Catch A Star

A documentary about performing artists in Chicago in the early 1980s.

0:04Copy video clip URL Segment on radio DJ Steve Dahl. Quick bites of people giving their impressions of him.

0:27Copy video clip URL Dahl, sweating in a white Elvis suit, says he wants to be a national celebrity, not just a regional one. “I’m tired of being a regional star. I’m a mega star…if you don’t make me a national celebrity by 1982, I’ll kill myself,” he says, before walking out onto a stage in front of a cheering crowd. Footage of Dahl performing onstage at Chicagofest.

2:23Copy video clip URL Dahl talks about how his radio show is a return to the original entertainment radio shows of the 1930s and ’40s. “I view myself as a comedian who uses the radio, which not many comedians do these days.” More footage of the Chicagofest performance.

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6:04Copy video clip URL Close-up shot of the Michael Stanley Band’s “Heartland” cover, a spread of band merch on a table, and footage of the band performing live.

08:19Copy video clip URL Michael Stanley talks to the camera about his band’s personnel changes over the years. “I think we’re just starting to realize what we all do, what the strengths and weaknesses are, and to compensate for those.” He talks about being compared to other musicians, particularly Bruce Springsteen.

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12:05Copy video clip URL Close-up shot of Muddy Waters at the microphone on stage. “It’s blues time!” Performs live.

13:30Copy video clip URL Muddy Waters talks to the camera about blues and its roll in creating jazz and rock music. “The blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll. … That’s why they call blues ‘the mother’,” he explains. Performs “Mannish Boy.”

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21:16Copy video clip URL The “Jaws” theme plays over shots of George Thorogood’s touring station wagon, with a luggage shell strapped to the roof. “I don’t know how other rock stars handle their act,” he says. “This is how we handle ours–we’re cracked.”

23:04Copy video clip URL Thorogood explains that his emphasis is on creating a memorable live show, rather than putting out records. “There’s something about one really great live show that people will remember forever and ever, and they’ll talk about it forever and ever.”

25:36Copy video clip URL End of tape.