or


[02/12/24 - 10:05 AM]
PBS Premieres Powerful, Revisionist History of Popular 1970s Music in "Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution," A Three-Part Docuseries in Summer 2024
Told by the original musicians, promoters, and innovators - as well as modern-day musical icons - this BBC Studios Production will premiere Tuesday, June 18 on PBS (check local listings), PBS.org, and the PBS App.

[via press release from PBS]

PBS PREMIERES POWERFUL, REVISIONIST HISTORY OF POPULAR 1970s MUSIC IN "DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION," A THREE-PART DOCUSERIES IN SUMMER 2024

Series Shines Light on Disco's Groovy Beginnings, Featuring The Village People's Victor Willis, Labelle's Nona Hendryx, The Trammps' Earl Young, The Father of House Music, Marshall Jefferson, Scissor Sisters' Ana Matronic and Jake Shears, Sylvester's Jeanie Tracy, MNEK, Kim Petras, Jocelyn Brown, Jessie Ware, George McCrae, Dexter Wansel, Candi Staton, Anita Ward, David Morales, Honey Dijon, DJ Hollywood, Jamie Principle, Robert Williams, Ron Trent, and More

ARLINGTON, VA; FEB. 12, 2024 - PBS tackles the surprising and overlooked history of disco - the preeminent popular music of the 1970s - in a three-part series, DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION. Announced today by PBS President and CEOPaula Kerger during her executive session at the network's TCA Winter Press Tour, the docuseries captures the story of disco: its rise, its fall, and its legacy. From the basement bars of '70s New York City to the peak of the global charts, along with iconic tracks and remarkable footage, DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION offers a powerful, revisionist history of the disco age. Told by the original musicians, promoters, and innovators - as well as modern-day musical icons - this BBC Studios Production will premiere Tuesday, June 18 on PBS (check local listings), PBS.org, and the PBS App.

Disco embodied the height of 1970s glamour: a dance floor culture born in New York City that went on to take over the world. But its success also obscured its wider significance. Inextricably bound up with the major liberation movements of the 1970s, disco speaks to some of the biggest issues of today: LGBTQ+ identity and female empowerment.

"Charting disco from its inception and global domination to the violent attempts to end the genre, DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION reclaims its roots," said Sylvia Bugg, chief programming executive and general manager, general audience programming at PBS. "Before commercialization, discothèques belonged to the marginalized and the dispossessed, who tapped into the beat-driven music and the disco scene in a battle for community, identity, and inclusivity."

Jonathan Rothery, head of popular music TV/commissioning editor, factual, at the BBC says: "There's no doubt that DISCO had an enormous impact - not just on the musical landscape at the time of its emergence and far beyond, but as a social and cultural force for change. This documentary series from BBC Studios, which the BBC has supported together with PBS, will highlight many new or untold stories of the genre. I'm looking forward to sharing DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION with audiences on PBS."

DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION also underscores disco's survival. Co-opted by the commercial mainstream, the genre dominated and flooded the market - the airwaves and record shops - leading to a subsequent hate-fueled backlash. As a result, the music and its ethos went back underground, where it evolved into an electronic dance sound that laid the foundations for contemporary dance culture.

A brief overview of the three-part docuseries is as follows:

Episode 1: "Rock the Boat"

Premieres: Tuesday, June 18

The opening episode of the series looks at the roots of disco - how it emerged from a basic desire for inclusion, visibility, and freedom among persecuted Black, gay, and minority ethnic communities of New York City. It tells the remarkable story of how a global phenomenon began in the loft apartments and basement bars of New York City, where a new generation of DJs and musicians, like David Mancuso, Nicky Siano, Francis Grasso, and Earl Young (The Trammps), pioneered a distinct sound and a new way of spinning records.

Episode 2: "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"

Premieres: Tuesday, June 25

Set against the backdrop of Black power and sexual liberation, the second episode takes viewers to the high watermark of disco in the mid '70s. As disco conquers the mainstream, it turns Black women and gay men into superstars and icons. It is a world where the drag queen Sylvester was king, and Black women found a powerful new voice - one that fused Black Power with a call for sexual freedom. It was the birth of the "disco diva" from Gloria Gaynor and Candi Staton to Donna Summer and Thelma Houston. However, mainstream success by The Bee Gees' soundtrack album "Saturday Night Fever," The Rolling Stones' "Miss You," Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy," and Studio 54 took disco further and further from its roots of inclusivity and freedom, as straight, white men started to embrace and repackage the sound.

Episode 3: "Stayin' Alive"

Premieres: Tuesday, July 2

The final episode documents the wellspring of resentment from white, straight, male-dominated, rock-loving middle Americans, as they targeted disco for its hedonism, femininity, and queerness. A vocal "Disco Sucks" movement began to gain momentum, culminating in the "Disco Demolition Derby" at Comiskey Park Stadium in Chicago, where organizers destroyed thousands of disco records in front of a baying audience of baseball fans. In addition, the hedonism and sexual liberation embodied by disco found itself stopped in its tracks by the AIDS crisis. Pushed out of the mainstream, the pioneers of disco retreated and regrouped. Cult disco DJ Frankie Knuckles left New York for Chicago, where he remixed disco breaks with R&B to produce a new genre of dance music - house. He and other disco pioneers kept disco alive as it evolved into world electronic dance music.

DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION features some of disco's originators, musicians, promoters, and innovators, as well as modern-day musical icons, such as: Vince Aletti, Steve Ashkinazy, Bill Bernstein, Joyce Bogart Trabulus, Jocelyn Brown, Carmen D'Alessio, David Depino, Lisa Farrington, Nona Hendryx, Thelma Houston, Marshall Jefferson, Francois Kevorkian, Tina Magennis, Ana Matronic, George McCrae, David Morales, Tom Moulton, Colleen Murphy, John Parikhal, Kim Petras, Mark Riley, Allen Roskoff, Alex Rosner, Michelle Saunders, Jake Shears, Nicky Siano, Candi Staton, Jeanie Tracy, Barry Walters, Dexter Wansel, Anita Ward, Jessie Ware, Sharon White, Victor Willis, Earl Young, Jamie Principle, Robert Williams, Ron Trent, DJ Hollywood, Honey Dijon, and MNEK.

For more information on DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION, including clips and episode previews, visit the PBS PressRoom.

DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION is a BBC Studios Production for PBS and BBC. The docuseries is produced and directed by Louise Lockwood and Shianne Brown. Catherine Abbott serves as series producer, Flora Stewart as story producer, and Becky Marshall as producer. The executive producing team is Alexander Leith as executive producer and Anna Sadowy as edit executive producer. Tom Hayward is the series director of photography and Grace Chapman is the series director. The commissioning editor for the BBC is Rachel Davies.Jonathan Rothery serves as head of popular music, TV/commissioning editor, factual, alongside Rachel Davies as commissioner.

ABOUT PBS

PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 42 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 15 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, and 56 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS's broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV - including a PBS KIDS channel - and streaming free onpbskids.org and thePBS KIDS Video app, games on thePBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook, Instagram, or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on X (formerly Twitter).

-PBS-





  [february 2024]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION (PBS)





[11/26/24 - 12:03 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Nov. 18: "The Merry Gentlemen" and "A Man on the Inside" Take the Top Spots
Season 2 of the animated series "Arcane" laid siege to #2 (6.4M views), while Season 1 took #5 with 2.2M views.

[11/26/24 - 11:44 AM]
TNT Sports to Debut "Evolve and Flex" with Lance Fresh Friday, Dec. 6, on truTV and Max
The show is hosted by sports-lifestyle expert Lance Fresh and features candid conversations with guests to discuss how life's events have contributed to their sense of style.

[11/26/24 - 11:19 AM]
MGM+ Announces 2025 Premiere Date for "NFL Icons" Season Four
In the upcoming fourth season, the docuseries will feature Pro Football Hall of Famers Joe Montana, DeMarcus Ware, Kurt Warner and Gale Sayers.

[11/26/24 - 10:24 AM]
Video: "Rogue Heroes" (MGM+ 2025 Series) Season 2 Tease
"Rogue Heroes" is a dramatized account of how the world's greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

[11/26/24 - 10:09 AM]
Video: Acorn TV Releases Official Trailer for Second Season of Hit Australian Drama, "Darby and Joan"
The new season debuts with a two-episode premiere, exclusively on Acorn TV, on December 30, followed by weekly episodes through January 27.

[11/26/24 - 10:01 AM]
ABC News Studios Announces Fourth Season of Hit True-Crime Series "Wild Crime," Streaming Dec. 5 Only on Hulu
"Wild Crime: Eleven Skulls" delves into the haunting 2012 disappearance of Samantha Koenig, an 18-year-old Anchorage barista last seen leaving her place of work with an unknown man on a dark winter night.

[11/26/24 - 08:32 AM]
Bravo Greenlights "Vanderpump Rules" Season 12 with a New Group of SUR-vers
In addition, "Vanderpump Rules" will celebrate the past decade of heartbreaks, friendship rifts and scandals with a retrospective special highlighting the past 11 seasons.

[11/26/24 - 08:30 AM]
Video: Paramount+ and Nickelodeon Reveal Teaser, First-Look Images and Premiere Date for "Henry Danger The Movie"
"Henry Danger The Movie" will be available to stream in the U.S. on Paramount+ Friday, January 17, and premiere on Nickelodeon that same day at 7 p.m. (ET/PT).

[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World" - Official Teaser - Netflix
Makayla is a teenage girl who has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal until her parents, filled with unwavering belief in their daughter's potential, embarked on a transformative journey to discover the true depth of Makayla's inner world.

[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM]
HBO Announces Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui's Award-Winning "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Debuting December 7 on HBO and Max
The critically acclaimed film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and recently won six Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

[11/26/24 - 08:00 AM]
HGTV Greenlights Gutsy Las Vegas Renovation Series "Sin City Rehab" (wt) Starring Indomitable Designer Alison Victoria
The eight-episode series will document Alison, best known for her Emmy-nominated series "Windy City Rehab," taking the biggest gamble of her career as she expands her successful design business out West.

[11/26/24 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "The Manny" Season 2 - Release Date Announcement - Netflix
A busy executive hires a cowboy to care for her kids in a moment of panic. Little does she know he'll challenge her views of gender roles - and of love.

[11/26/24 - 06:58 AM]
"The Talk" Series Finale to Air Live on Friday, December 20
Over the show's 15 season run, "The Talk" will have aired 2,993 episodes, garnered over 70 awards/nominations, promoted over 10,800 guests, gifted over $103 million in giveaways, and welcomed over 250,000 audience members.

[11/26/24 - 06:01 AM]
"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" Will Debut Early - Watch the Two-Episode Premiere Streaming December 2 Only on Disney+!
Look for new weekly episodes every Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. PT on December 10.

[11/26/24 - 06:01 AM]
Paramount+ Sets December 9 Premiere for Docuseries on American Soccer Star Christian Pulisic
The first episode will premiere in December, while episodes two and three will premiere in January.