There has never been a more popular live music program that was ever on television than Austin City Limits….which is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas, by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station KLRU…..while being broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States. The show helped Austin to become widely known as the “Live Music Capital of the World”…. and is the only television show to receive the National Medal of Arts….when it was awarded in 2003. ACL also won a rare institutional Peabody Award in 2011. For the first 12 seasons (1976–87), Austin City Limits was produced by the Southwest Texas Public Broadcasting Council….and beginning in season 13 (1988)….Austin City Limits moved to its current production home at Austin’s PBS affiliate KLRU, the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. The show was originally created in 1974 by Bill Arhos….who died in 2015 at the age of 80.
Beginning in season 15 (1990), Austin City Limits began broadcasting in Dolby Surround….while continuing this format until season 24 (1999)….when beginning in season 33 (2007–08)…. the show began broadcasting in HDTV 1080i…..and from 1976 to 2004 (seasons 1-29)….the show was broadcast in SDTV 480i. From 2004 to 2007 (seasons 30-32), the show was broadcast in HDTV 720i.
Initially created to celebrate the music of Texas by featuring western swing, Texas blues, Tejano music, progressive country, and rock n’ roll….which has now gone on to feature regional, national and international artists performing a wide range of musical styles including jazz, alternative country, alternative rock, folk music, and jam band.
As ACL got into the decade of the 1980’s….they had so many shows under their belt….that they began to produce their Best of Austin City Limits and Country Classics program….as this one see herewith today features some of the Best of ACL….which features Marty Robbins country classic Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso…..which is followed by the first ever “cheatin’ song” written and performed by Floyd Tillman called Slippin Round….next comes the generally regarded national anthem of country music, teh Orange Blossom Special played by such great groups as Mel Tillis and the Statesmen, Merle Haggard and the Strangers, Johnny Gimble and the Texas Swing Pioneers and the Earl Scruggs Revue…..and then comes two legendary guitarists Roy Clark and Gatemouth Brown playing their specially invented rendition of Count Basie’s One O Clock Jump.
Any way you cut the pie….this music is classic and great stuff…..which makes it well worth watching any time you want to hear some great music.
