It
was eleven years after the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival immortalized in Bert
Stern’s Jazz on a Summer’s Day and
ten years after the establishment of the Newport Folk Festival. The blues
revival was well underway, but most of the appreciative audiences for the
rediscovered blues legends were up north or in college towns. However, some of
the greatest real deal blues artists came together in 1969 to play the Memphis
Blues Festival (and mark the city’s sesquicentennial). Adelphi Records founder
Gene Rosenthal documented the festival but his footage remained unseen for
decades. Happily, the Rosenthal footage has been shaped and edited into Joe
LaMattina’s concert film, Memphis ’69 (trailer here), which premiered
during the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival.
The
comparison with Stern’s classic concert film is particularly apt, because they
both vividly and slyly capture a sense of the mood of the crowd and the tenor
of the time. However, 1969 Memphis was considerably grittier than 1958 Newport.
In fact, the festival was held in the Overton Park Band Shell, where the Klan previously
held rallies. That is a point that comes through loudly in the press materials,
but the film wisely focuses on the music—and what music it is.
The
Bar-Kays and Rufus Thomas come out swinging and the film never slows down.
Straight-up legends like Bukka White, Nathan Beauregard, Sleepy John Estes with
Yank Rachell, Furry Lewis, Son Thomas, Lum Guffin, Piano Red, and Mississippi
Fred McDowell get full feature spots. Frankly, Johnny Winter (arguably the
biggest star at the time) sounds rather tame in comparison.
Yet,
one of the greatest pleasures in Memphis ’69
is rediscovering some of the rediscoverers, like multi-genre
singer-songwriter John D. Loudermilk and soulful Sid Selvidge, who both kill
their sets. Again, just like Summer’s Day,
Memphis ’69 brings it on home with
some old time gospel.
The
quality, clarity, and historical significance of Rosenthal’s footage is just
stunning. Blues fans will be blown away and non-fans will be converted. This
film absolutely belongs on the same shelf as Summer’s Day and Monterey Pop.
It is that good. Very highly recommended, Memphis
’69 screens again this Thursday (1/31), as part of this year’s Slamdance
Film Festival.
