Dan Rather AXS TV special profiles Prince, David Bowie, Merle Haggard June 7th

AXS TV celebrates the lives and legacies of some of the most notable music icons who left too soon, with the all-new special The Big Interview – Special Edition: Legends Lost, premiering on Tuesday, June 7th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. The hour-long event is hosted by acclaimed newsman Dan Rather, and is divided into five distinct segments, each one devoted to a different artist.

Featured in this unforgettable evening are heartfelt tributes to genre-defying rocker Prince; R&B royalty Natalie Cole; glam rock pioneer David Bowie; country music mainstay Merle Haggard; and blues virtuoso B.B. King. Using archived footage and exclusive interviews, The Big Interview – Special Edition: Legends Lost gives viewers a deeply personal look at these artistsโ€™ lives, as their friends, family, and collaborators come together to honor their memory and discuss their careersโ€™ most pivotal moments. Some of the programโ€™s many highlights include Ratherโ€™s final interview with Merle Haggard, followed by an emotional performance of Haggardโ€™s hit โ€œSing Me Back Homeโ€; as well as a rare television appearance by Andrรฉ Cymone, Princeโ€™s best friend and original bassist, who sheds some light on a side of the musical innovatorโ€™s personal life that many people never got to see, and talks about working with Prince on his debut album and tour.

Other highlights include a chat with David Bowieโ€™s childhood friend, painter George Underwood, who designed several album covers for the superstar. Years earlier, Underwood left a lasting impact on the artist, when a fight between the two left the singer with his unique eyesโ€”something Bowie would ultimately come to thank him for. Underwood explains the scuffle, saying, โ€œI overheard David bragging about how he was going out with this girl [I was going out with]. Complete fabrication, of course… I told this story to a friend of mine, and he said, โ€˜Oh, blimey, if it was me, Iโ€™d go and stick one on him.โ€™ That wasnโ€™t really my style at all, but I think I had to prove something… I walked over to David, and I basically took him by the shoulder and just hit him. I didnโ€™t mean to hurt him. It didnโ€™t actually change the color of his eye, what happened was his pupil wouldnโ€™t dilate in and out anymore. I had a good cry, and I told his dad how sorry I wasโ€ฆ his mother was always a bit more bitter about it.โ€

Long-time B.B. King drummer T.C. Coleman opens up about the fateful events that forged a lifelong bond between King and his Gibson guitar, after narrowly escaping a deadly fire at a juke joint caused by two men who were fighting over a woman named Lucille. Coleman explains, โ€œHe said, โ€˜I think Iโ€™ll name my guitar Lucille, to remember me never to do somethinโ€™ that stupid again.โ€™ Thatโ€™s what he would sayโ€ฆ And they were a team. That was his girlโ€ฆ Lucille was everything to B.Bโ€ฆ.You can’t think of B.B. King without Lucilleโ€ฆ Imagine if the guitar wouldโ€™ve got burned up. He wouldโ€™ve went on down the highway, got another guitar, and just been B.B. King. But, he was B.B. King with Lucilleโ€ฆThat’s pretty cool.โ€

And acclaimed producer David Foster joins Rather to discuss the birth of Natalie Coleโ€™s 1991 album Unforgettableโ€ฆ With Loveโ€”a collection of standards made famous by her father, Nat King Cole, who passed away in 1965. On the challenge of pairing the two artistsโ€™ vocals together on the moving duet of Kingโ€™s signature hit โ€œUnforgettable,โ€ Foster recalls, โ€œThere was a lot of leakage with [the orchestra]… so the vocal wasn’t just separatedโ€ฆ The really tough part was how could I get him to answer herโ€ฆ as though he was singing over her shoulder. I figured out a way to do it late one nightโ€ฆ When I played that for her, she cried, ’cause that was a moment where I’m sure she felt like her father was right there with herโ€ฆ The moment that I put those two voices togetherโ€ฆ I knew that this was incredibly special for the world.โ€

โ€œThis year, alone, the world has already lost so many influential musicians who have left an indelible mark not only on music, but on humanity,โ€ said Michele M. Dix, AXS TVโ€™s senior vice president, programming and development. โ€œWith this new special, AXS TV is honored to pay tribute to the legacies of these artists, giving viewers a rare glimpse at their creative process behind some of their most enduring songs.โ€

The Big Interview – Special Edition: Legends Lostย premieres June 7th on AXS TV

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn