After toiling for years as an underground cult favorite with a rabidly devoted fan base, Irish rock band U2 finally broke through to mainstream success on the strength of their 1987 opus THE JOSHUA TREE. Released in March of that year, THE JOSHUA TREE became U2's first number-one album and won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The record's crossover appeal stems from its emotional exploration of universal topics such as love ("With or Without You"), death ("One Tree Hill"), and spiritual longing ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For") without sacrificing any of the trademark social consciousness of the band's earlier albums ("Bullet the Blue Sky," "Mothers of the Disappeared").

This episode of the CLASSIC ALBUMS series details the making of U2's chart-topping album through interviews with band members, archival film footage, and live performances.