CONWAY — Arkansas PBS offers viewers more great music with a series of concert specials this August, as well as an opportunity to see Clint Black live in Fort Smith Dec. 1.
The music kicks off Saturday, Aug. 13, at 5 p.m. with “Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons: A Life on Stage.” In the 1960s and early 1970s, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons recorded hit after hit and sold over 175 million records featuring unforgettable tunes like “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “Grease.” 2022 is the 60th anniversary of the group’s first #1 hit, “Sherry,” and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons are still touring throughout the U.S. and abroad to packed houses of thrilled fans from multiple generations. This solid gold PBS special was taped in April 2022 in the fabulous 10,000-seat arena at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. The concert will also air Sunday, Aug. 14, at 2:30 p.m.
Then at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13, will be “Doo Wop, Pop and Soul Generations (My Music).” This new concert special celebrates the legacies of the great artists and songs of the late 1950s and early ‘60s following the birth of rock and roll and the explosion of rhythm and blues on the radio. Included are the broadcast premieres of many original groups and new generation favorites that perform for sold-out doo wop, pop and soul concerts nationwide.
Following two decades of producing concert specials reuniting original performers on stage to sing their hits one more time, the “My Music” production team conducted a national talent search to present the next generation of younger singers and groups who carry on the tradition by channeling the doo wop, pop and soul sounds of the past. The special will also air Sunday, Aug. 14, at 4 p.m.
The musical documentary “Roy Orbison Forever” will premiere Monday, Aug. 15, at 8 p.m. This celebration of the effortlessly cool, five-time Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Famer charts Orbison’s career and close relationships with other musicians through interviews and archive performances, some of them never before seen in America. The film follows the singer-songwriter from his stratospheric rise in the music biz to his personal tragedies to his early death on December 6, 1988, from a heart attack. Among the songs performed are “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “It’s Over,” “Only the Lonely,” “Cryin’,” “Dream Baby” and “Blue Bayou.” Featured interviews include Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Bono, Gerry Marsden, Jeff Lynne and Olivia Harrison, as well as Barbara Orbison. The documentary will also air Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 10 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 20, at 7:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 7 p.m. country music fans can tune in for “Clint Black: Mostly Hits & The Mrs.” This concert featuring the Grammy Award-winning country music icon, his wife Lisa Hartman Black and daughter Lily Pearl was taped at the Johnny Mercer Theatre in Savannah, Georgia. During the broadcast, tickets will be available to see Black at the ArcBest Performing Arts Center in Fort Smith on Thursday, Dec 1.
Following at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16, will be “James Taylor: One Man Band.” This intimate concert performance features Taylor’s most important songs, interspersed with personal anecdotes, touching and witty reflections, and never-before-seen home movies and photographs from Taylor’s personal archives. Recorded at the magnificently restored Colonial Theatre in the heart of the Berkshires, the concert features such favorites as “Carolina in My Mind,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Shower the People” and “Fire and Rain.” The concert will also air Saturday, Aug. 20, at 11 p.m.
On Thursday, Aug. 18, at 8:30 p.m. a legend bids farewell to Nashville in “Kenny Rogers Farewell Concert Celebration: All in for the Gambler.” Featuring performances by some of today’s most popular artists as well as humorous anecdotes from his longtime musical collaborators, the special was recorded Oct. 25, 2017, when friends, fans and music legends gathered to celebrate the life and career of Kenny Rogers as he bid farewell to the town he loved. The program’s finale features singing partner and friend Dolly Parton. The concert will also air Saturday, Aug. 20, at 6 p.m.
During the broadcast, viewers will learn how to gain access to additional music series through Arkansas PBS Passport. The best value in on-demand streaming, Arkansas PBS Passport is a member benefit for donations as little as $5 a month, or $60 annually.
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