Storytellers is a television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 music series produced by the VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 network.

In each episode artists perform in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat similar to MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...

. The show started in 1996 with a broadcast of Ray Davies

Ray Davies

Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...

, during his "Storyteller" tour, and took its name from this first show.

Over 70 episodes have aired, and many of the performances have subsequently been released on CD or DVD. "Best of" collections have also been released.

List of artists who have performed on VH1 Storytellers

Episode	Name	Date
01	Ray Davies Ray Davies Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...	1996-02-20
02	Jackson Browne Jackson Browne Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....	1996-04-18
03	Elvis Costello Elvis Costello Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...	1996-05-29
04	Sting	1996-07-15
05	The Black Crowes The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...	1996-08-27
06	Melissa Etheridge Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...	1996-09-13
07	Lyle Lovett Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man"...	1996-10-21
08	Garth Brooks Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...	1996-10-20
09	Bee Gees Bee Gees The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...	1996-11-25
10	James Taylor James Taylor James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....	1997-03-26
11	Phil Collins Phil Collins Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....	1997-04-14
12 VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson VH1 Storytellers is a live album by Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, released in 1998 on American Recordings. The album was produced by Rick Rubin and was the third record released as part of Cash's 9-year period of collaboration with Rubin.The opening track is a duet with Cash and Nelson, followed...	Willie Nelson Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...  & Johnny Cash Johnny Cash John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...	1997-05-12
13	John Fogerty John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...	1997-06-06
14 Across a Wire: Live in New York City Across a Wire: Live in New York City is the third album released by Counting Crows, released on July 14, 1998. It is a double-live album, featuring songs from their first two albums, August and Everything After and Recovering the Satellites...	Counting Crows Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...	1997-08-12
15	Billy Joel Billy Joel William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...	1997-09-01
16	Elton John Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...	1997-09-19
17	Paul Simon Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...	1997-10-20
18	Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...  with Paula Cole Paula Cole Paula Cole is an American singer/songwriter. Her single "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.-Early life:...	1998-01-29
19	Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...	1998-03-27
20	Rod Stewart Rod Stewart Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....	1998-04-28
21 Greatest Moments - VH1 Storytellers Live Greatest Moments is a greatest hits compilation by British band Culture Club. It was released in the UK on 9 November 1998, and went platinum in the UK, reaching #15 in the album charts...	Culture Club Culture Club Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...	1998-05-02
22	Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...	1998-05-12
23 VH1 Storytellers (Ringo Starr album) VH1 Storytellers is a live album by Ringo Starr recorded and released for the popular music program in 1998. Unlike his previous live recordings, this release places Starr in an intimate environment where—as per the show's requirement—he tells the genesis of the songs being performed.Recorded a...	Ringo Starr Ringo Starr Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...	1998-05-13
24	Stevie Nicks Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...	1998-08-18
25	Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...	1998-08-20
26	Natalie Merchant Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...	1998-09-14
27	John Mellencamp John Mellencamp John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...	1998-10-01
28 VH1: Storytellers (Meat Loaf) VH1: Storytellers was a live concert tour by Meat Loaf which one concert was played on the channel VH1. Meat Loaf told humorous stories of his career as a singer and how he unfolded into rock stardom. The DVD version has two additional songs. Some songs on the CD are taken from Meat Loaf's Hard...	Meat Loaf Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...	1998-10-05
29	R.E.M.	1998-10-23
30	Tori Amos Tori Amos Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...	1998-10-24
31	Tony Bennett Tony Bennett Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....  and Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...	1998-10-25
32	Dave Matthews Dave Matthews David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...  Featuring Tim Reynolds Tim Reynolds Tim Reynolds is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist for Dave Matthews Band...	1999-03-24
33	Tom Petty Tom Petty Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...	1999-03-31
34	Tom Waits Tom Waits Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...	1999-04-01
35	Jewel Jewel (singer) Jewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress and poet...	1999-06-09
36	The Pretenders The Pretenders The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...	1999-06-25
37	Def Leppard Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...	1999-07-26
38	Alanis Morissette Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...	1999-07-26
39	Lenny Kravitz Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...	1999-08-22
40 VH1 Storytellers (David Bowie album) VH1 Storytellers is a live album by David Bowie. It was released on 6 July 2009 and features a 23 August 1999 performance on Storytellers, a VH1 program. The package contains an audio CD and a DVD of footage...	David Bowie David Bowie David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...	1999-08-23
41	Wyclef Jean Wyclef Jean Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...  And Friends	1999-09-07
42	Eurythmics Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...	1999-08-28
43	Steely Dan Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...	2000-02-01
44	Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	2000-02-18
45	Don Henley Don Henley Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...	2000-02-19
46	Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....	2000-03-08
47	Duran Duran Duran Duran Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...	2000-06-25
48	No Doubt No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...	2000-08-10
49	Smashing Pumpkins	2000-08-24
50	Bon Jovi Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...	2000-09-22
51	A tribute to The Doors The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...	2000-09-26
52	Matchbox Twenty Matchbox Twenty Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995...	2001-02-09
53	Billy Idol Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...	2001-04-19
54	Electric Light Orchestra Electric Light Orchestra Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...	2001-04-20
55	Train Train (band) Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan , Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood ....  & Fuel Fuel (band) Fuel is an American rock band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994...	2001-06-17
56	Goo Goo Dolls Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are a Grammy-nominated American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik and vocalist and bass guitarist Robby Takac. Since the end of 1994, Mike Malinin has been the band's drummer, a position previously held by George Tutuska...	2002-04-12
57	Robert Plant Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...	2002-07-14
58	Travis Travis (band) Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...	2003
59	Coldplay Coldplay Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...	2005
60	Green Day Green Day Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...	2005-06-05
61	Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...	2005
62	Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...	2005-04-23
63	Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...	2006-07-01
64	Dixie Chicks Dixie Chicks The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...	2006-10-28
65	Jay-Z Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...	2007-11-08
66	Mary J. Blige Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...	2008-02-25
67	Kid Rock Kid Rock Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...	2008-11-27
68	Kanye West Kanye West Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...	2009-02-28
69	Hanson Hanson (band) Hanson are an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac , Taylor , and Zac Hanson . They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations...	2009
70	Pete Townshend Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...	2009
71	Foo Fighters Foo Fighters Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...	2009
72	ZZ Top ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...	2009
73	John Mayer John Mayer John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...	2009-12-10
74	Christina Aguilera Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...	2010-05-05
75	Kings of Leon Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...	2011-05-13
76	Cee-Lo Green	2011-05-20
77	Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....	2011-05-27
78	My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky.The band consists of Jim James , Tom 'Two-Tone Tommy' Blankenship , Patrick Hallahan , Carl Broemel , and Bo Koster .-History:My Morning Jacket was...	2011-06-03
79	Ray LaMontagne Ray LaMontagne Raymond "Ray" Charles Jack LaMontagne is a Grammy-award winning American singer-songwriter. LaMontagne has released four studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain and God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after...	2011-06-10
80	Maxwell Maxwell (musician) Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...	2011-06-17

Meat Loaf enjoyed the show so much that he bought the stage decorations from VH-1 and went on to do a "Storytellers" tour in 1998/1999.

External links

• VH1 Storytellers
• Kings of Leon Storytellers