SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL: SOUND REVOLUTION

Smithsonian Channel: Sound Revolution - You may be able to find full episodes of this series on your local cable channel's "On Demand".  Check it out.  The series is no longer available for free, but a DVD may be available.  Check Amazon.com or the Smithsonian web site.

Smithsonian Channel's Sound Revolution is a documentary television series hosted by award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. Documentary footage, expert interviews and musical performances trace the origins of be-bop, jazz, rock 'n' roll and soul music, all emanating from “ground zero” – Clarksdale, Mississippi – and the Mississippi Delta. Each hour-long program is filled with recent performances, largely from the Montreux Jazz Festival, featuring performances by: B.B. King, Ike Tuner, Buddy Guy, Etta James, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Robert Cray, Miles Davis, The Neville Brothers and many others. The show premiered November 2008 on Smithsonian Networks.

Part of this story is told in the series, Electrified: The History of the Electric Guitar  from PBS.  This was separate and apart from the Sound Revolution series, but it contains a great deal of the history of modern music as it evolved with the Electric Guitar.  Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  PBS also has explored our American musical roots in a series of its own:  Electrified: The Guitar Revolution

In the series, Aerial America, the Smithsonian's Mississippi segment discusses the deep musical heritage of the Mississippi Delta region.  Aerial America - Mississippi