BBC Two takes viewers on a journey through The Seven Ages Of Rock and explores the music that has been the soundtrack to popular culture, defining each generation since the Sixties.

From the producers of the award-winning series Dancing In The Street, Walk On By, Lost Highway and, most recently, Soul Deep, comes another landmark in television history. The Seven Ages Of Rock charts the story of rock music from the suburb to the stadium, from crackly 45s to MP3 downloads. Along the way, rock’s greatest performers, singers, writers and producers reveal how rock emerged, grew, strengthened and gave a voice to each new generation.

In this week’s opening episode, The Road To Woodstock, the rock revolution of the Sixties is seen through the life and music of Jimi Hendrix. Viewers see how he became the first ultimately-doomed icon of rock. As a Delta blues man, Dylan-esque poet and a technological prophet, Hendrix was the synthesis of everything that had gone before him and all that was to come. This episode also explores the influence of R&B on a generation of British musicians such as The Rolling Stones, Cream and The Who, and how the song-writing of Bob Dylan and studio developments of The Beatles transformed the possibilities and ambitions of rock.

Next week’s episode sees the likes of David Bowie, Velvet Underground, Roxy Music and Pink Floyd exploring how rock became a vehicle for artistic ideas and theatrical performance.

Julian Rhind-Tutt narrates.