America's Blues takes a new angle on the Blues, focusing on, not only the musical impact it has had on all forms of Popular American Music, but also the influence it has had on art, fashion, language, film and racial equality.
Social & External
The people behind it
Ira Newborn
Leo 'Bud' Welch
Bill Luckett
Robert Earl Príce
Patricia Schroeder
Shake ‘Em On Down is a one-hour documentary film which aims to tell the story of Fred McDowell, who was first recorded by Alan Lomax in 1959, traveled to Europe with the Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s, mentored Bonnie Raitt, and served as the cornerstone of the unique and enduring North Mississippi- style of blues music.
An unflinching and deeply personal journey into the life and work of guitarist Eric Clapton told through his own words and songs.
Live, intimate, and raw, Sessions For Robert J is the essential audio/video companion to Eric Clapton's 2004 gold, Top 10 Me And Mr. Johnson, tribute to blues legend Robert Johnson. Filmed during tour rehearsals in London and Dallas plus a Los Angeles hotel room and the Dallas warehouse where Johnson made some of his final recordings, Sessions for Robert J finds Clapton performing all Robert Johnson songs with his touring band, acoustically with Doyle Bramhall II and solo-as well as discussing Johnson and his influence. A performance/documentary DVD with 14 tracks (from which the 11 CD selections are taken), Sessions for Robert J is blues heaven.
Four days prior to being diagnosed with a malignant lung tumor, Luther Allison played a blistering show in Montreal; it was filmed for later airplay on Canadian television, and most of the show is captured on this DVD. The bitter irony is obvious here -- Allison is at the peak of his powers, and yet at the same time, it could be said that he's playing like a man with only weeks to live. Performers include: Luther Allison: lead guitar, vocals; James Solberg: rhythm & lead guitar; Mike Vlahakis: keyboards; Ken Faltinson: bass; Robb Stupka: drums; and Memphis Horns (Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love).
Soul singer Dana Masters traces the story of Ottilie Patterson, who for a dazzling few years in the late 1950s and early 1960s was a pioneer of British jazz and blues music and inspiration to later groups such as The Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things.
A showgirl trying to advance her career must hide the fact she is caring for a baby. With N.T.G. and The Florentine Gardens Revue, Ted Fio Rito and his Orchestra, the Mills Brothers, and Candy Candido (The Man of a Thousand Voices).
HAIYU interweaves Mariem Hassan’s music and her personal quest for her country’s independence with larger historical events dating back to the region’s Spanish colonisation, and subsequent occupation by Morocco.
Long Island (aka the Big Fish) was home to a blues scene that was one of the most incredible and fantastic musical experiences. From the early 1960's through the 1990's, people went to music clubs to hear the blues. Long Island was a home base to many of the top blues musicians who had fans from all over the world. Back in the day, fans would follow them weekly from club to club while their popularity grew worldwide. The Big Fish Blues documentary reveals a genre and a host of incredible performances by these Long Island blues greats. You will also learn about their journeys to success from their personal stories. So sit back, relax, let your hair down, and simply have some fun as you experience the "Blues way of life."
It's 1959 in a seedy bar in Philadelphia, and Billie Holiday is giving one of her last performances interlaced with salty, often humorous, reminiscences to project a riveting portrait of the lady and her music 4 months before her death.
Robert Johnson was one of the most influential blues guitarists ever. Even before his early death, fans wondered if he'd made a pact with the Devil.
The search of several young, white men for blues singers who have been missing for decades coincides with the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi in the 1960s.
This acclaimed documentary depicts the sad life of the greatest of all jazz singers, Billie Holiday, a life engraved with personal tragedy and ultimately shortened by drug abuse and alcoholism. Her story and career are portrayed through rare archival film and television appearances, memorable renditions of her greatest songs, and interviews with friends and colleagues.
Born in Indianola, Mississippi, Albert King remains one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time and enjoyed a successful career that spanned four decades, with wide critical and commercial acceptance throughout the world. The left- handed blues giant wrenched stinging solos from his trademark Gibson Flying V, informing the sound and style of such admirers as Eric Clapton, Luther Allison, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Taj Mahal and Jimi Hendrix. This never before released concert film presents King in top form, tearing through his signature songs at the peak of his career. Songs include "Born under a Bad Sign," "The Sky Is Crying," "The Very Thought of You," "Cadillac Assembly Line," "Summertime," "Cold Women with Warm Hearts," "As the Years Go Passing By."
Albert King & B.B. King live at the Japan Blues Carnival 1989.
A musical portrait of Texas blues songster Mance Lipscomb.
Shot after hours at Newport Folk in 1966 by American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, this recording features 14 performances by such blues greats as Son House, Skip James and Howlin’ Wolf among others.
A documentary short about Charley Patton included in the box set "The Definitive Charley Patton - 75th Anniversary Edition". The film contains interviews with musicians, musicologists, blues scholars and Delta historians and contains brand new footage of Dockery’s, the legendary plantation where Patton was raised and where many people believe the Delta Blues truly blossomed as an art form.
Blues legend Eddie Taylor struggles against financial hardship and music industry exploitation to make a name for himself and provide a better life for his family.
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
A portrait of Keith Richards that takes us on a journey to discover the genesis of his sound as a songwriter, guitarist and performer.
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.
Supersonic charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just three short years. This palpable, raw and moving film shines a light on one of the most genre and generation-defining British bands that has ever existed and features candid new interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher, their mother, and members of the band and road crew.
Examines the life and career of singer Whitney Houston. Features never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive recordings, rare performances and interviews with the people who knew her best.
Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.
In a tiny Alabama town with the curious name of Muscle Shoals, something miraculous sprang from the mud of the Tennessee River. A group of unassuming, yet incredibly talented, locals came together and spawned some of the greatest music of all time: “Mustang Sally,” “I Never Loved a Man,” “Wild Horses,” and many more. During the most incendiary periods of racial hostility, white folks and black folks came together to create music that would last for generations and gave birth to the incomparable “Muscle Shoals sound.”
The Beatles stormed through Europe's music scene in 1963, and, in 1964, they conquered America. Their groundbreaking world tours changed global youth culture forever and, arguably, invented mass entertainment as we know it today. All the while, the group were composing and recording a series of extraordinarily successful singles and albums. However the relentless pressure of such unprecedented fame, that in 1966 became uncontrollable turmoil, led to the decision to stop touring. In the ensuing years The Beatles were then free to focus on a series of albums that changed the face of recorded music.
During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.
Part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream, this film captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan performed during the fall of that year.
In 1997, rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G.) were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.
The troubled fraternal relationship between songwriters Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar and Grammy-winning Sherman Brothers, famous for the iconic hits they wrote for Disney.
Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
The life and tragic death of Whitney Houston.
Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.
Experience the events of September 11, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day.
With the help of more than 10,000 dedicated Zappa fans, this is the long-awaited definitive documentary project of Alex Winter documenting the life and career of enigmatic groundbreaking rock star Frank Zappa. Alex also utilizes in this picture thousands of hours of painstakingly digitized videos, photos, audio, writing, and everything in between from Zappa's private archives. These chronicles have never been brought to a public audience before, until now.