Born to be Wild: The Golden Age of American Rock

Riders on the Storm (1x1)

Air date: Jan 10, 2014

During the era of flower power, Vietnam and LSD, bands such as the Doors, Jefferson Airplane and MC5 not only sang about the revolution, they were the revolution. This episode explores the artists that made the soundtrack to the peace and love generation. The culmination of this era was when half a million people descended on a field in the small hamlet of Woodstock. At that moment rock music seemed a beacon of hope for those who believed in the ideals of equality and freedom. But instead of inspiring a new generation of artists to lead the revolution through political songs the festival proved to be a watershed moment for rock music's reactionary era. The marketing men lined up ready to sign and keen to turn this music from protest into profit. Interviewees include John Densmore and Ray Manzarek of the Doors, Creedence Clearwater Revival's Doug Clifford, Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane, Alice Cooper, Tom Petty, MC5's Wayne Kramer and Steppenwolf's John Kay.