Rock Concert

I will be honest: as a kid I had NO IDEA who Don Kirshner was or why he would have to show his face on every episode. What I did find was the spoof of him on another of my favorite late night shows, "Saturday Night Live" extremely funny. that being said, its amazing when you get older you wish you knew then..what you know now.

What I know NOW is that Mr. Kirshner was the biggest mogul in the music industry and the television industry -- with many folks under his belt from Bobby Darin to the Monkees (okay, I was a kid and I loved these guys!), the Archies and running record label after record label and simultaneously President of Screen Gems, etc., etc. So placing his stamp on "Rock Concert" was not an ego thing, but an educational thing. And he brought a weekly series to late night TV that got us "into" the music.

This, along with "The Midnight Special" and "Saturday Night Live" defined the 70's generation. While placing this on DVD may be dated to some music fans of today, it should be done so many can see to whom the acts today obviously copied from. (Sampling, etc.) This show was exciting... raw...and for a kid like me who was NO WHERE near a legal age to get into rock clubs or go to concerts...this was the only access I had. I couldn't WAIT to get 18 and do the "circuit" in New York.

Watching Pat Benatar on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert was the defining moment for me. She was new, exciting -- and always at CBGB's in new York..a place I couldn't WAIT to go to -- or play in. Forget the GoGo's and the Bangles who were to come later - this was the lady to watch. Sadly by the time I got of age, CBGB's was gone....(at least I got to go to The Ritz..once!!!)MTV was in and many you know the rest of the story.

Don Kirshner's Rock Concert is another wonderful piece of music history that should be on DVD and a part of every music program in Colleges and Univerities..as well as the music fanatic's home.

This was the greatest late night rock show of the 70s. I just can't understand why this series has not been released on DVD.It showcased the best names in rock of the day.I remember when i was a kid i always tried to stay up late on Saturday nights to watch rock concert.Kirshner was the coolest announcing the bands before their performance. The show not only had the popular bands but also the underground groups as well. This made it very original a appealed to a wider audience.Again i am baffled why this is not available to the public.You will never see it on any TV station today.Although VH1 did air some back in 1996.Only problem was they butchered the shows and it was a tease but at the same time it was good to see a sneak peak of it after all those years. This Show Rocked!!!

The reason that is not out on DVD is that several years back, Kirshner turned all the masters (reportedly they are in near pristine condition) over to a company called Historic Films, which is a historical archive organization. The footage is made available for a fee to Film and Television Producers, Ad Agencies, Corporate Producers, Feature Film Producers and Documentary Filmmakers as stock footage.

It sounds like, unless Historic Films agree to it, DVDs of Rock Concert will never be released. That is a shame because I lived and breathed for Saturday nights in the 70s when that show came on the tube. I would be the first in line to buy the DVDs if they ever were released. Rock Concert and the Midnight Special may be the only sources of quality footage of many of the 70s greatest rock bands.

So Sad...

You can look this video up on YouTube. This video should have better coverage on IMDB. This video is pure madness. From beginning to end; you keep asking yourself, is this real? T Rex keeps going off script with guitar; riff after guitar riff. This video proves how good this dude could play. I love how he rises from the dead so to speak from a star, from the stage. Look when I first saw this it blew my mind for the second time; since I 1st heard T Rex album: Tanx. I heard this album when I was about 12 years old. I could not believe what I was hearing back then and all I could think of was; David Bowie was right. T Rex albums were the impedomie of all rock and roll at that time. People just would not see it. Sad. Really sad that we do not concentrate on the beauty of the moment we live in. If we could just look at and realize the gems among us and cultivate that. T Rex slipped threw our hands. T Rex was better than Jimi Hendrix if Jimi was right handed and played a Gibson. T Rex was a expert electric guitarist when there was no real expert guitarist's. All that and he played a Gibson. Wish I could afford a Gibson. I do have a knock off Fender; thanks to China. Jimi sure liked a Fender and that is good enough for me.

Growing up in the pre-MTV era, there was a slew of music video shows including "Rock Concert", "Night Flight", and others who wanted to transfer music to TV. This kind of show is what MTV and VH1 should have been. Every week Kirschner would give a little history of the band and the performance you were about to see then sit back and let the music roll. Some of my best Friday nights were spent watching this show... ;-)