"Cavett Show" DVDs feature rock legends

If Dick Cavett hadn't had the foresight to buy back some of his shows for $60 each a few years ago, a big part of rock history almost certainly would have been discarded by now.

Thankfully, the 68-year-old comedian and former talk-show host decided to rescue them, a move that should reap some very nice dividends starting today, when Shout! Factory releases the triple-DVD set "The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons."

For while NBC's Johnny Carson was the indisputable king of late-night television, it was Cavett, from 1969 to 1975, who attracted some of the most intriguing guests to his show, which aired on ABC. That was definitely the case when it came to rock stars. George Harrison, John Lennon, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix were among the many who appeared with Cavett, and most of them can be found on this first in a planned series of releases. Speaking from Manhattan, Cavett pronounced himself plenty pleased with the results.

"I was just talking to someone who is technically versed and he was amazed at the quality," Cavett said.

The nine full episodes on these first three DVDs represent a magical moment in time, with classic musical performances balanced by some fascinating discussion among guests from completely different worlds.

Who could have ever placed Sly Stone on the same couch as Debbie Reynolds? Who could have ever fathomed that a June 1970 broadcast featuring Joplin, Raquel Welch, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Chet Huntley would work?

Joplin and Welch — who discuss everything from the plot to Welch's then-new film "Myra Breckinridge" to the price of fame — actually find a common bond. That Cavett, a Nebraska native who grew up listening to the Mills Brothers and Rosemary Clooney, somehow became the preferred TV host among rockers still amuses him. But it was never clearer than on Aug. 19, 1969, the day after the Woodstock Festival ended, when several of the fest's stars, including Jefferson Airplane, Stephen Stills and Crosby, showed up. "Everything felt so good that night," Cavett recalled. "The spirit of the studio audience was great."

That's not surprising given the strength of the performances found on the DVD, including a very young-looking Mitchell doing four songs including "Chelsea Morning" and "For Free," Stills playing "4 and 20," and Jefferson Airplane rocking through "Volunteers," "Somebody to Love" and "We Can Be Together," the last featuring a 12-letter expletive that somehow sneaked past the censors.

Cavett said that having rock stars as guests wasn't initially popular at the network.

"There was this general wisdom of, 'What would you want them on for?' " he said. "And the really wise were saying, 'No one likes them.' But I fought for it. I felt, well, why not?"

His persistence paid off, and more and more rockers made it to his show. Joplin was almost a regular, appearing five times, three of which can be found on this DVD set.

She is loose and engaging, and she even does a comedy skit with the improvisational troupe the Committee on one broadcast. On the Aug. 3, 1970, show, filmed just months before her Oct. 4 death from a heroin overdose, she sang poignant versions of "Half Moon" and "My Baby." It was her final TV appearance.

"Janis was so exuberant," Cavett recalled. "In a way it's sad to see her so happy."

Cavett recalled taking Joplin to Sardi's Restaurant in New York, a moment he also discusses in bonus interview footage on the DVD.

"I said to her, 'I hope you don't do heroin.' She said, 'Who would care?' "

Though Cavett did not land Bob Dylan or the Doors, he did get plenty of relative recluses, such as David Bowie and ex-Beatle Harrison, who showed up with his friend Ravi Shankar on Nov. 23, 1971. Though he doesn't sing on the show, Harrison is extensively interviewed, on everything from drugs and the Beatles' split to the recent Concert for Bangladesh. He also sits in on slide guitar with Gary Wright and Wonderwheel doing "Two Faced Man."

The box set was slightly delayed in order to include footage from Cavett's visit to see the Rolling Stones at Madison Garden, and it features a couple of edited songs from that show as well as a backstage interview with Mick Jagger from July 25, 1972.

Asked to name his favorite of all the musical guests he ever had on the air, Cavett offers a surprise.

"Wilson Pickett. 'Midnight Hour.' I just loved him."

What is Cavett hoping to achieve by releasing all this archival material?

"I'm hoping to bring happiness to the shut-ins," he said, proving he's lost none of his dry wit through the years. "But truly, I'm hoping people will enjoy it, and remember it as part of the musical makeup of our times."

Additional Cavett material will be issued in the months ahead, including a show that features John Lennon and Yoko Ono and another that focuses on Ray Charles. Other DVDs devoted to comic icons, Hollywood and sports legends who appeared on Cavett's show are also in the works.