Behind The Music (partially lost VH1 documentary series; 1997-2014)
The show's logo.
Status: Partially Lost
Behind The Music was a musical documentary series that ran on VH1 from 1997 to 2014 becoming one of VH1's longest-running programs. Created by Jeff Gaspin and Gay Rosenthal and narrated by Jim Forbes, the show profiles mostly famous musicians, locations, DJs, years, and movies that had a cultural impact on the music industry. The show returned with new episodes on Paramount+ on July 29th, 2021.[1][2] All of the show's original 244 episodes would only be aired once and never again, causing a lot of the show's episodes to be lost to time.
The VH1 website used to list the show and all its episodes, which were not viewable. Whenever you click on an episode, some text appears "This Video Is Currently Unavailable due to current rights and restrictions, this video is unavailable, but feel free to check back later. In the meantime, why not watch something else?". Although the episodes were not viewable on VH1's website, it did help in listing all the episodes and their subjects.[3] However, the webpage for the show has since been taken down, now redirecting to VH1's homepage.
List
Aired Episodes
| # | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milli Vanilli | Found |
| 2 | MC Hammer | Found |
| 3 | Fleetwood Mac | Found |
| 4 | Boy George | Partially Found |
| 5 | Nowhere To Hide | Lost |
| 6 | Imagemakers | Found |
| 7 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Found |
| 8 | Teddy Pendergrass | Found |
| 9 | Billy Joel | Found |
| 10 | Jim Croce | Found |
| 11 | Lilith Fair | Fo u n d |
| 12 | Andy Gibb | Found |
| 13 | The Carpenters | Found |
| 14 | The Mamas & The Papas | Found |
| 15 | Meat Loaf | Found |
| 16 | Jerry Lee Lewis | Found |
| 17 | Sonny Bono | Partially Found |
| 18 | Gladys Knight & The Pips | Found |
| 19 | Willie Nelson | Found |
| 20 | Rick James | Partially Lost |
| 21 | Selena | Found |
| 22 | David Crosby | Lost |
| 23 | Takin' It To The Streets | Lost |
| 24 | Jefferson Airplane/Starship | Found |
| 25 | Ozzy Osbourne | Found |
| 26 | Ted Nugent | Found |
| 27 | Joe Cocker | Found |
| 28 | Keith Moon | Lost |
| 29 | David Cassidy | Found |
| 30 | Bonnie Raitt | Partially Found |
| 31 | Culture Club Reunion | Found |
| 32 | Robbie Robertson | Lost |
| 33 | Blondie | Found |
| 34 | Gloria Estefan | Lost |
| 35 | Jan & Dean | Lost |
| 36 | Harry Chapin | Found |
| 37 | Def Leppard | Found |
| 38 | Studio 54 | Found |
| 39 | Tony Orlando | Partially Found |
| 40 | Frank Sinatra | Lost |
| 41 | Gloria Gaynor | Lost |
| 42 | Stevie Nicks | Found |
| 43 | Steppenwolf | Lost |
| 44 | Madonna | Found (1998 version) Partially Found (2001 version) |
| 45 | 1968 | Found |
| 46 | Shania Twain | Partially Lost |
| 47 | John Denver | Found |
| 48 | John Mellencamp | Found |
| 49 | Metallica | Found |
| 50 | Leif Garrett | Found |
| 51 | Lionel Richie | Lost |
| 52 | Rick Springfield | Found |
| 53 | Grand Funk Railroad | Found |
| 54 | KC & The Sunshine Band | Partially Found |
| 55 | Motley Crue | Found |
| 56 | Bette Midler | Found |
| 57 | Heart | Fo u n d |
| 58 | R.E.M. | Found |
| 59 | Marianne Faithful | Found |
| 60 | Donnie & Marie | Lost |
| 61 | Depeche Mode | Found |
| 62 | Duran Duran | Found |
| 63 | Cher | Found |
| 64 | No Doubt | Found |
| 65 | Iggy Pop | Found |
| 66 | Vanilla Ice | Found |
| 67 | Donna Summer | Found |
| 68 | TLC | Found |
| 69 | Black Crowes | Found |
| 70 | Run-DMC | Found |
| 71 | Julian Lennon | Lost |
| 72 | Eric Burdon & The Animals | Lost |
| 73 | Lenny Kravitz | Found |
| 74 | Badfinger | Found |
| 75 | Peter Tosh | Found |
| 76 | Alice Cooper | Found |
| 77 | Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers | Partially Lost |
| 78 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Lost (1999 version) Found (British version) (2002 version) |
| 79 | Weird Al Yankovic | Found |
| 80 | Poison | Found |
| 81 | Quiet Riot | Found |
| 82 | Bad Company | Found |
| 83 | Natalie Cole | Lost |
| 84 | Melissa Etheridge | Found |
| 85 | Woodstock | Found |
| 86 | Bay City Rollers | Found |
| 87 | Goo Goo Dolls | Found |
| 88 | Glen Campbell | Found |
| 89 | Sting | Found |
| 90 | Alan Freed | Lost |
| 91 | Quincy Jones | Partially Found |
| 92 | Thin Lizzy | Found |
| 93 | Lindsay Buckingham | Found |
| 94 | Russell Simmons | Found |
| 95 | Rocky Horror Picture Show | Found |
| 96 | Barry White | Lost |
| 97 | Alanis Morissette | Found |
| 98 | Dr. Dre | Found |
| 99 | 1984 | Found |
| 100 | 1999 | Partially Lost (Spanish Dub)
Found (English Dub) |
| 101 | Genesis | Found |
| 102 | The Partridge Family | Partially Found |
| 103 | Michael Hutchence | Found |
| 104 | Celine Dion | Found |
| 105 | 1970 | Partially Found |
| 106 | 1977 | Found |
| 107 | Ricky Martin | Partially Lost (2000 version)
Partially Lost (2011 version) |
| 108 | Elton John | Found |
| 109 | Tina Turner | Found |
| 110 | The Police | Found |
| 111 | Oasis | Found |
| 112 | 1992 | Found |
| 113 | The Bangles | Found |
| 114 | The Go-Go’s | Found (2012 remaster) |
| 115 | Bon Jovi | Found |
| 116 | AC-DC | Found |
| 117 | The Monkees | Found |
| 118 | Queen Latifah | Lost |
| 119 | Faith Hill | Partially Found |
| 120 | Ice-T | Found |
| 121 | 1972 | Found |
| 122 | Peter Frampton | Found |
| 123 | Styx | Found |
| 124 | 1975 | Lost |
| 125 | Public Enemy | Found |
| 126 | Sinead O'Connor | Found |
| 127 | Behind The Music Anniversary Special | Partially Found |
| 128 | Cat Stevens | Found |
| 129 | Snoop Dogg | Found |
| 130 | Barenaked Ladies | Found |
| 131 | Chicago | Found |
| 132 | Brian Setzer | Found |
| 133 | Tiffany | Partially Lost |
| 134 | Creed | Found |
| 135 | Everclear | Found |
| 136 | Rod Stewart | Lost |
| 137 | John Lennon The Last Years | Found (British version) (US Version) |
| 138 | 2000 | Found |
| 139 | Flashdance | Lost |
| 140 | Journey | Found (Broadcast)
Found (Directors Cut) |
| 141 | Huey Lewis & The News | Partially Found |
| 142 | Salt N Pepa | Lost |
| 143 | Doobie Brothers | Found |
| 144 | Megadeth | Found |
| 145 | Blues Traveler | Found |
| 146 | 1981 | Found |
| 147 | 1987 | Lost |
| 148 | 1994 | Found |
| 149 | Busta Rhymes | Found |
| 150 | Ricky Nelson | Found |
| 151 | Green Day | Found |
| 152 | The Notorious B.I.G. | Lost (2001 version) |
| 153 | REO Speedwagon | Found |
| 154 | Hair | Found |
| 155 | Billy Idol | Found |
| 156 | Neil Diamond | Found |
| 157 | Pat Benatar | Found (2011 remaster) |
| 158 | Blind Melon | Found |
| 159 | Twisted Sister | Found |
| 160 | Judas Priest | Found |
| 161 | Puff Daddy | Lost |
| 162 | Aaliyah | Partially Lost (2001 version)
Found (2012 version) |
| 163 | Mary J. Blige | Partially Lost (2001 version)
Found (2011 version) |
| 164 | The Cult | Partially Found |
| 165 | Sublime | Found |
| 166 | Aerosmith | Found (Australian version) |
| 167 | Hall & Oates | Found |
| 168 | Sheryl Crow | Found |
| 169 | Anthrax | Found |
| 170 | Garbage | Found |
| 171 | Bob Marley | Found |
| 172 | Foreigner | Found |
| 173 | 2 Live Crew | Lost |
| 174 | Hootie & The Blowfish | Found |
| 175 | Boston | Lost |
| 176 | Boyz II Men | Found |
| 177 | 5th Anniversary Raunchiest Moments | Lost |
| 178 | 5th Anniversary Riches To Rags | Lost |
| 179 | 5th Anniversary Most Shocking Moments | Lost |
| 180 | 5th Anniversary Heartbreaks & Breakups | Lost |
| 181 | 5th Anniversary Near Death Experiences | Lost |
| 182 | 5th Anniversary Update Show | Lost |
| 183 | Cyndi Lauper | Found |
| 184 | Matchbox Twenty | Lost |
| 185 | Britney Spears | Found |
| 186 | Spice Girls | Found |
| 187 | TLC: The Final Chapter | Found |
| 188 | Guns N’ Roses | Found |
| 189 | George Michael | Found |
| 190 | LL Cool J | Partially Found (both 2004 and 2013 versions) |
| 191 | New Edition | Lost |
| 192 | Backstreet Boys | Found |
| 193 | Kid Rock | Found |
| 194 | Ratt | Found |
| 195 | Pantera | Found |
| 196 | Nick Lachey | Found [1] |
| 197 | New Kids On The Block | Found |
| 198 | Lil Wayne | Found |
| 199 | P!nk | Lost (2009 version) Found (2012 version) |
| 200 | Bobby Brown | Found |
| 201 | Bret Michaels | Lost |
| 202 | T.I. | Found (2009 version)
Lost (2012 verison) |
| 203 | 50 Cent | Partially Found (2009 version) Found (2013 version) |
| 204 | DMX | Found |
| 205 | Christina Aguilera | Found [2] |
| 206 | Eve | Found |
| 207 | Courtney Love | Found |
| 208 | Jennifer Hudson | Partially Found |
| 209 | Jennifer Lopez | Found |
| 210 | Usher | Partially Found |
| 211 | Fantasia | Lost |
| 212 | Nelly | Partially Found |
| 213 | Missy Elliot | Found |
| 214 | Ice Cube | Found |
| 215 | Miranda Lambert | Found |
| 216 | Enrique Iglesias | Found |
| 217 | Adam Lambert | Found |
| 218 | Pitbull | Lost |
| 219 | Game | Partially Found |
| 220 | T-Pain | Found |
| 221 | Akon | Found |
| 222 | Nas | Found |
| 223 | Brandy | Partially Found |
| 224 | Train | Lost |
| 225 | Ne-Yo | Lost |
| 226 | Carrie Underwood | Found |
| 227 | Nicole Scherzinger | Partially Found |
| 228 | Gym Class Heroes | Found |
| 229 | Toni Braxton | Found |
| 230 | Ludacris | Found |
| 231 | Linda Perry | Found |
Canceled Episodes
| Title | Status |
|---|---|
| Ratt (1999 Version) | Partially Found |
| Scott Weiland | Lost |
The show has very few episodes that were canceled. The most notable one is the one on Scott Weiland (lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver). It was announced back in March 2009 that Weiland was one of the first artists to sign on to the series alongside Lil Wayne.[4] While Lil Wayne's episode aired on September 10th, 2009, Weiland's episode never aired or was possibly never made. In March 2018, three years after Weiland's death, his Wildabouts bandmate Doug Grean revealed that VH1 didn't interview him enough for the episode, hence why it was never completed.[5] It didn't say who else VH1 interviewed for the canceled episode, like his bandmates in Stone Temple Pilots or Velvet Revolver. It's unknown how far production on the episode went before it got canned.
Availability
Episodes have reemerged online through recordings of the original airings posted on various video-sharing sites and reworkings of the original episode. International versions of some of the lost episodes are also available online. Some episodes of the Paramount+ reboot of Behind the Music use clips from their original episodes as part of the reboot's updated version of those episodes. On July 20th, 2022, nine episodes from the original series became available to stream on the platform. A few have updated content edited into it, however.
See Also
- BTM2 (partially found VH1 documentary series; 2000)
- Driven (partially found VH1 documentary series; 2001-2006)
- VH1's ILL-ustrated (partially found animated series; 2004-2006)
- VH1's Legends (partially lost music documentary series; 1995-2002)
- Megan Wants a Millionaire (partially lost VH1 reality show; 2009)
- Never Mind the Buzzcocks (partially found American adaptation of British panel game; 2002)
- Pop Up Video (partially found VH1 music series; 1996-2012)
- Surviving Nugent (partially found VH1 reality show; 2003-2004)
- VH1 Storytellers (partially lost concert series; 1996-2015)
- VH1 Storytellers: Stone Temple Pilots (found concert footage; 2000)
- Where Are They Now? (partially found VH1 documentary series; 1999-2004)
External Links
References
- ↑ https://facebook.com/VH1/videos/288358966204412
- ↑ https://deadline.com/2021/05/mtv-documentary-behind-the-music-premieres-july-29-paramount-1234757983/
- ↑ VH1 website episode guide of the series. Retrieved 12 Sep '20
- ↑ An article announcing a revival for the show. Retrieved 12 Sep '20
- ↑ An article about why Weiland's episode was scrapped. Retrieved 12 Sep '20