''History Rocks'' was a

non-fictional Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often ass ...

educational television Educational television or learning television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable telev ...

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...

shown on The History Channel. Each episode explains eight historical events, arranged by decade, through

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...

presentations consisting of photographs, archival footage, popular music and pop-up trivia. Six episodes were produced, with two focusing on 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. At one time, the History Channel website discussed a fourth special on the topic of Sex, but the official ''History Rocks website at the History Channel no longer mentions it. Although the show was originally hosted by

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

, subsequent airings of the videos edited Meat Loaf out and removed his segues between videos.

List of Segments

1960s

* Violence Batters 1968 Democratic Convention / " My Generation" by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

* The Draft Lottery / " Get Together" by The Youngbloods * First of the Muscle Cars: Pontiac GTO / " Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf * Marilyn Monroe's Mysterious Death / "

Nights in White Satin "Nights in White Satin" is a song by the Moody Blues, written and composed by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album ''Days of Future Passed''. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached number 19 ...

" by The Moody Blues * Smoking is Hazardous / "

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...

" * The Pill Begins Sexual Revolution / " Time of the Season" by The Zombies *

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

/ " Bend Me, Shape Me" by The Outsiders *

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. ...

/ "

Sunshine of Your Love "Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band Cream. With elements of hard rock, psychedelia, and pop, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce based it on a distinctive b ...

" by

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

* Cassius Clay changes his name / " Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" by Sly and the Family Stone * Castro Must Die! / "Feelin' Alright" by

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

*Growing up in the 1960s / " Sunshine Superman" by

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

* The JFK Conspiracy / "

I Can See for Miles "I Can See for Miles" is a song by the English rock band the Who, recorded for the band's 1967 album ''The Who Sell Out''. Written by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was the only song from the album to be released as a single. Recording Recorded ...

" by

* LSD and Timothy Leary / " White Room" by

* Race for Space / " Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf * Vietnam Soldier / " A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum * Volkswagen in the 1960s / "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

" by The Shocking Blue

1970s

Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...

/ " Hold Your Head Up" by Argent * The Beginning of Video Games / " You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive * Fall of Saigon / " Free Bird" by

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

* CB Radio / " Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band * Jonestown / "

(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the band's 1976 album ''Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitabili ...

" by Blue Öyster Cult * Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa / " Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive * History of the Concorde / " Come Sail Away" by

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

Saturday Night Massacre The Saturday Night Massacre was a series of events that took place in the United States on the evening of Saturday, October 20, 1973, during the Watergate scandal. U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire ...

/ " Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

* History of the Muscle Car / " Cars" by

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

meets

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

/ "

Why Can't We Be Friends? ''Why Can't We Be Friends?'' is the seventh studio album by American funk band War, released on June 16, 1975 by United Artists Records. Two singles from the album were released: the title track backed with "In Mazatlan", and "Low Rider" back ...

" by War *

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

/ "

The Logical Song "The Logical Song" is a song by English rock group Supertramp that was released as the lead single from their album ''Breakfast in America'' in March 1979. It was written primarily by the band's Roger Hodgson, who based the lyrics on his experie ...

" by Supertramp *

Three Mile Island accident The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclea ...

/ "

Message in a Bottle A message in a bottle (abbrev. MIB) is a form of communication in which a message is sealed in a container (typically a bottle) and released into a conveyance medium (typically a body of water). Messages in bottles have been used to send distres ...

" by

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

1980s

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

* America's War On Drugs (The

crack epidemic The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Ameri ...

) / " Electric Avenue" by

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, Afr ...

Going Mobile "Going Mobile" is a song written by Pete Townshend and originally released by the Who on their 1971 album ''Who's Next''. It was originally written for Townshend's abandoned '' Lifehouse'' project, with lyrics celebrating the joy of having a mobi ...

/ " Call Me" by Blondie *

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

Fever / "

Everybody Have Fun Tonight "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" is a song by English new wave band Wang Chung, released as a single from their studio album ''Mosaic'' in 1986. Collaboratively written by Jack Hues, Nick Feldman, and Peter Wolf, it reached no. 2 on the US ''Bi ...

" by Wang Chung * Black Monday / "

Urgent Urgent may refer to: * Urgent (American band), a 1980s band from New York City * Urgent (Canadian band), a 1980s band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada * "Urgent" (song), a 1981 song by Foreigner * Urgent! Records, a former record company See also ...

" by Foreigner * Mount St. Helens eruption / " Should I Stay or Should I Go" by

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

Supercars A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

/ " Obsession" by Animotion * The Berlin Wall / " We're Not Gonna Take It" by

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Meets Gorbachev / "

Cult of Personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...

" by

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). S ...

Future airings

Although the History Channel frequently aired the series during the summer of 2007, the official website states that there are no plan to air the episodes in the immediate future. Most of the videos are available, however, for on-demand online viewing. The full set of segments from the 1960s are currently available. The shop at the History Channel's website has a section devoted to ''History Rocks'', but the videos available for purchase are only related to the individual segments and do not contain the actual videos aired on television.

Similarities to other shows

''History Rocks'' shares many similarities with the BBC television show ''

The Rock 'n' Roll Years ''The Rock 'n' Roll Years'' was a BBC television programme aired between 1985 and 1994. In a half-hour time slot the programme focused on a different year each week, starting with the year 1956 and ending with 1989. The format of the programme, w ...

'' aired between 1985 and 1994. The format of the programme, which was based on the

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

series '' 25 Years of Rock'', was primarily of news clips with narrative subtitles set to music of the time with no presenters or voice-overs. ''History Rocks'' is also close in format to the VH1's program '' Pop-up Video''. Although ''Rocks'' frequently discusses more serious topics than does ''Video'', both programs have videos with identical form and structure; both videos use "info nuggets" and popular music as their central premise. ''Video'' predates ''Rocks'' by several years. ''Rocks'' has occasionally been criticized for its similarity to ''Video'', but many of its fans support ''Rockss appeal to a wider audience than other documentary shows.

Awards

In 2007, ''History Rocks'' was awarded "Best short form audiovisual entertainment made for mobile and/or Internet lifestyle/music" at Mipcom's Mobile and Internet TV Awards

References

External links

History Channel's "History Rocks" website with links to videos.

Article about "History Rocks" in the Seattle Times
* {{IMDb title, 0447199, History Rocks History (American TV channel) original programming Rock music television series Nostalgia television shows Nostalgia television in the United States