VH1 Honors the Musical Legacy of New Orleans With a Special Broadcast of the Acclaimed Documentary Feature 'Make It Funky!'

VH1 Honors the Musical Legacy of New Orleans With a Special Broadcast of the Acclaimed Documentary Feature 'Make It Funky!'

'MAKE IT FUNKY!' Will Premiere Wednesday September 14 8:00PM* On VH1, VH1 Classic And VH1 Soul

Viewers Will Have The Opportunity To Make Donations To The Victims of Hurricane Katrina Through MusiCares and Mercy Corps During the Premiere of 'MAKE IT FUNKY!'

NEW YORK, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- "MAKE IT FUNKY!" is a film that celebrates the spirit, history, and vitality of New Orleans' musical culture and its people. During this critical time of need after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, VH1 seeks to remind the world of the true heart of New Orleans with this unprecedented television broadcast of a current theatrical release.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050912/NYM219)

Premiering Wednesday, September 14 at 8:00 p.m. on VH1 its sister networks VH1 Classic and VH1 Soul, "MAKE IT FUNKY!," directed by New Orleanian Michael Murphy, uncovers the rich legacy of New Orleans' musical history. From 'Yellow Moon' to 'Let the Good Times Roll', "MAKE IT FUNKY!" is a raucous tribute to the musical heritage of the Crescent City, chock full of blazing performances, fiery archival footage and red-hot conversations with the remarkable men and women who created it. Featuring a world-class line-up of artists including the Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Lloyd Price, Bonnie Raitt, and Keith Richards, who slip, slide, strut and glide their way through the spicy gumbo of sounds that took over the world, influencing the course of popular music for over a century.

VH1 is airing "MAKE IT FUNKY!" in an effort to help mobilize Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans and other surrounding areas affected by the storm. PSAs and onscreen crawls will alert viewers to ways they can make donations to Mercy Corps and MusiCares to aid storm victims.

Mercy Corps

A team of experienced Mercy Corps relief workers are on the ground providing food, water, blankets and other relief goods to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Mercy Corps is also helping Gulf Coast children cope with trauma and grief through our Comfort for Kids program. Mercy Corps works in some of the worlds most difficult places, including Afghanistan, Sudan and the tsunami-stricken countries in Southeast Asia, helping communities recover from disasters and find long-term solutions to poverty, hunger and injustice. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided over $830 million in assistance to people in 80 nations. More than 91% of the agency's resources are allocated to programs that directly assist those in need.

*all times ET/PT

Contacts: Michelle Clark/VH1 212-846-5576 michelle.clark@vh1staff.com

MusiCares

The Hurricane Katrina disaster has been devastating, profound and life altering for its victims, their families, friends and the nation. This is the time when we must come together and take care of those who need our help. Therefore, The Recording Academy, the nonprofit organization that is the voice of thousands of music makers nationwide, along with its MusiCares Foundation, which provides a safety net of critical services for music people in crisis, is committing an initial donation of $1 million for music people affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund has been set up so these people in crisis can get help. Assistance includes basic living expenses such as shelter, food, utilities, transportation; medical expenses including doctor, dentist and hospital bills, medications; clothing; instrument and recording equipment replacement; relocation costs; school supplies for students; insurance payments and more.

Along with this donation, each of The Academy's 12 regional Chapters will designate local programming that will continue the fundraising efforts to help the thousands of music people whose lives and livelihoods have been impacted by these tragic events. The Recording Academy, The Latin Recording Academy, MusiCares Foundation and the GRAMMY Foundation also have created a matching fund with their employees to help ensure that music continues to be the thread that brings people together and helps us all heal. We encourage the industry and the world to help in any way they can.

For more information on how to help viewers can log onto VH1.com: http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/react_now/series.jhtml to find out how to make donations to MercyCorps (http://www.mercycorps.org/) and MusiCares.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in over 87 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH Uno, VH1 Mega Hits and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at http://www.vh1.com/.

VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050912/NYM219 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN12 PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: VH1

CONTACT: Michelle Clark, of VH1, +1-212-846-5576, michelle.clark@vh1staff.com

Web site: http://www.vh1.com/

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