Dear NPT Supporter,

Nashville respects its songs and songwriters, and this month, our fall pledge drive celebrates both with Nashville broadcast premieres featuring some of the best in the business. It was just over 30 years ago that Billy Joel released The Stranger, an album as legendary for its cover art as for its songs. The album includes a staggering number of what would become Joel classics: “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” “Just the Way You Are,” “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” “Only The Good Die Young,” “She’s Always a Woman,” and the title track. Following the album’s release in 1977, Joel made his  British TV debut on The Old Grey Whistle Test, where he performed many of these songs as well as “New York State of Mind” and “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” from 1976’s “Turnstiles.” We’re excited now to be part of the wave of U.S. broadcast premieres of this excellent live performance. Billy Joel: The Stranger Live airs Sunday, September 7 at 8:30 p.m.

When you’re done fathoming the hits on The Stranger, try to wrap your head around the greatness of Carole King’s 1971 classic Tapestry. Let’s run down some of the hits, shall we?  “I Feel the Earth Move,” “So Far Away,” “It’s Too Late,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” In a performance King proclaims is "a night about songwriting," we’re proud to bring you Carole King: Welcome to My Living Room, at 8:30 p.m on Sunday, September 14. Filmed during King’s sold out and critically-acclaimed 2005-06 Living Room World Tour, it’s an intimate evening with a truly gifted artist.

Don’t miss The Who tear it up at the Gaumont State Theatre in Kilburn, North London in the never-been-released, digitally restored and remastered  The Who at Kilburn 1977 on Tuesday, September 16 at 8:30 p.m.

I try to be impartial in what I highlight up here in the intro, but I can’t help but be excited about That's Amore: Italian-American Favorites  on Thursday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. Join me, will you?

It’s another great month of music programming on NPT.

Friday, September 5, 2008

7:00-9:00
Marty Robbins - Seems  Like Yesterday
In vintage performance clips, Robbins sings his hits such as "El Paso," "A White Sport Coat," "Devil Woman," and more. 10:30-midnight
The Time Jumpers: Jumpin' Time
Recorded in May 2006 at the Station Inn in Nashville, THE TIME JUMPERS: JUMPIN' TIME showcases the talents of "Nashville's best-kept musical secret," the 11-member band credited with reinventing Western swing. The special also features interviews and commentaries from group members and recording artists Vince Gill (a part-time "Jumper"), Linda Davis, Sonya Isaacs, Rhonda Vincent and Jeannie Seely.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

6:00-8:00
Classic Gospel Special Edition
Some 20 gospel favorites are performed by artists including George Beverly Shea, Larnelle Harris, CeCe Winans, Sandi Patty, Vestal Goodman and the Gaither Vocal Band.
8:00-10:00
Gershwin at One Symphony Place HD
Live from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the Nashville Symphony’s Season Opening Gala features Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero and pianist Kevin Cole in the First Tennesee All-Gershwin Gala.
10:00-midnight
My Music: The 70's Experience

Sunday, September 7, 2008

7:00-8:30
John Denver: A Song's Best Friend
This touching look back at the legendary artist features selections from John Denver's 1970s television series and rare concert footage.
8:30-10:00
Billy Joel: The Stranger Live
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hicksville, New York native's breakthrough album, The Stranger,  with the Nashville broadcast premiere of Billy Joel's 1978 British concert debut -- a live television performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The legendary performer and songwriter offers "Only the Good Die Young," “Movin’ Out,”“Just the Way You Are,” and other hits.

Monday, September 8, 2008

7:00-8:00
He Touched Me: The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley
Elvis’ love for gospel music is explored in this touching documentary.
8:00-10:00
My Music: The 70’s Experience
Hosted by the Brady Bunch’s Barry Williams, this special includes new live and classic archival performances with some of the most loves tunes from the 1970s.
10:30-midnight
John Denver: A Song’s Best Friend
See September 7.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

8:00-10:00
Andre Rieu: Live in Vienna
Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra and Choir perform on the square in front of the imperial Hofburg Palace in the heart of Vienna.
10:30-midnight
Billy Joel: The Stranger Live
See September 7.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

8:00-10:00
Great Performances: Pavarotti: A Life in Seven Arias.
This performance documentary looks back over the career of Luciano Pavarotti, one of opera’s greatest tenors.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

7:00-8:30
That's Amore: Italian-American Favorites
This special brings together the greatest archival performances from America’s most loved Italian-American singers and their classic pop songs from the 1950s and 60s, including Dean Martin, Perry Como, Jerry Vale, Julius LaRosa, Frankie Laine and more.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

7:00-10:00
The 60's: Live
This live event includes never broadcast, expanded performances from My Music: The 60's Experience and The British Beat. This treasure-trove of essential folk-rock, rhythm and blues and pop classics is hosted by Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. and recorded live in San Francisco.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

7:00-8:30
Frank Sinatra - A Man and His Music
In this vintage 1965 performance recorded at NBC Studios, Sinatra sings "I've Got You Under My Skin," "The Lady Is a Tramp," "Come Fly With Me," and other classics.
8:30-10:00
Carole King: Welcome to My Living Room
One of music's most prolific songwriters invites fans to an intimate,career-spanning concert. Filmed during Carole King's sold-out, critically acclaimed 2005-2006 Living Room World Tour, the performance special follows the trajectory of her 40-plus year career.  Beginning in the 1960s as one-half of a famous Brill Building songwriting team, King co-wrote hits with Gerry Goffin for the Shirelles ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow"), the Chiffons ("One Fine Day"), the Drifters ("Up on the Roof"), Aretha Franklin ("(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman") and many others. As a solo artist in the 1970s, King became a singer/songwriter icon with the genre-defining Tapestry, which yielded four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year ("It's Too Late") and Song of the Year ("You've Got a Friend"), along with seminal hits "I Feel the Earth Move" and "So Far Away."

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

7:00-8:30 Roy Orbison & Friends - A Black and White Night
In this public television concert classic filmed in stunning black and white, Orbison is joined at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles by a legendary line-up including Jackson Brown, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and many others.
8:30-10:00
The Who at Kilburn 1977
On December 15, 1977, after a hiatus of more than a year, The Who assembled in Kilburn, North London, to record a concert for the documentary The Kids Are Alright. It would be one of Keith Moon's last live performances.
10:30 Carole King: Welcome to My Living Room
See September 14.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

7:00-8:30
Live From Lincoln Center
New York Philharmonic Opening Night Gala with Sir James Galway. Renowned flutist Sir James Galway performs with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Lorin Maazel.
8:30-10:00
Los Lonely Boys: Cottonfields  and Crossroads
This documentary tells the story of three Mexican-American brothers from Texas who create a signature music style they call “Texican.”
10:30-midnight
Roy Orbison & Friends - A Black and White Night
See September 16.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

10:30-midnight
The Who at Kilburn 1977
See September 16.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

7:00-9:00
Lawrence Welk's TV Treasures
The first all-encompassing documentary about the legendary series features entertaining, rarely seen footage from more than 50 years of the longest-running series on national television.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

9:00-10:00
Keeping Score: Beethoven’s Eroica.
Ludwig van Beethoven rewrote the rules of western music when he premiered his Eroica symphony.
10:00-11:00
Austin City Limits Presents: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Gillian Welch and others perform at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival from Golden State Park in San Francisco.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

9:30-10:00
From the Top at Carnegie Hall: Meeting Our Heroes.
Eleven-year-old Pennsylvania native Daniel Song performs Franz Liszt's Transcendental Etude No. 7 in E-Flat Major, "Eroica." Fifteen-year-old Caeli Smith, a "Roving Reporter" on NPR's "From the Top," is joined by Host Christoper O'Riley in a stirring performance of "Bordel 1900" from "L'Histoire du Tango" by Astor Piazzolla. The 16-year-old Matthew Lipman concludes the episode with a perfor-mance of Paganini's "La Campanella," also accompanied by O'Riley.

As always, you can check the NPT schedule at wnpt.net.

Until next month,

Joe Pagetta
Media Relations Manager 

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