I was browsing through the guide on my PVR and noticed a show on Channel 17 called “Soundbreaking: Stories From The Cutting Edge of Recorded Music.” It’s an eight-part documentary on the history of modern recorded music, dealing with everything from the invention of the microphone and the Beatles' giant leap forward with "Sgt. Pepper" to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" and the more modern phenomenon of sampling and MP3s.
 
It’s also the last project ever done by Sir George Martin, the Fab Four’s legendary producer, and features tunes and interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson, Brian Eno, Annie Lennox, Elton John, Tom Petty, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder – just to name a few.
 
Each episode is divided into themes, like “The Recording Artist,” Painting With Sound,” The Human Voice” and more. The songs explored in the various parts read like a greatest hits collection. Among them:
 
Start Me Up – Rolling Stones
Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
That’s All Right – Elvis Presley
Please Please Me – The Beatles
Yesterday – The Beatles
Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles
Be My Baby –  Ronettes
To Know Him is to Love Him – The Teddy Bears
You’ve Lost That Lovin Feelin – Righteous Brothers
River Deep Mountain High – Tina Turner
Everyday People – Sly & The Family Stone
Straight Outta Compton – NWA
I Don’t Hurt Anymore – Johnny Cash
 
And that’s just Part One!
 
It airs on PBS beginning Monday Nov. 14th at 10 PM, and true to their recent promise, WNED is showing it in pattern. If you’re into this kind of inside-the-studio stuff, it’s definitely DVR worthy. You read about it here first – but I’m guessing there will be a lot more publicity about it in the papers in the coming days.
 
See a breakdown of each episode and the songs here.
 
PBS promo announcement