Airs: October 6, 13 & 20, 8pm (PBS times may vary in your market)
Network: PBS
Featuring Michael Feinstein
What’s It All About? This three-part series chronicles acclaimed musician Feinstein’s ongoing quest to preserve, perpetuate and celebrate one of America’s greatest treasures — the American popular songbook, created by some of the nation’s finest composers and lyricists, such as the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren.
The series follows the meticulous Feinstein as he rummages though cluttered basements and dusty attics, sifts through piles in cluttered storage lockers, and unearths obscure items in flea markets. Simultaneously, he digs deep into the artistry of performers like Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole, Ethel Waters, and Margaret Whiting, illuminating what makes them so iconic and timeless. In all aspects of his life, Feinstein is a historical sleuth, obsessively seeking out and saving priceless musical rarities (alternate lyrics, long-lost arrangements, and unreleased recordings) from destruction.
“Michael has been called the Indiana Jones of popular music – he’s been collecting since he was five years old,” says producer/director Amber Edwards. “But for him it’s not about amassing and hoarding objects; it’s all part of his mission to keep this music alive for future generations.”
In addition to footage that documents Feinstein’s fabulous but exhausting life on the road, American Songbook uses prized archival audio and film footage to tell its story. The clips, narrated and contextualized by Feinstein, reveal the social and historical forces behind the music, which helped to shape the style, attitude and self-image of America for more than a century. Filled with generous portions of live performance past and present, the series offers both an intimate portrait of a unique entertainer and a history of 20th-century popular culture.
