Soul Train's 25th Anniversary (1995) (TV)

From the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California it's the black-tie silver anniversary celebration of the greatest black-themed music and dance show in history. Arsenio came out of his hole (his words) to man the podium for the hosting duties. So-so comedy combined with excellent musical performances make for a better than great evening.

Soul Train's 25th Anniversary (1995) (TV)

Cast: Arsenio Hall, Don Cornelius, Al Green, M.C. Hammer, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Curtis Mayfield, Rosie Perez, Diana Ross, Barry White, Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder

All Day and All Night (1990) (TV)

Enthralling, engrossing and absolutely entertaining. Wonderful stories of the early Memphis music scene, from the musicians themselves.

All Day and All Night (1990) (TV)

Host: Center for Southern Folklore

Barbara Mandrell: The Lady Is a Champ (1983) (TV)

Excellent early 80s Barbara Mandrell country music concert filmed at Nashville's Tennessee Performing Center.

Fellow entertainers for the evening are; Bobby Jones and the New Life Singers, Young Blades of Bluegrass, The Do-Rights, The Scott Salmon Dancers, The Nashville String Machine & The Nashville Horn Works under the direction of Dennis McCarthy. This is 90 minutes of live entertainment that really moves. It's frenetic, it's wholesome and it's respectful. A great watch.

Barbara Mandrell: The Lady Is a Champ (1983) (TV)
Cast: Barbara Mandrell, Dennis McCarthy, Bobby Jones

Motown Revue Starring Smokey Robinson, The (1985) TV series

'Motown Revue' a Reprise Of 60's Variety Shows
By Stephen Holden
Published: August 9, 1985

An eerie sense of time-warp permeates ''The Motown Revue Starring Smokey Robinson,'' NBC's amiable attempt to revive old-time television variety shows. Musically, the hour-long program gambles on the notion that Motown's 1960's song catalogue is a communal touchstone for millions of pop nostalgists who can't get enough of those oldies but goodies.

And the success of ''Motown's 25th Anniversary Special'' certainly suggests that such might be the case.

But ''The Motown Revue,'' which stirs together comedy skits and music into a familiar formula, lacks the explosive energy of a concert special. The Motown veteran Smokey Robinson makes a genial, but somewhat distant, host who doesn't have the vaudevillian razzmatazz of Michael Jackson moon-walking through ''Billie Jean.'' Singing his signature hits ''More Love,'' ''You've Really Got a Hold on Me'' (accompanied by a video of himself being tossed around the ring by a female bodybuilder), and ''Being With You,'' Mr. Robinson comes off as a sweetly genteel Mr. Nice Guy.

Much of the show's humor depends on a familiarity with 60's trivia. One running joke involves a record store clerk answering customers' questions about old Supremes hits. And the performing styles of Motown's 60's vocal groups are amusingly kidded in a mock-advertisement for ''The Detroit Institute of Choreography.'' Steering clear of any sexual suggestiveness, the jokes involve such things as Mr. Robinson's being mistaken for Lionel Richie, and Stevie Wonder's having been an air-traffic controller. Even guest star Vanity, Prince's explosively sexy former protege, is presented as a soft-focus romantic balladeer.

''The Motown Revue,'' which was produced and directed by Steve Binder, is the first show of a five-part musical-variety series. With its heart planted firmly in 1965, it is as wholesome as granola.

AVAILABLE EPISODES

Season 1, Episode 1

1965

9 August 1985

The Motown Revue Starring Smokey Robinson (1985) TV series
Host: Smokey Robinson