Music
Bridge Over Troubled Water (1969 Video)
24 02, 21 00:21 Filed in: Comment
This was originally a FB post that I think is worth retaining.
FB friend Steve Kelman posted about the 50th anniversary of the release of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Waters album, and that triggered a memory of the first time I heard (actually viewed) the title song. In 1969, even before music videos were a "thing" (MTV wasn't even launched until 1981), and months before the release of the single or album, CBS televised a special, Simon and Garfunkel's "Songs of America" (produced by Charles Grodin), that included a video version of Bridge. Even though we are learning a lot about the origins and inspiration for the song (none of it really political), it was Grodin's idea to use it as a political statement. The presentation of Bridge and other songs in the documentary was regarded as so political at the time that the original sponsor (the old AT&T) pulled out and a new sponsor was found for its one and only airing.
It is tough to get hold of the original video of Bridge as presented in that show, and the one posted here is not only of poor quality (a video of a BBC broadcast), but it is also interrupted by a commercial. Nevertheless, it is worth the effort view it as a political artifact of the time.
The video itself is posted as part one of the CBS special which is posted in three parts. To get the full political impact of Bridge, the video will start @11:20. (If anyone has a cleaner copy, please let me know -- I believe there was a DVD release of the show issued, but it is no longer available.)
https://dai.ly/x51647l
The best "backgrounder" on Bridge is found at https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200122-the-forgotten-political-roots-of-bridge-over-troubled-water.
FB friend Steve Kelman posted about the 50th anniversary of the release of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Waters album, and that triggered a memory of the first time I heard (actually viewed) the title song. In 1969, even before music videos were a "thing" (MTV wasn't even launched until 1981), and months before the release of the single or album, CBS televised a special, Simon and Garfunkel's "Songs of America" (produced by Charles Grodin), that included a video version of Bridge. Even though we are learning a lot about the origins and inspiration for the song (none of it really political), it was Grodin's idea to use it as a political statement. The presentation of Bridge and other songs in the documentary was regarded as so political at the time that the original sponsor (the old AT&T) pulled out and a new sponsor was found for its one and only airing.
It is tough to get hold of the original video of Bridge as presented in that show, and the one posted here is not only of poor quality (a video of a BBC broadcast), but it is also interrupted by a commercial. Nevertheless, it is worth the effort view it as a political artifact of the time.
The video itself is posted as part one of the CBS special which is posted in three parts. To get the full political impact of Bridge, the video will start @11:20. (If anyone has a cleaner copy, please let me know -- I believe there was a DVD release of the show issued, but it is no longer available.)
https://dai.ly/x51647l
The best "backgrounder" on Bridge is found at https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200122-the-forgotten-political-roots-of-bridge-over-troubled-water.
Comments
