Located in an old depot in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Muddy Waters boarded the train to carry the Blues to the world, this small museum tells the powerful story of the origins of the Delta Blues and its ultimate transformation into Rock-n-Roll. Interviews include actor and native son, Morgan Freeman and blues artists Charlie Musselwhite and “Super Chikan” Johnson. Featured are Muddy Waters’ sharecropper cabin; Sonny Boy Williamson’s harmonicas; B.B. King’s guitar, “Lucille;” and the annual Sunflower River Blues festival, which brings together rising talents and established stars of America’s most enduring music.
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10.0No one could spin a yarn to make a sale like Ray Lum. Twenty years after their initial meeting, Bill Ferris returned home to Mississippi in the early ‘70s with a camera. The result reveals a look back at the colorful rhythms of Ray’s life—at home, at the auction, joking with strangers outside country stores— and provides a glimpse at Southern manhood, friendship and loss. Now nearly Ray’s age when they first filmed, Ferris has become a Grammy Award winning documentarian and renowned folklorist. Using never before seen 16mm footage and new animations, OKAY, MR. RAY is a short documentary film about how even the tallest tales help us keep the memory alive of the ones we love.
8.0Granting unprecedented access, Joan Armatrading tells her life story, both as a songwriter and as a performer. Features key performances from Joan and many of the musicians she has influenced.
0.0The 1920s saw a revolution in technology, the advent of the recording industry, that created the first class of African-American women to sing their way to fame and fortune. Blues divas such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Alberta Hunter created and promoted a working-class vision of blues life that provided an alternative to the Victorian gentility of middle-class manners. In their lives and music, blues women presented themselves as strong, independent women who lived hard lives and were unapologetic about their unconventional choices in clothes, recreational activities, and bed partners. Blues singers disseminated a Black feminism that celebrated emotional resilience and sexual pleasure, no matter the source.
8.0Delve into the musical influences of iconic rockers Led Zeppelin, whose epic brand of arena rock grew out of a deep love of the blues, the skiffle and folk rock. Music historians and authors join producers Joe Boyd and Larry Cohn, as well as performers John Renbourn, Chas McDevitt and Davey Graham, in their analysis of the band's musical roots. An enthralling section also explores Zeppelin's fascination with the occult.
6.9Blind blues musician Paul Pena is perhaps best known for his song "Jet Airliner". In 1993, Pena heard Tuvan throat singing over his shortwave radio and subsequently taught himself how to reproduce these extraordinary sounds. This documentary follows him to Tuva, where he takes part in a throat singing competition. Languages featured in the film include English, Russian and Tuvan.
6.0Blues Story presents an impressionistic history of one of the most lasting art forms America has ever produced - as told for the first time through the eyes of the artists who lived it. Combining exclusive interview and performance footage with vintage clips and the music of many Blues legends long gone, the history of this richly felt music is illuminated - from its African roots to its American urban expression - along with its profound place in our cultural heritage. The result is a rare, first-hand glimpse into the lives of these vanishing artists, and a moving, insightful and informative look into a music that continues to be loved by millions throughout the world.
7.7Boogie Man is a comprehensive look at political strategist, racist, and former Republican National Convention Committee chairman, Lee Atwater, who reinvigorated the Republican Party’s Southern Strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. He mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush and played a key role in the elections of Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
6.8On stage since she was a toddler, Googoosh has been an icon of Iranian pop culture since the 1970s. Her progressive style and raw singing talent attracted worldwide acclaim and saw her performing alongside the likes of Tina Turner and Ray Charles. But the star's career came to an abrupt halt after the Islamic Revolution, which banned women from singing in public. Googoosh was placed under house arrest, where she remained for the next two decades. Niloufar Taghizadeh's documentary, which includes interviews with the charismatic singer (now in her seventies, but still performing and advocating for women and girls) and arresting archival footage, offers both a loving portrait of a national icon and a fascinating historical and cultural record of Iran.
0.0Soul 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.
0.0Behind the glitz and glamour of rock 'n' roll royalty is the haunting tale of Elvis Presley. Many question his moral fiber and notorious violent temper. Devilish charm dressed in angelic white had friends and fans fooled for too long.
6.5Steely Dan has not had a new studio album in twenty years--"Two Against Nature" was worth the wait! This concert, recorded live in New York at the Sony Studios, contains new songs as well as classic hits from the minds of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Together, they deliver a unique music experience that is truly unforgettable. Songs: Green Earrings, Cousin Dupree, Bad Sneakers, Janie Runaway, Josie, FM, Gaslighting Abbie, Black Friday, Babylon Sisters, Kid Charlemagne, Jack of Speed, Peg, What a Shame About Me, Pretzel Logic.
7.4Live, 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.
6.9Robert 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.
9.0Hailing from Chicago, The Right Now covers diverse musical ground: dance beat elation, synth-pop grandeur, intimate ballads and gritty soul. Breezy horn lines and soul grooves highlight Chicago's 7-piece rock and jazz group led by vocal powerhouse Stefanie Berecz. The Right Now has opened for Fitz & The Tantrums and George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. Their newest album Starlight hit the streets in February 2017 to critical acclaim. NPR’s Sound Opinions hailed Stefanie Berecz’s performance as “stronger…than Adele” while others dubbed the songs “insanely infectious and incredibly well crafted” (Tomorrow's Verse). The City of Farmington Hills Special Services Department presents, The Right Now from Chicago. The free concert series is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.
0.0Experience 5 days of rocking, crowd pumping Blues competition packed with passion, music, and suspense. Discover the people who keep The Blues alive and the powerful international impact of America’s musical gift to the world.
7.6Originally produced in 1997 as part of the Classic Albums television series, this newly edited, expanded edition features almost 40 minutes of additional content not see in the original feature. Bassist Noel Redding, drummer Mitch Mitchell and co-manager Chas Chandler detailed their contributions while engineer Eddie Kramer re-examined the many multi-track tapes created during the sessions. Help from Jimi's `friends and passengers' came by way of new interviews with drummer Buddy Miles, Jefferson Airplane bassist Jack Casady, Traffic's Dave Mason and Steve Winwood, among others.
0.0"Philip Priestley's acclaimed film charts the history of Stax Records, the influential soul and blues record company founded in the 1960s by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton. Featuring music by an impressive roster of stars, including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and Carla Thomas, The Soul of Stax chronicles the performers' rise through the industry and popular culture, the role played by many of them in the Civil Rights movement, and the label's eventual decline." - bfi.org.uk
7.0The life and times of the most original American singer/ songwriter of the last 50 years.
8.5This warm 90 minutes documentary shows us unknown blues musicians from Mississippi. They play everywhere : on the streets, in dirty little bars, in a barber shop, in big clubs. The film really captures the true faces of blues and shows us that this music had nothing to do with nostalgia or record company hypes. Documentary on the Delta blues.
6.0Blues as a genre shaped the sound of jazz in the early 20th century and directly led to the creation of rock 'n' roll in the '50s. The scales, chords, and progressions of blues as a musical form can be found in styles from jazz to rock to contemporary R&B.