The Dick Cavett Show Presents Rock Icons

Dick who? Dick Cavett, babies, he was “the” hep cat everyone wanted to be seen talking to back in the 1970s even though Johnny Carson ruled late night television. For example, Joni Mitchell didn’t attend Woodstock because her manager was worried she might miss her appearance due to the bad traffic, and in a bonus feature we see The Rolling Stones perform at nine in the morning at Madison Square Garden because Cavett was the only interviewer Mick Jagger would let come and record the group.

Cavett was a comedian and a one-time writer for Jack Paar, Carson's predecessor on The Tonight Show. He went on to host a show for ABC, which eventually became, surprisingly enough, The Dick Cavett Show. He won an Emmy for the show, which was canceled, but then brought back to life more than once. He also won praise from his colleagues, not because of the people he had on his show, but because of the questions he asked and the way he listened. That is a rare concept....listening. Cavett did it and did it well making his guests feel much more comfortable.

That's sounds cool, but Rock Icons, what's up?

Ok, this is kind of like a documentary, but it’s not. It's a collection of Cavett’s talk shows that aired during the years between 1968 and ‘74. He had all types of people on from rock stars to pro athletes to congressmen, and since the backdrop of the times were drugs, music and Vietnam, everybody from presidential possibilities to timeless actors had a voice on Cavett's show. The rock stars didn't just perform; they were interviewed and got to ask questions of other guests like everyone else did.
On disc one, when Sly and the Family Stone perform, the funk is out in force, and so is more noticeably the cocaine. If you look closely you can see it slide out of Sly's nose. This segment contains one of the oddest talk show interviews ever. It has got to be seen to be believed. I can't ever start to explain the madness that ensues during the interview.