WTTW/Chicago

In July 1974, a group of Chicago based blues artists who had already achieved legendary status gathered together with some of their younger "blues brethren" from all over the country to pay tribute to the man most responsible for bringing blues from the Mississippi Delta upriver to Chicago, Muddy Waters. Appearing with Muddy that night were his contemporaries Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells and Pinetop Perkins, and from the next generation of blues lovers and performers, Mike Bloomfield, Buddy Miles, Johnny Winter, Dr. John, and Nick Gravenites -- all artists who were on their way to becoming legends themselves. What resulted from that joyous teaming was a truly historic session that not only presented some of the greatest blues classics ever written, but a never-to-be-forgotten hour that truly demonstrates the love of music by one generation for another.

He could have been a character in a Greek tragedy. Rod Blagojevich, the Chicagoan familiarly known as "Blago," was blessed with talent, drive, and charisma, and he capitalized on these qualities to rise to the position of Governor of Illinois. But after a series of disastrous decisions fueled by greed and ambition, he lost it all. Audio-narrated descriptions are available.

A nostalgic yet energetic look at a bygone chapter in Chicago history: the 1920s and '30s, when city life was far less threatening than it is today. More than 30 Chicagoans, including Irv Kupcinet, Studs Terkel, Shirley Belle Cole and Chuck Schaden share their heartfelt memories of Chicago. Snapshots and original music from that period accompany the narrative, depicting an era when life was simple -- a streetcar to the Loop was 7 cents, and a box of popcorn at the Marbro cost a nickel.

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, Blondie is still putting out new music and rocking out for fans everywhere! Debbie Harry and her band bring their eclectic mix of pop, rock and punk sounds to Soundstage, performing hits such as 'The Tide is High,' 'One Way or Another,' and 'Heart of Glass' in an electrifying concert audiences are sure to love!

The colorful stories of Irish-American immigrants and their descendants who lived the history and exemplify the repeated cycle of the outsider becoming the ultimate Chicago citizen-insider.

"Tarantella" was an early Super 8 short film directed by Christopher Nolan with his childhood friend Roko Belic. It was made in 1989 while Nolan was studying at University College London. The film aired on "Image Union," a PBS programme in Chicago. It is about the suffering of a young man while he has nightmare about spiders and demons.

A portrait of a generation at a turning point in 1976: With plans to attend their high school reunion, five members of the first Television Generation gather in an East Village, NYC, apartment where they discuss their dreams, insecurities, past events, and TV shows. They attempt to figure out what to do with their lives as they head toward age 30.

This 1978 documentary classic is an inside look at the old-style Chicago Machine politics of the Richard J. Daley era, where Alderman Vito Marzullo ran his West Side 25th Ward virtually unchallenged from 1953-1985.

A documentary about the careers of child stars of the '40s in Hollywood, featuring movie clips with Shirley Temple, Margaret O'Brien, and numerous others along with interviews.

Musicians and nightclub owners reminisce about the heyday of music and dance places on Chicago's South Side during the 1930s through '50s. Swingers and dancers perform music from the time.

"There was a time, from the late 1940s through the 1960s, when the now-upscale Lincoln Park neighborhood served as the beating heart of Chicago’s huge Puerto Rican community, and the base of operations for a band of Puerto Rican revolutionaries known as the Young Lords. Led by a young man named José 'Cha Cha' Jiménez, the activist group – which evolved from a social club to a street gang to a political force – banded together with the Black Panthers as the Rainbow Coalition to wage war against what they called Mayor Richard J. Daley’s “urban removal of the poor” and the area’s eventual gentrification" (WTTW).

In February 2002, families living in the Robert Taylor Homes public housing development were given a 180 day notice of eviction. In six months, the community that had been their home for generations would be demolished. DISLOCATION chronicles the lives of tenants in one building as they move through the six-month relocation process. The filmmakers follow three families as they prepare for their own move and as they help others around them. Dislocation is a story of a community coping with its own impending demise. It is a tale of courage, hope, and survival.

Hidden Turkey is a one-hour television special produced, hosted, and narrated by CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg. It showcases the special destinations and unique experiences not found in traditional guidebooks, brochures or on the internet. Most important, this is inspirational and accessible television. It allows the audience to immerse themselves in Turkey's evolving story and enduring culture, and to embark on a number of life-changing journeys. Among the locations visited: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antakya, Antalya, and Laodicea.

Inventive performer and poignant songwriter John Hiatt captures the attention of fans and critics alike. In this Soundstage performance, which features Dar Williams and Robinella and the CCstringband, Hiatt performs "My Baby Blue" from his most recent album Beneath This Gruff Exterior. He also showcases timeless pieces like "The Thing Called Love" and "Memphis in the Meantime."

Grammy Award-winning folk singer John Prine performs his early classics such as "Angel from Montgomery" and "Hello in There" in this 1980 concert filmed for the PBS series "Soundstage," featuring special guest Billy Lee Riley. Interviews with Prine as he tours his Maywood, Ill., hometown and his acoustic versions of "Paradise" and "How Lucky" punctuate live stage performances of songs from his "Bruised Orange" and "Pink Cadillac" albums.

Known fondly as the "Queen of the Blues," Koko Taylor began singing in Chicago blues clubs in the 1950s. Her gritty, powerful voice attracted the attention of Willie Dixon, another famous Chicago blues icon and record producer. Her recording of Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle" topped the R&B charts in 1966. This special, recorded in 1991 for WTTW, documents her history, and cements her legacy as a Bonafide Chicago Blues legend.

House music is a genre that connects, uplifts, and unites people. It resonates globally and is prevalent on the world’s biggest music stages. Born in Chicago, this sound developed during the turbulent 1970s when a group of predominantly gay Black artists, who faced constant harassment, pioneered a new type of dance music at underground venues. House music became the anthem of safe spaces, free from the racism and homophobia of the outside world, ultimately igniting a cultural and musical revolution.

In 1924, after several months of meticulous planning, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks for the thrill of committing a "perfect crime." Audio-narrated descriptions of key visual elements are available.

In an age before online commerce and Amazon, the catalog was king – and two Chicago mail order giants were responsible for making goods and services accessible to the masses. Chicago Stories traces the histories of Sears, Roebuck and Montgomery Ward and the rivalry between the two bold innovators who founded them and forever changed the way we shop. Audio-narrated descriptions are available.

Taped for a two-part PBS Soundstage, Petty employs the Chicago locale as an entry into the blues and R&B that are at the foundation of rock & roll, and to a lesser extent, his music. This results in a fascinating and exciting show, where the extensive covers are just as interesting as -- and arguably more interesting than -- the few hits he gets around to playing.