 0:16:25By 1978, rock radio was professionalising,
0:16:25 > 0:16:26commercialising,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28growing up.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Rock had another home on the corporate version of FM radio - AOR.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36The letters AOR...that stands of course for album-oriented rock.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41And that's when the suits came in and started programming everything.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43We're not playing album cuts any more -
0:16:43 > 0:16:46we're only playing the hit singles from those albums.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Tracks like Don't Fear The Reaper
0:16:48 > 0:16:50were too long and heavy for the way radio was heading.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Now bands were writing a lot of concise rock songs
0:16:54 > 0:16:56with a perfectly honed sound for radio.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00The three minute and 30 second rule was one of those things.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03A lot of the all-time great songs are long songs
0:17:03 > 0:17:06and were never edited down to singles.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Hello, everybody.
0:17:08 > 0:17:09Remember us?
0:17:09 > 0:17:13By now the rock anthem was becoming more sophisticated and adult.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15This was the perfect opportunity
0:17:15 > 0:17:18for the hottest session musicians in town,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20who penned radio-friendly tracks
0:17:20 > 0:17:22for Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan, to step forward.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25The session cats - Toto.
0:17:28 > 0:17:29The myth about our band is
0:17:29 > 0:17:31somebody put us together as session musicians.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34We were high school guys who had studied music, could read music
0:17:34 > 0:17:36and could interpret other people's music.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39At the time, David Paich was our primary writer.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43He'd already come off of writing all those great big hit songs for Boz
0:17:43 > 0:17:47and other artists, so we all would look to him - "Dave, what you got?"
0:17:47 > 0:17:49I got a little upright piano in my first apartment
0:17:49 > 0:17:51and the first riff I played was...
0:17:51 > 0:17:54HE PLAYS OPENING RIFF of "Hold The Line"
0:17:59 > 0:18:00Talk about rock and roll anthems,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03that was my shout of, "I'm free! I'm in my own place."
0:18:03 > 0:18:05So I decided to write the rest of it
0:18:05 > 0:18:08and that was the first song that I brought in
0:18:08 > 0:18:10for the band to learn.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16When he played that one and Jeff started playing the drum groove...
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Jeff was a magical drummer.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20And the two of them played together.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22It was just like... It almost played itself.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Everyone was like, "I know what to do!"
0:18:24 > 0:18:27It's Lukather's guitar that makes that song anthemic.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30HE HUMS THE RIFF
0:18:30 > 0:18:32RIFF PLAYS
0:18:34 > 0:18:36It just had this infectious groove,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39and the fact it had a little bit more rock thing to it,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41made it interesting. It stuck out.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43# It's not in the way you look
0:18:43 > 0:18:45# Or the things that you say that you do
0:18:45 > 0:18:46# Hold the line
0:18:49 > 0:18:51# Love isn't always on time
0:18:52 > 0:18:54# Oh, no, no... #
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Certain chords appeal to me
0:18:57 > 0:18:59and appeal to my ears and my heart,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01that move me, and I can't describe what they are.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Elton John did one in Someone Saved My Life Tonight.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08# Someone saved my life tonight
0:19:08 > 0:19:11# Sugar bear... #
0:19:11 > 0:19:12So when I wrote...
0:19:12 > 0:19:14# It's not in the way you look
0:19:14 > 0:19:16# Or the things that you say that you do #
0:19:16 > 0:19:19..I put that chord in there, because when I hear that chord...
0:19:19 > 0:19:23that grabs me, and that chord represents hope to me,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26that I still have a chance with this girl.
0:19:26 > 0:19:27# Hold the line
0:19:30 > 0:19:32# Love isn't always on time
0:19:32 > 0:19:36# Love isn't always Love isn't always on time
0:19:36 > 0:19:38# Hold the line... #
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Toto's professional sound was welcomed on the charts,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44but the song failed to grab the critics.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Toto was never a critics' band.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50In fact, they've been the butt of too many jokes over the decades -
0:19:50 > 0:19:53but fans love them all around the world.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55We got roasted.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58We were eviscerated by the critics.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Despite being panned by the critics,
0:20:02 > 0:20:03these session cats were pros
0:20:03 > 0:20:05and there was no stopping them in the '80s
0:20:05 > 0:20:08with the huge success from the Toto IV album.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12# I bless the rains down in Africa
0:20:14 > 0:20:17# I bless the rains down in Africa
0:20:17 > 0:20:19# I bless the rains... #
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Your fans are the ones who tell you what they like
0:20:21 > 0:20:23and they're really honest and I really listen to them.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26There's some really valid constructive criticism.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Just slagging us off - "Oh, those LA slicks..."
0:20:28 > 0:20:32That's such a tired... Come on, man, look at what we've done.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Look, really look, at the contribution of what we've done.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37You can't slag us off like you would some teen idol
0:20:37 > 0:20:40that had one hit record in 1978.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42# Love isn't always on time
0:20:44 > 0:20:46# Oh, oh, oh. #
0:20:49 > 0:20:51In the late '70s, AOR radio
0:20:51 > 0:20:54may have favoured the three-and-a-half minute cut,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58but they also liked a bit of theatre, something big and bombastic
0:20:58 > 0:21:00and totally over the top.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01They just didn't know it yet.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Would you offer your throat
0:21:04 > 0:21:07to the wolf with the red roses?
0:21:07 > 0:21:08Yes.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17I bet you say that to all the boys.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18In 1978,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21composer Jim Steinman and actor Meat Loaf
0:21:21 > 0:21:24embarked on a series of record label auditions.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26But a rock-Goth odd couple
0:21:26 > 0:21:28with a retro '50s fixation
0:21:28 > 0:21:31wasn't most record execs' idea of the next big thing.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33They had been to every label,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35talked to every producer
0:21:35 > 0:21:39and nobody really...got what it was they were trying to do.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44People invented record labels to turn us down.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46I was...
0:21:46 > 0:21:48kind of a desperate last resort.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51MUSIC: Paradise By The Dashboard Light
0:21:56 > 0:21:59# Well, I remember every little thing
0:21:59 > 0:22:01# As if it happened only yesterday
0:22:02 > 0:22:03# Parking by the lake
0:22:03 > 0:22:06# And there was not another car in sight... #
0:22:06 > 0:22:08What popped into my head was,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10this is a spoof of Bruce Springsteen.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12They may not know it,
0:22:12 > 0:22:14but in my mind, it's a spoof of Bruce Springsteen.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17And somebody needs to do that.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Because they're taking Bruce Springsteen
0:22:19 > 0:22:21too damn seriously at this point!
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I'm thinking, "Wait a minute - this is so old!"
0:22:24 > 0:22:27# Girls comb their hair in rear-view mirrors
0:22:27 > 0:22:30# And the boys try to look so hard... #
0:22:30 > 0:22:33So I saw Meat Loaf as a way to kind of...
0:22:35 > 0:22:37..take the piss out of that!
0:22:37 > 0:22:40# Though it's cold and lonely
0:22:40 > 0:22:43# In the deep dark night
0:22:45 > 0:22:47# I can see paradise
0:22:47 > 0:22:50# By the dashboard light... #
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Finally signed to Epic Records,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Jim Steinman could at last deliver a nostalgic rock anthem
0:22:56 > 0:22:58for the baby boomers of the 1970s.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02It's more of a song about the '50s,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04when people had sex in cars.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08And that's the only place that kids could get together.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10There were things called lovers' lanes,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14where kids went either to make out or have sex.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19Jimmy's exact quote is he wanted to write "the ultimate sex car song".
0:23:19 > 0:23:25# Paradise by the dashboard light. #
0:23:25 > 0:23:27I used to go out with this girl.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30We'd always do this heavy petting thing.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34But every time, it was always, "Stop right there!"
0:23:34 > 0:23:36You know? I mean, it's like...aargh!
0:23:36 > 0:23:39I said, "Can you write a song like that?"
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Jimmy's very witty, and he goes, "Well, we'll see."
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Three or four weeks later, he came back with Paradise.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48# We're going to go all the way tonight
0:23:48 > 0:23:50# We're going to go all the way tonight, tonight
0:23:50 > 0:23:52# We're going to go all the way tonight
0:23:52 > 0:23:54# We're going to go all the way tonight, tonight... #
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Rock was beginning to look back
0:23:56 > 0:23:58and Paradise By The Dashboard Light
0:23:58 > 0:23:59and its parent album, Bat Out Of Hell,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01sold by the millions.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08And then it was time for Meat to be served up to a British audience.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10The guy who presented The Old Grey Whistle Test
0:24:10 > 0:24:14was like so low-keyed and so underplayed.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18The band has had such an impact during the first few months of 1978.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Meat Loaf and Paradise By The Dashboard Light.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Then all of a sudden we start and we're like...
0:24:24 > 0:24:26like, you know...
0:24:26 > 0:24:2918 chainsaws coming through your television screen.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39I used to get to start the song every night.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Of course, it was nerve-racking when the camera zoomed in on me!
0:24:42 > 0:24:45On British television, for millions to see!
0:24:45 > 0:24:48I was well aware of The Old Grey Whistle Test
0:24:48 > 0:24:51being like a place where bands broke.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54# I remember every little thing
0:24:54 > 0:24:55# As if it happened only yesterday
0:24:57 > 0:24:58# Parking by the lake
0:24:58 > 0:25:00# And there was not another car in sight... #
0:25:00 > 0:25:03We certainly made an impact on the...
0:25:03 > 0:25:05- LAUGHS:- ..on the...
0:25:05 > 0:25:06on the English public!
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Because probably no-one had ever done
0:25:08 > 0:25:12a make-out scene on TV like that in the middle of the song.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Still one of the best-selling albums of all time,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22with 43 million sold to date,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24perhaps because it continues to let fans relive their lives
0:25:24 > 0:25:26through Steinman's stories.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Paradise allows people to remove me
0:25:31 > 0:25:33from the song
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and place themselves in my position.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40What I love is that people tell me they go to weddings,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43you know, bar mitzvahs, whatever,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and the girls are on one side of the room and the guys are on the other
0:25:46 > 0:25:48and they act it out.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50So, to be part of that, it's like...
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Those girls are me!
0:25:52 > 0:25:54After recording the album,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Ellen decided to concentrate on her solo career.
0:25:57 > 0:25:58So it was Karla DeVito who ended up
0:25:58 > 0:26:01lip-synching the vocal in performances.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03So maybe a reunion is long overdue.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07# Before we go any further Do you love me?
0:26:07 > 0:26:10# And will you love me forever? #
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Hey, Meat, if you're watching, which you probably are,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16you should have me come and sing the song with you.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18How great would that be?
0:26:18 > 0:26:20# OHHHHHHH... #
0:26:28 > 0:26:30MUSIC STOPS
0:26:31 > 0:26:35MUSIC: I Love Rock 'N' Roll by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
0:26:36 > 0:26:37Joan Jett's homage to rock and roll
0:26:37 > 0:26:40was a timely reassertion of old-school values
0:26:40 > 0:26:43with a take-no-prisoners female front woman on the mic.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49# I saw him dancing there by the record machine... #
0:26:50 > 0:26:53There was still a thing happening in the '70s and early '80s
0:26:53 > 0:26:55when Joan Jett was coming out.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57The idea of saying "I love rock and roll"
0:26:57 > 0:26:58was still an important thing,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00especially for a woman to say it.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02For a woman to say it was a big deal.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Just the term "rock and roll" was rebellious.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It was rebellious for me.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08I mean, I grew up -
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I started playing classical when I was four
0:27:11 > 0:27:12and I absolutely loved it.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15But when I discovered rock and roll,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17that was a whole other ballgame.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21I always loved Joan Jett. I just thought she was such a pioneer.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22# ..Yeah, me
0:27:22 > 0:27:25# Singing I love rock 'n' roll
0:27:25 > 0:27:27# So put another dime in the juke box, baby... #
0:27:27 > 0:27:30She was fighting for women -
0:27:30 > 0:27:32this was back in the 1980s -
0:27:32 > 0:27:34to, you know, not take shit
0:27:34 > 0:27:36and be empowered,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38stand up and face the enemy.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39In your face!
0:27:39 > 0:27:42# Singing I love rock 'n' roll
0:27:42 > 0:27:44# So put another dime in the juke box, baby
0:27:44 > 0:27:46# I love rock 'n' roll
0:27:46 > 0:27:49# Come on take your time and dance with me... #
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Keep in mind, y'all, I Love Rock 'N' Roll
0:27:52 > 0:27:54was a cover of a 1975 song by the Arrows,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58an Anglo-American outfit who achieved minor success in the UK
0:27:58 > 0:28:00in the post-glam era.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02# When I'm without you
0:28:02 > 0:28:04# Without you
0:28:04 > 0:28:06# With my dreams about you
0:28:06 > 0:28:08# About you
0:28:08 > 0:28:09# Will you still love me...? #
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Arrows had had three singles out
0:28:12 > 0:28:15and we did get Top Of The Tops. Boom!
0:28:15 > 0:28:17We needed a fourth single.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23# I love rock 'n' roll
0:28:23 > 0:28:26# So put another dime in the juke box, baby... #
0:28:26 > 0:28:29I was at a Top Rank ballroom
0:28:29 > 0:28:32and I saw these kids by the juke box,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35and they were meeting and walking off together into the night.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37I thought, "This is really cool.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40"Imagine this song coming out of the juke box."
0:28:43 > 0:28:46I wrote it from the point of view of the guy who's 17
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and singing "I love rock 'n' roll".
0:28:48 > 0:28:50I knew it was a hit chorus.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54# Singing I love rock 'n' roll
0:28:54 > 0:28:57# So put another dime in the juke box, baby
0:28:57 > 0:28:59# I love rock 'n' roll
0:28:59 > 0:29:02# Come on take your time and dance with me. #
0:29:04 > 0:29:05Woo!
0:29:05 > 0:29:07The chorus didn't score a hit for the Arrows.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10It did, however, present them with new opportunities.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15I Love Rock 'N' Roll served the Arrows very well,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18in that it got us the television series in 1976.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22# I saw her dancing there by the record machine
0:29:24 > 0:29:28# I knew she must have been about 17
0:29:28 > 0:29:30# Mm... #
0:29:30 > 0:29:32If we hadn't done the TV show,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Joan Jett would never have seen us do I Love Rock 'N' Roll.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39# School days
0:29:39 > 0:29:40# School days
0:29:40 > 0:29:43# I'm older now What will I find... #
0:29:43 > 0:29:45Joan Jett saw the potential of the song
0:29:45 > 0:29:48when she toured the UK with her all-girl band, the Runaways.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Having not managed to secure a hit with the Runaways,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53things needed to change.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57In 1982, with her new band the Blackhearts,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00and having joined forces with pop producer Kenny Laguna,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02Joan finally managed to achieve a hit single.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05# Singing I love rock 'n' roll
0:30:05 > 0:30:09# So put another dime in the juke box, baby
0:30:09 > 0:30:11# I love rock 'n' roll... #
0:30:11 > 0:30:15Joan Jett's the reason why I Love Rock 'N' Roll is an anthem.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18She pulled all the juice out of that track.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Gave it its monster beat,
0:30:21 > 0:30:23its huge hook
0:30:23 > 0:30:26and its anthemic chorus.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28# So come on take your time and dance with me. #
0:30:38 > 0:30:41Joan Jett wasn't the only long-serving rocker
0:30:41 > 0:30:42to finally make it in the '80s.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Chicago's Survivor were exactly that -
0:30:45 > 0:30:50rock and roll survivors who finally got signed to Atlantic in 1978.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Survivor... Every song that they ever wrote,
0:30:54 > 0:30:56whether they were successful at it or not,
0:30:56 > 0:30:57was designed to be an anthem.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01HE PLAYS "Eye Of The Tiger"
0:31:01 > 0:31:04It was a decade that saw America's movie star leader
0:31:04 > 0:31:07playing out the biggest role of his life,
0:31:07 > 0:31:09and the popularity of the American rock anthems
0:31:09 > 0:31:12meant Hollywood wanted in on the act.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15So when Rocky Balboa calls to ask you to write a rock anthem,
0:31:15 > 0:31:16you do it.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19I got a phone call out of the blue
0:31:19 > 0:31:21on my answering machine.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24"Hey, yo, Jim, give me a call. It's Sylvester Stallone."
0:31:24 > 0:31:26And I go, "Yeah, right, whatever."
0:31:26 > 0:31:28We called him back and he said, "Yeah, I love your band.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33"I want a song for my movie Rocky III. I want something for the kids.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36"Something with a pulse. Do you think you can help me out?"
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Is the Pope a Catholic? Yeah!
0:31:40 > 0:31:42I think we can do this.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44We were waiting our whole life for a moment like this.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Stallone says, "I want you to write it
0:31:46 > 0:31:48"for the montage at the beginning."
0:31:48 > 0:31:50We play it and what do we hear
0:31:50 > 0:31:53but Another One Bites The Dust by Queen.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56We go, "Well, you already had a song."
0:31:56 > 0:31:58He goes, "I can't get the publishing."
0:31:58 > 0:32:01I said, "Frankie, how are we ever going to match or beat that song?"
0:32:01 > 0:32:04And we decided, well, we've got to go for it, you know?
0:32:04 > 0:32:06So we turned down the sound
0:32:06 > 0:32:08and I just started going...
0:32:08 > 0:32:10PLAYS INTRO
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Just like that.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17It feels pretty good. Then the punches are being thrown...
0:32:19 > 0:32:21MUSIC: Eye Of The Tiger
0:32:27 > 0:32:30That's when we got the story of the underdog rising up.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35This trainer going, "Rocky, you've got to keep the eye of the tiger."
0:32:35 > 0:32:37And that's where we got the title.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39# Ooh, rising up
0:32:39 > 0:32:41# Back on the street
0:32:43 > 0:32:46# Did my time, took my chances
0:32:47 > 0:32:50# Went the distance Now I'm back on my feet
0:32:50 > 0:32:55# Just a man and his will to survive... #
0:32:55 > 0:32:57# It's the eye of the tiger
0:32:57 > 0:32:59# It's the thrill of the fight
0:32:59 > 0:33:03# Rising up to the challenge of our rival
0:33:03 > 0:33:06# And the last known survivor
0:33:06 > 0:33:08# Stalks his prey in the night
0:33:08 > 0:33:12# And he's watching us all with the eye
0:33:12 > 0:33:15# Of the tiger... #
0:33:15 > 0:33:19And we literally wrote this song in about an hour and a half.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23Sent it to Stallone. He said, "You guys really did it."
0:33:23 > 0:33:27# It's the eye of the tiger It's the thrill of the fight... #
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Once it hit, there was no stopping the song's success,
0:33:30 > 0:33:32as it clinched the double platinum title.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35I remember back when it was on the radio
0:33:35 > 0:33:38and we were performing it live, the people would scream...
0:33:38 > 0:33:41deafening screaming.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44We'd just look at each other like "Wow!"
0:33:44 > 0:33:46# Eye of the tiger... #
0:33:48 > 0:33:52What we didn't know is that it would be embraced for decades,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55you know, where it's actually as big now or bigger
0:33:55 > 0:33:59than it was in 1982 when we created it.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01Oh, my God!
0:34:01 > 0:34:02That was a good hour and a half.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04I got to do that again!
0:34:06 > 0:34:08# Eye of the tiger. #
0:34:10 > 0:34:13# You're as cold as ice
0:34:13 > 0:34:17# You're willing to sacrifice our love... #
0:34:18 > 0:34:20When British songwriter Mick Jones
0:34:20 > 0:34:23and soaring American vocalist Lou Gramm got together in 1976,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27they wanted to create the ultimate global rock band.
0:34:27 > 0:34:32We wanted to establish ourselves as a rock band.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37Not necessarily a heavy, heavy rock band, but a rock band nonetheless.
0:34:37 > 0:34:38The first album...
0:34:38 > 0:34:42just blew away any expectations anybody had.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48# But someday you'll pay... #
0:34:51 > 0:34:54In the beginning, their songwriting was on an intuitive level
0:34:54 > 0:34:57and Mick and Lou penned rock classics together.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Between the two writers, as you move along,
0:35:01 > 0:35:02the excitement builds.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06You can almost...you can almost feel the electricity.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10He would pick up what I felt and he would bring it out.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12We had a lot of ideas
0:35:12 > 0:35:16that we felt didn't compromise at all who we were.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19MUSIC: I Want To Know What Love Is
0:35:22 > 0:35:26But Mick's new love was about to give a softer, soulful edge
0:35:26 > 0:35:27to Foreigner's rock sound.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31My wife, or who was to become my wife,
0:35:31 > 0:35:33Anne...
0:35:34 > 0:35:36..was asleep in the other room
0:35:36 > 0:35:39and I had the beginning of this song and I had the chorus.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41And I ran in there and woke her up.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45I told her what the title was. She drowsily looked at me.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48"What do you mean, you want to know what love is?
0:35:48 > 0:35:50"Haven't you found it with me?"
0:35:51 > 0:35:54# I want to know what love is
0:35:57 > 0:36:00# I want you to show me... #
0:36:01 > 0:36:06I remember standing next to him, listening to him sing it
0:36:06 > 0:36:09and hearing the chords and stuff, and...
0:36:10 > 0:36:13..the hairs just stood up on the back of my neck.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16It was kind of clear that it was more than just a love song.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19It was more of a...
0:36:19 > 0:36:22of a spiritual nature.
0:36:22 > 0:36:27I was out visiting a friend and I played him the rough of the song.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30He said, "I think I've got an idea for that.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33"I've got a great choir that I just signed."
0:36:33 > 0:36:35So the choir came in and we were recording in New York.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38They got in their positions around the microphone
0:36:38 > 0:36:41and then they sang and it was...
0:36:41 > 0:36:43It was like angels.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46# I want to know what love is
0:36:46 > 0:36:48# Love that you feel inside
0:36:48 > 0:36:52# I want you to show me
0:36:52 > 0:36:54# I'm feeling so much love
0:36:54 > 0:36:56# I want to feel what love is... #
0:36:56 > 0:36:58It was just an experience I'll never forget.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01# You just can't hide
0:37:01 > 0:37:06# I want you to show me... #
0:37:08 > 0:37:10In 1984, the rock anthem was expanding.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12And by scoring a Number 1 hit with the song,
0:37:12 > 0:37:16arena band Foreigner proved that anthems now had heart AND soul.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21I guess the line gets fuzzy between anthem and power ballad, maybe.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25Because that may, to me, lean more into the power ballad area.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29# Yeeeahhh... #
0:37:29 > 0:37:32But when rock bands veer into ballad territory,
0:37:32 > 0:37:33things can get emotional
0:37:33 > 0:37:36and they risk losing their rock credibility.
0:37:36 > 0:37:37After that certain point
0:37:37 > 0:37:40with the success of I Want To Know What Love Is,
0:37:40 > 0:37:45our rock songs that we wrote sounded like afterthoughts.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48Radio programmers would skim over our rock songs
0:37:48 > 0:37:50from that point forward
0:37:50 > 0:37:52and only want the ballad.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55It started to splinter in the...
0:37:55 > 0:37:57mid-'80s, let's say.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02We carried on. There were personal problems with Lou and I.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06We could still tour reasonably and sell a fair amount of albums.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09# Now this mountain I must climb
0:38:12 > 0:38:15# Feels like a world upon my shoulders... #
0:38:15 > 0:38:20Other members of the band were just thrilled with the success,
0:38:20 > 0:38:22no matter what type of song it was.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26To me, that was nails in the coffin.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32# Ohhhhhhhhhh. #
0:38:36 > 0:38:39CROWD CHEERS
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Choosing between your rock roots
0:38:45 > 0:38:47or commercialising your sound is tricky,
0:38:47 > 0:38:49because this was the era of MTV
0:38:49 > 0:38:52and record companies were marketing their bands on chart success
0:38:52 > 0:38:54and image.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57There's no way in the world me or anybody else
0:38:57 > 0:38:59could have ever predicted
0:38:59 > 0:39:01the impact that
0:39:01 > 0:39:06this new cable channel would really go on to change the world.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09'MTV. Music television.'
0:39:09 > 0:39:12We've got the music here on MTV. You've also got me, Mark Goodman.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16MTV became the place to go
0:39:16 > 0:39:19for new music. We were doing things
0:39:19 > 0:39:21that AOR radio was not doing.
0:39:21 > 0:39:26If you had an anthem, it would be played over and over and over
0:39:26 > 0:39:30and not only would the song become embedded in your consciousness,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33but the image that the song left behind,
0:39:33 > 0:39:35because of MTV.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41MTV could now make or break a band nationally almost overnight.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44With big hair and stadium rock ruling the scene,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47these New Jersey rockers became MTV's sweethearts.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51MUSIC: Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi
0:39:53 > 0:39:56Bon Jovi came along at a time that was absolutely perfect
0:39:56 > 0:39:58for them, for MTV.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00MTV had become pretty big by then.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04They were really a great-looking - pardon me, Jonny - "hair band",
0:40:04 > 0:40:07as one might be called back in those '80s,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10that delivered songs that worked.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13# Gina works the diner all day
0:40:15 > 0:40:18# Working for her man She brings home her pay
0:40:18 > 0:40:20# For love... #
0:40:20 > 0:40:22If Foreigner had taken the anthem into spiritual territory,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26Bon Jovi offered up a redemption song for a whole new generation.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Livin' On A Prayer was, for us at MTV,
0:40:29 > 0:40:31just...
0:40:31 > 0:40:34gigantic. It was just unstoppable.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38I think the reason that Jon in particular worked
0:40:38 > 0:40:40and why his band worked for video,
0:40:40 > 0:40:44was that he was cute and he was comfortable.
0:40:44 > 0:40:45We used to get slammed for that,
0:40:45 > 0:40:48because Jon's a really good-looking guy.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50Right? We'd get slammed for that.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52I was like, "Dude, play that up!"
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Awesome, you know?
0:40:54 > 0:40:57You bring these crowds in because, you know, you have a certain look.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00But then you have the substance.
0:41:00 > 0:41:01After all these years, it's like...
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Listen. You can't just be a pretty face. You have to have substance.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11They may have been pretty boys,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13but Bon Jovi's turbo-charged rewrite of the American Dream
0:41:13 > 0:41:16didn't shy away from the economic downturn of the mid-'80s
0:41:16 > 0:41:18so much as leap right over it.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21# Tommy used to work on the docks
0:41:22 > 0:41:24# The union were on strike
0:41:24 > 0:41:27# He's down on his luck
0:41:27 > 0:41:28# It's tough... #
0:41:28 > 0:41:32They talk about the American Dream, but the American Dream
0:41:32 > 0:41:35is actually really hard to get and out of reach for a lot of people.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39When you need to have a reservoir of faith,
0:41:39 > 0:41:41a lot of kids go to rock and roll.
0:41:41 > 0:41:42And they hear their story.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45When you really need faith and you need to turn to rock and roll,
0:41:45 > 0:41:47you can turn to Livin' On A Prayer.
0:41:47 > 0:41:48# What'd she say?
0:41:48 > 0:41:53# She says we've got to hold on to what we've got
0:41:53 > 0:41:56# It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
0:41:56 > 0:42:00# We've got each other and that's a lot
0:42:00 > 0:42:02# For love... #
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Livin' On A Prayer reflected the political climate
0:42:04 > 0:42:08in that it was...we're going to get by, regardless of what you say.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10We're going to make it happen.
0:42:10 > 0:42:11We may be livin' on a prayer,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14but that prayer will come true. It will be answered.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17That sentiment is an American sentiment.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20It's us against the world. We can do this.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23When I heard Livin' On A Prayer, I said, "Dammit!
0:42:23 > 0:42:25"They did it again."
0:42:25 > 0:42:26I'm talking about not only Bon Jovi,
0:42:26 > 0:42:28but Desmond Child.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33He is pop. He is the king of the modulation, I call him.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36We wrote Livin' On A Prayer in a little apartment
0:42:36 > 0:42:37where I was staying
0:42:37 > 0:42:39on the Upper East Side in New York.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41It was a little railroad apartment.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44My girlfriend at the time, Maria Vidal,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46worked as a waitress
0:42:46 > 0:42:48at a place called Once Upon A Stove.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51And everybody there called her Gina.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54because she reminded them of Gina Lollobrigida.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58So we started telling the story of a rocker
0:42:58 > 0:43:00who works on the docks
0:43:00 > 0:43:03and had to give up his guitar so they could eat another day
0:43:03 > 0:43:06and they had dreams.
0:43:06 > 0:43:07# Ohhhhhh
0:43:07 > 0:43:09# We're halfway there
0:43:09 > 0:43:11# Ohhhhhh
0:43:11 > 0:43:13# Livin' on a prayer
0:43:13 > 0:43:14# Take my hand
0:43:14 > 0:43:17# We'll make it, I swear
0:43:17 > 0:43:18# Ohhhhhh
0:43:18 > 0:43:20# Livin' on a prayer
0:43:20 > 0:43:24# Livin' on a prayer... #
0:43:24 > 0:43:27When it came to interpreting the lyric,
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Jon Bon Jovi never fails to deliver to an audience.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33As a lead singer, I think you have to not only be the entertainer,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35but you also have to service the song.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37The lyric of the song.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39And make that audience
0:43:39 > 0:43:42realise what that lyric actually holds
0:43:42 > 0:43:44in their hearts.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48A great singer will raise an anthem to another level.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51The front man can't see you eye to eye,
0:43:51 > 0:43:54but you have to feel that he's singing that song right to you.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57One of my favourite moments at a Bon Jovi concert
0:43:57 > 0:44:00is to stand there in the middle of the audience
0:44:00 > 0:44:02when he's singing Livin' On A Prayer.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04I never really look up on the stage.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07I look up all around to the rafters.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09Everybody's on their feet.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11Everybody's screaming the song.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13You can't even hear the band.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15# Ohhhhhh
0:44:15 > 0:44:17# We're halfway there
0:44:17 > 0:44:19# Ohhhhhh
0:44:19 > 0:44:21# Livin' on a prayer
0:44:21 > 0:44:23# Take my hand
0:44:23 > 0:44:25# We'll make it, I swear... #
0:44:25 > 0:44:28In the early Reagan era, Bon Jovi had managed to pull off the trick
0:44:28 > 0:44:30of reaffirming the American Dream.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32But by the early 1990s,
0:44:32 > 0:44:35things hadn't gotten better for the working-class kids
0:44:35 > 0:44:37and suddenly the optimism and escapism
0:44:37 > 0:44:39of the hair-band era seemed out of touch.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41There were all these hair bands
0:44:41 > 0:44:45and they have ruled the rock landscape for literally ten years.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48In one stroke of Smells Like Teen Spirit,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51it's like the sickle came and lopped all their heads off.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54They became a style that had ended, almost immediately.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58Personally, I couldn't relate to a dude wearing Spandex
0:44:58 > 0:45:00and whose hair's this big,
0:45:00 > 0:45:02in a limousine with a fucking stripper.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06Because I was making minimum wage...
0:45:06 > 0:45:09busting ass just to pay the rent
0:45:09 > 0:45:11and playing punk rock,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15because I was angry or empowered or inspired like...yeaahhhh!
0:45:15 > 0:45:18I think there were a lot of people like me that were like,
0:45:18 > 0:45:22"Godammit, I want something fucking real and noisy
0:45:22 > 0:45:25"and I want someone to break their shit in front of me."
0:45:25 > 0:45:28- I'm Krist.- And I'm Dave. - And I'm Kurt.
0:45:30 > 0:45:31And we are...
0:45:33 > 0:45:34Nirvana!
0:45:34 > 0:45:37MUSIC: Smells Like Teen Spirit
0:45:41 > 0:45:43When the music scene doesn't connect with a generation,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47an anti-anthem anthem takes it back to the kids.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Teen Spirit is the black sheep of...
0:45:50 > 0:45:51rock anthems.
0:45:51 > 0:45:56First time I heard it, I went, "Huh! Why didn't I write that?" You know?
0:45:56 > 0:46:00This is School's Out 20 years later.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03But...WAY angrier.
0:46:03 > 0:46:04# A mulatto
0:46:04 > 0:46:06# An albino
0:46:06 > 0:46:09# A mosquito
0:46:09 > 0:46:11# My libido... #
0:46:12 > 0:46:14When Kurt Cobain sings "A mosquito, my libido",
0:46:14 > 0:46:16I always thought..."Oh, wow!"
0:46:16 > 0:46:20What an amazing, poetic way to say...
0:46:20 > 0:46:23to feel the frustration of being a young man in America at that time.
0:46:23 > 0:46:28Speaking possibly as the voice of a generation, saying...
0:46:28 > 0:46:31Hmm...what's happened to culture in the early '90s?
0:46:31 > 0:46:33Where are we?
0:46:33 > 0:46:36Why does the 18-year-old man feel impotent?
0:46:36 > 0:46:39Hence mosquito-sized libido.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41# Hello, hello, hello
0:46:41 > 0:46:43# How low? #
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Smells Like Teen Spirit came from a jam.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50That's where that quiet verse and loud chorus came from.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52We were just doing it by instinct.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55It feels like it's going to explode right now!
0:46:55 > 0:46:57And then you go on to the next part.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59# Hello, hello
0:46:59 > 0:47:00# With the lights out
0:47:00 > 0:47:02# It's less dangerous
0:47:02 > 0:47:04# Here we are now
0:47:04 > 0:47:06# Entertain us... #
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Nirvana sought out up-and-coming indie producer Butch Vig.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12When we got into rehearsals,
0:47:12 > 0:47:14Kurt started the guitar riff
0:47:14 > 0:47:16and Dave hit that drum fill
0:47:16 > 0:47:19and they kicked in and I was absolutely blown away.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21And when they finished the song,
0:47:21 > 0:47:24I sort of stood there and I got up and started pacing around.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26I looked at all the other songs and I didn't know what to do.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28I was like..."Play it again!"
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Butch comes to the studio
0:47:30 > 0:47:32and then he makes little suggestions
0:47:32 > 0:47:36that are never overwhelming or intrusive.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38And you record and then you come back and listen
0:47:38 > 0:47:41and it's like, "Jesus, Butch, how did you do that?!"
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Kurt still had this punk ethic
0:47:43 > 0:47:45that he felt like he didn't want to cheat.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47It had to kind of be live in the studio.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49Even though I recorded the live vocal,
0:47:49 > 0:47:52I liked going back and having a little more control.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54He didn't like to do that,
0:47:54 > 0:47:56so I'd have to push him
0:47:56 > 0:47:59and using Beatles references was a good way.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02When I wanted to double his voice and he said, "No, that's cheating",
0:48:02 > 0:48:05I said, "Well, John Lennon did it on everything he sang".
0:48:05 > 0:48:08Kurt would think about that for about ten seconds and he'd go,
0:48:08 > 0:48:09"OK".
0:48:09 > 0:48:12# Hello, hello, hello
0:48:12 > 0:48:14# How low?
0:48:14 > 0:48:16# Hello, hello, hello
0:48:16 > 0:48:17# How low? #
0:48:17 > 0:48:21The band decided to do a secret gig
0:48:21 > 0:48:24at a tiny little club on Pico called Jabberjaw
0:48:24 > 0:48:28and the word had got out on one of the local radio stations
0:48:28 > 0:48:31and there was a huge line to get in.
0:48:31 > 0:48:32Probably 500 or 600 people.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36It was so cramped, and they started out with Teen Spirit.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47Even though no-one there had ever heard this song,
0:48:47 > 0:48:48people's jaws dropped.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50They knew that they were
0:48:50 > 0:48:52at ground zero to hearing...
0:48:52 > 0:48:55Nirvana's music explode.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58If you were into that song,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01in those years, then you were a part of something.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03# With the lights out
0:49:03 > 0:49:05# It's less dangerous
0:49:05 > 0:49:07# Here we are now
0:49:07 > 0:49:09# Entertain us... #
0:49:09 > 0:49:12It's hard for me to really, like, think of
0:49:12 > 0:49:14that song or Nirvana in that way.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16Cos, to me, it was like...
0:49:16 > 0:49:19It was me and Krist and Kurt, you know?
0:49:19 > 0:49:21And we were kids.
0:49:22 > 0:49:27Whenever I think about the impact that album had or that song,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30I just think about the impact it had on my life, you know?
0:49:30 > 0:49:32All of a sudden I could pay the rent.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35I don't have to work at the fucking furniture warehouse
0:49:35 > 0:49:38any more, you know? It's like...cool!
0:49:39 > 0:49:41I was going to go back to college, but fuck that!
0:49:43 > 0:49:45# A denial
0:49:45 > 0:49:47# A denial. #
0:49:47 > 0:49:49CROWD CHEERS
0:49:50 > 0:49:52MUSIC: School's Out by Alice Cooper
0:49:57 > 0:50:00From teenage anthems to AOR anthems
0:50:00 > 0:50:03to MTV anthems to anti-rock anthems,
0:50:03 > 0:50:05these classics make up an American soundtrack
0:50:05 > 0:50:07to 20 years of world domination.
0:50:09 > 0:50:10And now, in the new millennium,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13when America's no longer quite the leader of the world it once was,
0:50:13 > 0:50:16the American rock anthem keeps it real,
0:50:16 > 0:50:17drops the arrogance
0:50:17 > 0:50:20and has become...well, less proudly American.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23# Don't want to be an American idiot
0:50:23 > 0:50:25# One nation controlled by the media
0:50:25 > 0:50:27# Information age of hysteria... # Go!
0:50:27 > 0:50:30CROWD: # It's calling out to idiot America
0:50:30 > 0:50:33# Welcome to a new kind of tension... #
0:50:33 > 0:50:36I think the American rock anthem is still very much alive today.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39I think it's coloured in different hues and shades.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42I think it's taken on a different texture.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44I think it's a little grittier.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46# Ohhhhh
0:50:48 > 0:50:51# Your sex is on fire... #
0:50:51 > 0:50:54I think most bands are trying to write that song.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57Most bands are trying to write that one song
0:50:57 > 0:51:00that is definitive to them.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03Foo Fighters have written some great anthems,
0:51:03 > 0:51:04great anthems.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06In fact, when you go see them live,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09they play an incredible song and you go...
0:51:09 > 0:51:14"That is...a mind-bending powerful anthem."
0:51:14 > 0:51:17CROWD: # Ohhhhhhhh
0:51:19 > 0:51:21# Ohhhhhhhh... #
0:51:21 > 0:51:24When you're on the lip of the stage
0:51:24 > 0:51:27and you're conducting a stadium full of people
0:51:27 > 0:51:30singing a lyric that you wrote...
0:51:30 > 0:51:32on a fucking napkin, you know?
0:51:32 > 0:51:35And it means something different to each one of those people,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38that's really inspiring.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41# Is someone getting the best the best, the best
0:51:41 > 0:51:44# The best of you? #
0:51:44 > 0:51:46These songs all kind of give us some thrill.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49We're all feel-good junkies, aren't we?
0:51:49 > 0:51:53And an anthem absolutely is a feel-good junkie's fix.
0:51:53 > 0:51:54# You trust
0:51:54 > 0:51:56# You must confess
0:51:56 > 0:51:58# Getting the best, the best
0:51:58 > 0:52:02# The best, the best of you. #
0:52:18 > 0:52:20CROWD CHEERS