AXS TV Tunes Up October Debut of ‘The Day The Rock Star Died’

AXS TV in October will profiles the lives and deaths of some of music’s most influential artists as part of a new series, The Day The Rock Star Died.

The 15-part series, which debuts Oct. 2, examines such artists as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Whitney Houston, with a focus on what made these artists so incredible and what makes their art so enduring, said network officials.

The series will precede the return of AXS’ news/interview series The Big Interview with veteran journalist Dan Rather.

“AXS TV is dedicated to providing viewers with the absolute best in classic rock programming, and we are proud to expand our growing roster of quality music-themed programming even further with the addition of The Day The Rock Star Died,” said Lucia McCalmont, vice president of program acquisitions and scheduling, AXS TV in a statement. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.