NPT Music Monthly March 2010: Chet Atkins and more

Let’s be honest. The 80s don’t usually hold up musically as well as the decades that came before them. Is anyone really looking forward to the Here I Go Again: Drenched in Echo Explosion: My Music: the Best of the 80s special? Well, maybe, especially if you came of age during that time (and that would include me). Yes, there were some great bands and some great music that came out of the decade, but there were also some bad hair, wardrobe and reverb choices.

Imagine then, that it’s 1987. You turn off MTV and leave – for the moment, at least – Tawny Kitaen atop her Jaguar in Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” video. You take a break from coveting George Michael’s leather jacket in the “Faith” video. And Heart, well, they can get you “Alone” at another time. You’re one of the lucky few to get into Vanderbilt University’s Neeley Auditorium to see some of Nashville’s finest musicians celebrate one of the world’s greatest. There’s Mark Knopfler — himself an MTV staple at the time, the Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald and a band of Music City’s finest players all honoring and playing with already legendary guitarist and producer Chet Atkins.

It happened, and people have been talking about it ever since. The show was never broadcast or made available after its initial cable broadcast, until now. So tune in on Thursday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. for Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player to see Knopler join Atkins for “I’ll See You in My Dreams” and the Dire Straits classic “Walk of Life;” The Everly Brothers play a medley of their hits, including “All I Have to Do Is Dream” and “Bye Bye Love;” Atkins, Jennings and Nelson do “Good Hearted Woman;” and more.

On Sunday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m., we’ve got an all-star concert of another sort. The T.A.M.I. Show – Rock ‘n’ Roll’s First Concert Film. Short for Teen Age Music International, this 1964 concert film – the first of the rock era – featured the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Supremes and many others in their prime. One of my favorite music documentaries of the past few years, Young @ Heart, airs via Independent Lens on Wednesday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m. Inspiring, engaging and entertaining, Young @ Heart picked up the Impact of Music Award at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival.

Our March Membership Drive means we’re breaking out the big entertainment guns, making it an especially great month of music programming on NPT. Thanks for the support!

Read the Rest of the NPT Music Monthly March 2010 on the wnpt.net news page. It’s the complete listing of all the music programming coming to NPT this month, including all the above mentioned artists, plus Tim Janis, Roy Orbison, Celtic Woman, Ben Harler and the Relentless 7, Seal, The Moody Blues, Michael Bolton and plenty more. Subscribe for free at wnpt.net. Tell your friends!