lstash's video: Grant Loud Music Compilation 1971

Most of us didn't have our daily teen escapades broadcast on national television (or we'd all be in trouble!), but Grant Loud did. For 7 months in 1971 the family of Bill and Pat Loud of Santa Barbara, California were subjected to near-microscopic examination of their lives in what has come to be recognized as the first foray into so-called "reality TV." It can be debated which television programs were the true forerunners of reality TV, but there's little doubt that in format and structure the 12-part Loud series mirrored more closely than previous offerings what we today have come to recognize as reality TV. "An American Family," as it was called, would not be broadcast until over a year later in 1973 after the roughly 300 hours of film footage had been edited down. Viewer reaction at the time was mixed; and largely divided among generational lines. Younger viewers enjoyed it because the Loud kids were close to their own age and going through the same joys and travails. Older viewers were less enthusiastic because the Louds were nothing like the Cleavers. While the degree of outrage in some quarters has been exaggerated in recent reviews of the documentary, it is worth remembering that at that time viewers had nothing within that particular realm of "reality TV" to measure it against, and as a result the Loud's were quickly labeled by some as a dysfunctional family. Now that we've had an opportunity to view the recent onslaught of reality TV shows -- where being truly dysfunctional is more often than not a prerequisite -- the Loud's come off appearing like a beacon of stability. But back to Grant: Seventeen-years-old at the time of filming, Grant was the youngest son in the family. Compared to his brothers -- particularly Lace -- he seemed somewhat laconic at times, but he was funny, smart and talented. Okay, enough lead-in...what do we have here? Things kick off with Grant and a band -- which included brother Kevin on bass -- performing "Summertime Blues." A portion of this performance has appeared elsewhere on YouTube -- minus the maniacal laugh at 1:05 which was among its highlights! Up next, after a brief scene at a piano, Grant is seen engaged in a poolside chat with his parents; edited here to focus primarily on the comments connected to his musical aspirations. Grant had previously worked with a construction crew which created concrete curbs -- shoveling, scraping, sweeping...the whole routine. His parents wanted him to return to the curb crew again during the summer before high school resumed, but he wanted to devote his energies during that period to improving the prospects of his band. Far from being a slacker, he had actually done more manual labor than most teenagers. But Bill and Pat expected a lot from their kids and in the end he complied with their wishes and returned to sweating under the blazing sun with the curb-creating concrete gang! One of the concerns expressed by the mother during the pool chat was that her son spent too much time in his room. It's not unusual, of course, for creative kids to spend lengthy periods holed up in their bedrooms; the sanctuary of which becomes a haven for fostering creativity...and to avoid film crews. Maybe Grant should have burst into the Beach Boys' song "In My Room" during the pool chat! The mother had expressed similar bewilderment over her oldest son Lance -- whom she was still coming to terms with -- once spending inordinate lengths of time in his room, which she mentioned during a conversation with him in a video I've posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKkGDaoTssk So perhaps her real concern with Grant's room-dwelling habits was rooted in not wanting to see him go through what his older brother had gone through while sorting out his place in the world. The pool scene is followed with Grant performing the songs "Apeman" by the Kinks (a scene shown elsewhere on YouTube) and "Mother Nature's Son" by the Beatles for his mom and sisters Delilah and Michele. The performance made clear that his time spent "plunking on the guitar" had been well spent. This is followed by Grant and the band (again including Kevin on bass) rehearsing a unique take on the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's song "Tent," which they are next shown performing at their high school during a rally. As the band's guitarist described it while pitching the idea to a teacher: "We were thinking of putting on this little rock 'n' roll music extravaganza. It's kind of a satire on rock 'n' roll, and it lasts about five minutes. And there's a whole lot of singing and acting all over the field. It's a theatrical type thing...." The end result makes one wonder if Lux Interior of the Cramps saw Grant Loud back in the day and got some ideas for what he'd be doing five years later! So did Grant hang on to his musical passions? You bet. Check out his Facebook page and have a listen to some GREAT songs: http://tinyurl.com/GrantLoudMusic