Film of the Alternative cinema: Authors' Collections series
USA, 2003 Runtime: 119 min
Director: Richard Pearce
Director Richard Pearce traces the musical odyssey of blues legend B. B. King in a film that pays tribute to the city that gave birth to a new style of blues. Pearce's homage to Memphis features original performances by B. B. King, Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon and Ike Turner, as well as historical footage of Howlin' Wolf and Rufus Thomas. Says Pearce: “The Blues is a chance to celebrate one of the last truly indigenous American art forms, before it all but disappears, swallowed whole by the rock and roll generation it spawned. Hopefully we'll get there before it's too late.”
Performances in The Road to Memphis Fats Domino Rosco Gordon B. B. King Little Milton Little Richard Bobby Rush Ike Turner Howlin' Wolf The Coasters Interviews in The Road to Memphis Bobby Rush B. B. King Rosco Gordon Rufus Thomas Calvin Newborn Hubert Sumlin Chris Spindel (WDIA program officer) Don Kern (WDIA Production Manager) Dr. Louis Cannonball Cantor Cato Walker III Little Milton Campbell Sam Phillips Ike Turner Jim Dickinson