Wildheart Entertainment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE GRAMMY FOUNDATION® PARTNERS WITH WILDHEART ENTERTAINMENT IN CONJUNCTION WITH PBS TELEVISION’S “ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES” HOSTED BY SIR GEORGE MARTIN

Newly Formed Alliance Will Provide Philanthropic Support To The GRAMMY Foundation And Will Provide The PBS Series with Exclusive Access To Historic Footage From The GRAMMY Foundation’s Living Histories Archives

(April 5, 2010; Los Angeles, CA) The GRAMMY Foundation® and Wildheart Entertainment announced today a new alliance in relation to the upcoming ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES, the eight-hour primetime PBS series scheduled to air nationally in the fall of 2011. The collaborative agreement will provide Wildheart Entertainment, the production company behind the series, exclusive access to prized historic footage contained only in the GRAMMY Foundation’s Living Histories Archives. It also establishes philanthropic support by ON RECORD to the GRAMMY Foundation based on a share of net profits derived from sales of the series’ related products, which include companion CD sets, a multi-hour DVD/home video series, and accompanying books. Proceeds received by the Foundation will be dedicated to supporting the GRAMMY Foundation Living Histories Archive, music preservation initiatives, and efforts to encourage and support music education in schools. In addition, it is planned that ON RECORD will play a role in upcoming GRAMMY Foundation outreach activities including the GRAMMY In The Schools® music education programs for young people.

"When we were first approached about participating in this project, we thought it was an ideal fit with the resources of the GRAMMY Foundation," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy® and the GRAMMY Foundation. "Not only does it help showcase the depth and quality of our Living Histories archive, but the added benefit to the Foundation, including our GRAMMY In The Schools programs, really brings this project full circle for us."

“One of the best ways to understand who we are and how we got here is through recorded music. The extraordinary artists, engineers, producers and writers who have given us the ‘soundtrack of our lives’ have provided us with a living history,” said Michele Langstaff, co-series creator and Executive Producer of ON RECORD. “The GRAMMY Foundation's dedication to preserving and educating future generations about this legacy allows ON RECORD to make not only a storytelling contribution, but to contribute directly to the lives of musicians and help provide opportunities for young people who have a passion for both music and history."

ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES traces the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture and includes hundreds of artists from all genres of music. Featuring Sir George Martin, legendary producer of the Beatles, with narration by two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey, artists already interviewed for ON RECORD include Tony Bennett, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Brian Wilson, Jack White, Chuck D, Dave Brubeck, Burt Bacharach, Carole King, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Vince Gill, Imogen Heap, Smokey Robinson, Brian Eno, Les Paul, Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), Gordon Lightfoot, and Michael Feinstein.

In addition to the television series, the multi-pronged project will include a CD Box Set, DVD Box Set and a four-color, 400-page deluxe coffee table book containing more than 500 photos slated for publication in the fall of 2011. Co-authored by series creator and Writer/ Executive Producer Maxim Langstaff and noted author, music historian and Executive Director of The GRAMMY Museum, Robert Santelli, the book is not only a stand-alone entity in and of itself, but also a rich accompaniment to the PBS series and companion website on PBS.org.

ON RECORD has been in development by Wildheart creative executives and producers Maxim Langstaff and Michele Langstaff with Sir George Martin; both have been working with Sir George for more than a decade in conjunction with the successful “Making of Sergeant Pepper” multi-media events. Also serving as executive producer for the series is Phil Quartararo, former president of EMI Music Marketing, founding president and CEO, Virgin Records, and president of Warner Music.

“ON RECORD tells the story of how the most universal mass medium of the 20th century marked the emergence of pop culture worldwide,” said project visionary Maxim Langstaff, “How the competition between the urban middle class and the rural working class came to define popular music and in so doing, made possible the breakthrough of minority cultures into mainstream consciousness.”

ON RECORD describes how recorded music and its distribution and consumption have transformed American life. The technology spawned radio, movies, television and the Internet and gave birth to popular culture. In little more than a century, recording technology moved from the first tin-foil and wax cylinders to flat discs; from 78 to 33 and 45 rpm speeds; from the acoustic horn to 128-track recording; from magnetic tape to digital downloads.

Recorded in HD and 5.1 surround sound, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is produced by Wildheart Entertainment, L.P. Wildheart Entertainment produces creative content and media products in film, music, television, publishing and the Internet, and was created in response to the changing landscape of entertainment and communications today.

The GRAMMY Foundation was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture — from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of future generations of music professionals. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with its founder, The Recording Academy, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. For more information, please visit www.grammyfoundation.com.

PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial television stations and reaches nearly 73 million people each week through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is a leading provider of digital learning content for pre-K-12 educators, and offers a broad array of other educational services. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.

CONTACT FOR WILDHEART ENTERTAIMENT: Alisse Kingsley, Muse Media, 323-467-8508; alissethemuse@aol.com, WWW.WILDHEARTGROUP.COM

CONTACT FOR PBS: Carrie Johnson, PBS, 703-739-5129; cjohnson@pbs.org, WWW.PBS.ORG/PRESSROOM

CONTACT FOR THE GRAMMY FOUNDATION: Christina Cassidy, The Grammy Foundation, 310.392.3777 christina.cassidy@grammy.com, WWW.GRAMMYFOUNDATION.COM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WILDHEART ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS WITH RUNNING PRESS/PERSEUS BOOKS FOR COMPANION VOLUME TO PBS TELEVISION’S “ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES” HOSTED BY SIR GEORGE MARTIN

New Coffee Table Book to be co-written by Robert Santelli, noted Author, Music Historian and Executive Director of the Grammy Museum, and will Accompany Multi-Pronged Project to Include Television Series, Companion Web Site on pbs.org, CDs, DVDs, and More

(March 30, 2009; Philadelphia, PA and Los Angeles, CA) Running Press Book Publishers in conjunction with Wildheart Entertainment, announced today the publication of ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES, a four-color, 400-page deluxe coffee table book containing more than 500 photos slated for publication in the Fall of 2011. Co-authored by series creator and Writer/ Executive Producer Maxim Langstaff and noted author, music historian and Executive Director of The Grammy Museum, Robert Santelli, the book is not only a stand-alone entity in and of itself, but also a rich accompaniment to the eight-hour primetime PBS series scheduled to air nationally in the Fall of 2011 (due to the overwhelming interest of the music community and an unprecedented amount of interviews, the series airdate was postponed from 2010 to 2011).

ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES traces the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture and features hundreds of artists from all genres of music. Featuring Sir George Martin, legendary producer of the Beatles, with narration by two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey, artists already interviewed for ON RECORD include Joni Mitchell, Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Les Paul, Lieber & Stoller, Mark Knopfler, Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), Honeyboy Edwards, Hans Zimmer, Kitty Wells, Peter, Paul & Mary, Herb Alpert, Dave Grusin, Earl Scruggs, the Bee Gees, Glen Campbell, Steve Van Zandt, The Sherman Brothers, Gordon Lightfoot and many others. Upcoming interviews slotted for later this spring include Elton John, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, George Benson, Jimmy Jam, Quincy Jones, Alison Krauss, Steve Winwood, Ringo Starr, Steppenwolf, Marty Stuart, Cliff Richard, Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) and more.

The book will accompany the television series and companion Web site on pbs.org,, which are the centerpieces of an ambitious multi-pronged project expected to include a companion CD box-set and branded CD series, 10-hour DVD/home video series, a worldwide radio show, educational outreach initiative and broadcasting through internet portals globally.

“ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is a project intrinsically dear to my heart and one that I have been developing with Wildheart Entertainment for over five years,” said Sir George Martin, legendary Beatles producer, recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and producer of more than 50 number-one hit records. “I am just thrilled that Running Press/Perseus Books has joined us as our publisher. ON RECORD affords me the opportunity to work again with so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life and to tell a story that has never been told in such a comprehensive way. Music is the only common thread and universal language that binds us together, regardless of race, nationality, age or income. And recorded music is how we experience it and what makes it accessible.”

ON RECORD has been in development by Wildheart creative executives and Producers Maxim Langstaff and Michele Langstaff with Sir George Martin for more than five years. Both have been working with Sir George for more than a decade in conjunction with the successful “Making of Sergeant Pepper” multi-media events. Also serving as executive producer for the series is Phil Quartararo, former president of EMI Music Marketing, founding president and CEO, Virgin Records, and president of Warner Music.

“ON RECORD tells the story of how the most universal mass medium of the 20th century marked the emergence of pop culture worldwide,” said project visionary Maxim Langstaff, “how the competition between the urban middle class and the rural working class came to define popular music and in so doing, made possible the breakthrough of minority cultures into mainstream consciousness.”

“We are thrilled to be working with the creative team behind this project, the early material that we’ve seen has been absolutely dazzling and we anticipate that ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES will be one of the season’s most anticipated projects,” said Craig Herman, Running Press Publisher.

ON RECORD tells the story of how recorded music and its distribution and consumption have transformed American life. The technology spawned radio, movies, television and the Internet and gave birth to popular culture. In little more than a century, recording technology moved from the first tin-foil and wax cylinders to flat discs; from 78 to 33 and 45 rpm speeds; from the acoustic horn to 128-track recording; from magnetic tape to digital downloads.

Recorded in HD and 5.1 surround sound, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVESem> is produced by Wildheart Entertainment, L.P. Wildheart Entertainment manages and produces artists, creative content and media products in film, music, television, publishing and the Internet, and was created in response to the changing landscape of entertainment and communications today.

Robert Santelli is the author of nearly a dozen books on popular music, including “Greetings from E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” (Chronicle) and The Big Book of Blues (Penguin). Four of his books—“American Roots Music” (Harry Abrams); “The Appalachians” (Random House); “The Bob Dylan Scrapbook” (Simon & Schuster); and “Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues” (HarperCollins)—served as companion books for PBS documentary series by the same name. Santelli is also Executive Director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. His other music museum experience includes serving as Vice President of Education and Public Programs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland and CEO/Artistic Director of Experience Music Project in Seattle.

Running Press has been providing consumers with an innovative list of quality books and book-related kits since 1972. RP publishes more than 200 new titles a year under three imprints: Running Press, Running Press Miniature Editions™, Running Press Kids. Running Press is a member of the Perseus Books Group, an independent company dedicated to enabling the success of independent publishers, whether they are wholly owned, joint ventures or completely independent companies. Members of the Perseus Books Group include Basic Books, Basic Civitas, Counterpoint, Da Capo Press, Running Press and Westview Press, as well as a partnership with PublicAffairs and Vanguard. For more information, visit www.perseusbooks.com.

CONTACT FOR WILDHEART ENTERTAIMENT: Alisse Kingsley, Muse Media, 323-467-8508; alissethemuse@aol.com, WWW.WILDHEARTGROUP.COM

CONTACT FOR PBS: Carrie Johnson, PBS, 703-739-5129; cjohnson@pbs.org, WWW.PBS.ORG/PRESSROOM

CONTACT FOR RUNNING PRESS: Craig Herman, 215-567-5370; craig.herman@perseusbooks.com, WWW.RUNNINGPRESS.COM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SIR GEORGE MARTIN TO BE HONORED WITH THE GRAMMY FOUNDATION® LEADERSHIP AWARD AT STARRY NIGHT GALA

July 12 Benefit Concert and Dinner in Los Angeles Will Feature An Extraordinary Range of Special Musical Guests WWW.GRAMMY.COM

(April 16, 2008; Santa Monica, CA) The GRAMMY Foundation® announced today that it will honor Sir George Martin, a GRAMMY® Trustees Award recipient, six-time GRAMMY Award winner and one of music's most successful and influential producers, at its annual signature gala Starry Night — an intimate benefit concert and dinner — on July 12, 2008, at the University of Southern California. Martin will be the recipient of the Foundation's Leadership Award, which salutes noteworthy humanitarians whose charitable work and contributions align with the mission of the Foundation. This prestigious award is being presented to Martin in recognition of a lifetime of commitment and dedication to social, cultural, economic and educational issues spanning the globe. The annual benefit raises funds for the GRAMMY Foundation, which helps preserve our nation's musical heritage and provides programs that foster future generations of music professionals. Organized under the banner GRAMMY in the Schools®, the Foundation's education programs for young people include GRAMMY Camp® — held this year from July 12–26 at USC — as well as the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles, GRAMMY Career Day, GRAMMY Signature Schools and GRAMMY SoundChecks.

"Throughout his legendary career, Sir George has had an impact on music and popular culture that is immeasurable," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy® and President of the GRAMMY Foundation. "We look forward to paying tribute to a man who has had an indelible influence on generations of music lovers around the world."

"Sir George's celebrated career has extended far beyond the recording studio," added Steve Schnur, GRAMMY Foundation Board Chair. "His is a lifetime commitment to both music and humanity, and it is only fitting that this year's Foundation Leadership Award honors one of the most iconic figures in music history."

Knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1996, producer, arranger, composer and author Martin is also listed in the Guinness World Records as the most successful producer ever, with more than 50 No. 1 hit records over five decades in America and Great Britain alone. The recordings he has produced have collectively sold more than 1 billion units worldwide. His award-winning work across every conceivable recording genre and style is unmatched. It includes classical, comedy, jazz, pop, country, R&B, rock and roll, film scores, television scores and more, producing the longest run of No. 1 hits songs in history — more than 36 years.

Of the hundreds of major artists with whom he has worked, a sampling includes: America, Aerosmith, Shirley Bassey, the Bee Gees, Jeff Beck, Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, Jim Carrey, Cheap Trick, Cher, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Celine Dion, Dire Straits, Earth Wind & Fire, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Goldie Hawn, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Cleo Laine, Paul McCartney, John McLaughlin, Joni Mitchell, Dudley Moore, Kenny Rogers, Neil Sedaka, Peter Sellers, Carly Simon, Sting, Jimmy Webb, the Who, Robin Williams, Brian Wilson, Paul Winter and Stevie Wonder.

As mentor and creative collaborator, Martin helped steward and bring to the world the Beatles — one of the most original, successful, and influential music phenomenons in popular music history. Best known as the Beatles’ producer, he signed them and subsequently produced and arranged nearly all the Beatles’ records, even playing on many of the most memorable John Lennon/Paul McCartney songs. In 1999, The New York Times noted, "Martin's talents shaped the Beatles’ albums and their extraordinary legacy. Sir George and the Beatles changed music and popular culture forever."

Martin is currently in pre-production with PBS and Wildheart Entertainment on the eight-part prime-time showcase series, On Record: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, a program that traces the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture. The Wildheart Entertainment-produced epic series will feature hundreds of artists from all genres of music, and will be hosted by Martin and narrated by two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey. On Record is slated to air nationally on PBS in fall 2010.

Martin, who is dedicated to a range of philanthropic causes, helped found the Prince's Trust with Prince Charles, which is a United Kingdom charity that helps young people overcome barriers and get their lives working. He also founded the Montserrat Foundation to aid in the rebuilding of the Caribbean island decimated by a volcano and the George Martin Music Foundation to construct an educational and cultural center there.

"My lifetime involvement in the music industry has been truly rewarding and my desire to encourage others, especially young people, to pursue a career in music is equally as strong," said Martin. "It is truly an honor to be recognized with the Leadership Award from the GRAMMY Foundation, an organization that works year-round to encourage and support music education in the lives of young people."

The star-studded event will feature performances by some of the most celebrated artists in the world. Multi-GRAMMY Award-winning producer and former GRAMMY Foundation Board member David Foster will serve as the evening's musical director. To purchase tables or tickets to the event, contact Dana Tomarken at 310.392.3777 or dana@grammy.com.

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. In its 50th year, The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.

Media Contacts:
Christina Cassidy / The GRAMMY Foundation / 310.392.3777 / christina.cassidy@grammy.com
Jaime Sarachit / The Recording Academy / 310.392.3777 / jaime.sarachit@grammy.com
Event Contact:
Dana Tomarken / The GRAMMY Foundation / 310.392.3777 / dana@grammy.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TELEVISION: How records put spin on musical history

Reprinted with permission from Current, the newspaper about public TV and radio. WWW.CURRENT.ORG

(March 24, 2008; Washington, DC) In 1900, if you wanted to hear a favorite song, you most likely bought piano sheet music. By the early 1920s, you could buy a record of Bessie Smith or tune in to the National Barn Dance radio show. Recording technology brought music to the masses. It determined what people heard, and how. ON RECORD: THE SOUNTRACK OF OUR LIVES, an eight-hour cultural history of America’s popular music hosted by Beatles producer Sir George Martin and narrated by Kevin Spacey, will revisit this technology. The series comes to PBS in 2010.

Beginning with Edison’s 1877 phonograph cylinders and ending with digital files, the series will link recording to musical and social trends, such as how records popularized country music in the 1930s, how the rise of teen culture fueled rock ’n roll, and how listening to music across the color line helped pave the way for the civil rights movement.

The series has the potential to be “one of those season-defining tent-pole series” that appeals to viewers old and young, says John Wilson, senior v.p. of programming.

PBS announced the deal last month after discussing it over several years with Wildheart Entertainment, a company founded for the project and headed up by Maxim Langstaff, who has produced music events for Martin and John Denver. Funded primarily through private equity, Wildheart has a partnership with EMI Music and will soon announce other partners—including an international broadcaster. On Record continues a popular music- in-culture strand that has included The Blues and American Roots Music, says Wilson, but On Record’s techno- logical focus sets it apart.

Recording technology was pioneered in the U.S., and Langstaff wants to bring this history to youngsters. He believes they see music as “data just to be transferred across computers, among friends, through social websites,” and they don’t have a full concept of the creativity and labor that goes into producing it. In the ’60s and ’70s, he remembers listening to new records over and over and poring over the liner notes.

ON RECORD aims to illuminate—for all ages—how albums are made and genres have developed. Langstaff hopes the people who still love Rosemary Clooney will understand more about the work of Jay-Z.

Changes in recording technology and the music marketplace have shaped the sounds distributed in each period. In the 1920s, for example, competition from live radio programs forced recording execs to scout new markets, such as the blues, and the female blues voice—think Ma Rainey—survived the limitations of 78 rpm records. Mid-century, multitracking changed what was possible in the editing booth. MTV’s visuals changed the job description of recording stars.

Power brokers in the recording business—including some “amazingly nefarious characters,” Langstaff says—molded artists and genres for commercial appeal. “We didn’t get the music we got because it was the best music, or the music everybody liked the most,” he says.

What Americans heard was indicative of the country’s diverse immigrant culture. “All the music we think of today as American was sourced from other places,” says Langstaff. Later, the Beatles—a strong presence in On Record—took this recorded music, reinvented it and brought it back to America, he says.

“They were absorbing this music that had been percolating . . . in the Appalachian Mountains or West Texas or the deep South,” he says.

ON RECORD will be more of a narrative “tapestry” than a linear chronicle, Lan- staff says, relying more on interviews with well-known musicians than talking-head experts. To tell a fast-moving, “three- dimensional” story, Wildheart will use green-screen technology to play images and footage behind interviewees as they speak.

Wilson thinks the series will attract all ages but especially baby boomers who grew up with rock. Martin, he surmises, will draw new viewers to pubTV. Producers also plan to create a radio program based on the series.

And PBS has secured rights to create educational modules, bringing the musical life of the past into today’s classrooms. That’s one reason, Langstaff says, why Wildheart wanted to work with PBS instead of HBO or the BBC. “What better way to understand your history,” he says, “than through music?”

—Katy June-Friesen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PBS GREENLIGHTS “ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES” HOSTED BY SIR GEORGE MARTIN

New Television Series from Wildheart Entertainment Launches Multi-Pronged Project to Include Companion Web Site on pbs.org, CDs, DVDs, Books and More

(February 7, 2008; Washington, DC) PBS in conjunction with Wildheart Entertainment announced today the greenlighting of a major new television series, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES, an eight-hour series that traces the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture. Featuring hundreds of artists from all genres of music, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is slated to air nationally as a primetime series in the Fall of 2010 on PBS; Sir George Martin, legendary producer of the Beatles, will host. Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey will narrate.

The television series and an extensive educational outreach initiative, including the companion Web site on pbs.org, will be the centerpiece of an ambitious multi-pronged project expected to include a companion CD box-set and branded CD series, 12-hour DVD/home video series, accompanying books, a multi-genre worldwide radio show and broadcasting through internet portals globally.

“ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is a project intrinsically dear to my heart and one that I have been developing with Wildheart Entertainment for over five years,” said Sir George Martin, legendary Beatles producer, recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and producer of more than 50 number-one hit records. “I am just thrilled that PBS has joined us as our primetime broadcaster. ON RECORD affords me the opportunity to work again with so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life and to tell a story that has never been told in such a comprehensive way. Music is the only common thread and universal language that binds us together, regardless of race, nationality, age or income. And recorded music is how we experience it and what makes it accessible.”

“I’m delighted to be a part of this remarkable, definitive series for PBS,” said Spacey. “ON RECORD illustrates how in a little more than a century recording technology has moved from wax cylinders to digital downloads. These extraordinary changes have come to define not only music, but who we are as individuals and as a society.”

ON RECORD has been in development by Wildheart executives Maxim Langstaff and Michele Langstaff with Sir George Martin for more than five years. Both have been working with Sir George for more than a decade in conjunction with the successful “Making of Sergeant Pepper” multi-media events, and both will serve as creators and executive producers of ON RECORD. Also serving as executive producer for the series is Phil Quartararo, former president of EMI Music Marketing, founding president and CEO, Virgin Records, and president of Warner Music. Emmy Award-winning Alan Benson (BBC, Walt Disney) is the series director.

“ON RECORD tells the story of how the most universal mass medium of the 20th century marked the emergence of pop culture worldwide,” said project visionary Maxim Langstaff, “how the competition between the urban middle class and the rural working class came to define popular music and in so doing, made possible the breakthrough of minority cultures into mainstream consciousness.”

ON RECORD will feature artists from all genres of music including pop, jazz, classical, R&B, folk, rock and country. Told as a narrative tapestry weaving the words of today’s living legends with memorable musical moments, landmark cultural events and inspiring inventions/innovations, ON RECORD will consist of new interviews with top music icons and legends, historic archival performances and never-before-seen footage exclusive to ON RECORD. Hundreds of artists will be featured, including the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Benny Goodman, Quincy Jones, Elton John, B.B. King, Alison Krauss, Paul McCartney, Les Paul, Paul Simon, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, the Carter Family, Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti, Muddy Waters, Stevie Wonder, Peter, Paul & Mary, Woody Guthrie, John Denver, Loretta Lynn, Buddy Holly, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald and scores of others. Their comments — punctuated with their music — illuminate and reinforce the impact of the world’s most pervasive mass entertainment medium.

“So many of us carry in our heads a musical soundtrack that gives our lives meaning and vibrancy,” said John F. Wilson, Sr. Vice President & Chief TV Programming Executive, PBS. “Music is such an important art form for understanding our shared culture and history; this was a natural for PBS to greenlight. We feel confident this project, supported with extensive educational outreach, will be one of those monumental and long-lasting series that PBS is so well known for.”

ON RECORD tells the story of how recorded music and its distribution and consumption have transformed American life. The technology spawned radio, movies, television and the Internet and gave birth to popular culture. In little more than a century, recording technology moved from the first tin-foil and wax cylinders to flat discs; from 78 to 33 and 45 rpm speeds; from the acoustic horn to 128-track recording; from magnetic tape to digital downloads. The series’ educational outreach will provide teachers with a curriculum guide and source materials to help students discover or reconnect with their history and culture through the universal language of music.

Recorded in HD and 5.1 surround sound, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is produced by Wildheart Entertainment, L.P. Wildheart Entertainment manages and produces artists, creative content and media products in film, music, television, publishing and the Internet, and was created in response to the changing landscape of entertainment and communications today.

PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial television stations and reaches more than 75 million people each week through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is a leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers and offers a broad array of other educational services. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.

CONTACT FOR WILDHEART ENTERTAIMENT: Alisse Kingsley, Muse Media, 323-467-8508; alissethemuse@aol.com, WWW.WILDHEARTGROUP.COM

CONTACT FOR PBS: Carrie Johnson, PBS, 703-739-5129; cjohnson@pbs.org, WWW.PBS.ORG/PRESSROOM