"Roll Over Beethoven: The Chess Records Saga" is the title of a major new British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) TV documentary, debuting in the UK next week.
The hour-long special marks the 60th anniversary of Chess Records, the music label responsible for two epochal developments at the dawn of popular music: Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf pioneering bass, drums and amplified guitar, then the progression that took this electric blues to a mainstream white audience, as Chuck Berry and BO DIDDLEY converted the sound into rock & roll.
The documentary thrilling evokes the liberal, cosmopolitan atmosphere of Chicago, IL in the 1940s, '50s and '60s and how the Chess family and their artists, unafraid to innovate and integrate, rode a wave of social change.
"Roll Over Beethoven: The Chess Records Saga" is due for broadcast on the BBC Four digital TV network on Friday November 12th at 9.00pm-10.00pm GMT/UTC, with an encore presentation on Saturday November 13th at 1.30am-2.30am GMT/UTC. More info at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/08_august/25/musicperformance.shtml#panel11 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/
