Cascade PBS Passport Members gain extended access to thousands of hours of streaming video. Binge your favorite PBS programming and thought-provoking exclusives from around the world.
Big Freedia on Little Richard, music and the queer community
Show title:
American Masters
Video title:
Big Freedia on Little Richard, music and the queer community
Video duration:
13m 48s
Video description:
In this extended outtake from "Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" conducted by director James House, New Orleans bounce artist and performer Big Freedia reflects on the similarities between herself and Little Richard, and the impact he had on music on the queer community.
Reed was always at the forefront of American avant-garde music, beginning with creation of the Velvet Underground in 1965. Gritty and realistic, the brutal honesty in Reed’s lyrics and sound made him a cultural icon of the disenfranchised throughout the ’60s and ’70s. From punk rock to grunge, he has had an unparalleled influence on the American music scene.
Bebop, a style of jazz developed in the 1940's, changed American music but wasn't taken seriously for much of Charlie Parker's life. This mid-century popcorn television commercial shows how the public's perception of bebop was riddled with stereotypes.
Charlie Parker's nickname "Yardbird" came to be while he was on the way to a gig with some fellow musicians and involved a bird in a yard that had an unfortunate fate.