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Blues DVDs (Keepin' The Recorded Blues Alive)
Here's something new for the website. New Blues DVDs
for you to have a look at.
If you want to recommend any new blues DVDs, please email me at:
alan.white@earlyblues.com
Kind regards
Alan White
| Willie King : DVD Documentary: 'Down in the Woods' |
 "Down
in the Woods" is a DVD about the life and music of Alabama bluesman
Willie King. The film takes viewers on a journey into the world of
Willie King, a backwood, juke-joint musician who lives and breathes the
blues every moment of his life. The DVD is a fascinating collage of Willie King's life and many activities, illuminated with searing live performances and encounters with his family, friends, fellow musicians like T-Model Ford and music experts such as Peter Guralnick. It enables the viewer to experience what it is like to be a bluesman living in the Alabama Black Belt, "down in the woods." Born on a cotton plantation in Prairie Point, Mississippi in 1943 the son of poor sharecroppers, Willie was drawn to the blues at an early age. He made his first guitar out of bailing wire when he was seven and has been playing ever since. Cotton picker, moon shiner, juke joint owner, civil rights activist and social worker, Willie has done them all and now is one of the most popular blues musicians around. He plays big stages and festivals but always returns to his beloved Old Memphis, a small and mostly African-American community in rural Alabama where he lives in an old trailer and preaches the blues at house parties and in ramshackle juke joints. Willie spends much of his time supporting his local community and teaching young people the traditional culture and survival skills passed on to him from his people's share cropping and slave ancestors.  Willie
King is one of the true innovators of the blues in the tradition of
Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker. His music is powerful, an exciting,
danceable mix of rural blues, soul and boogie, all in his own
distinctive style. King's lyrics are often political, fighting racism
and a voice for poor blacks in the South. He preaches a message of
peace, togetherness and social justice for all people around the world.Dutch filmmakers Saskia Rietmeijer and Bart Drolenga of Visible World Films came to America with the intention of producing a documentary about African American arts and culture in the deep South. When they met Willie, they were so impressed that they decided instead to devote their efforts to creating a DVD about Willie's life and times. The DVD is an independent production. It contains a 63-minute documentary and 40 minutes of live music. The DVD is available at Willie King's website www.willie-king.com and at Visible World Films website www.visibleworldfilms.com For further info and clips you can visit www.visibleworldfilms.com |
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