Watch the Memphis '69 concert film

Memphis '69 features performances by Rufus Thomas & The Bar-Kays, Furry Lewis, John Fahey, Bukka White and many others. 

Here's the scoop...

Fat Possum Records to release the concert film, MEMPHIS ’69, via YouTube August 6th followed by DVD release on September 17th, featuring sweat-stained performances by Rufus Thomas & The Bar-Kays, Bukka White, John Fahey, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Johnny Winter and other luminaries.  Premiered at Slamdance, the documentary spotlights the landmark 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival and is made up entirely of previously unreleased footage. 

Fat Possum Records will release the Memphis ’69 documentary film, capturing three days and two nights of the sweltering, interracial 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival. Full song performances include a number of iconic Blues Hall of Famers such as Rufus Thomas & The Bar-Kays; slide guitar great Booker “Bukka” White; Sleepy John Estes with Yank Rachel; Texas’ Johnny Winter; Memphis’ own Furry Lewis, Beale Street sweeper who opened for the Rolling Stones; and North Mississippi bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell. There are no talking heads, just the unfiltered shots of the concert and its surroundings from the time. Memphis ’69 will be available from Fat Possum on DVD September 17th. Preorder it right here. 

Other highlights include cult American primitive guitarist John Fahey; Moloch, with a young Jim Dickinson before his sessions with Bob Dylan and the Stones; Rev. Robert Wilkins—whose “Prodigal Son” was covered by the Stones—and family; Nathan Beauregard, introduced as estimated to have been born just a year after the Civil War; visual artist, grave digger, and bluesman James “Son” Thomas, whose clay sculptures has been featured in the National Gallery of Art, Brooklyn Museum, and the Studio Museum in Harlem; two-time Billboard R&B chart top ten artist Piano Red, whose songs were later covered by the Beatles and the Lovin’ Spoonful; and John D. Loudermilk, who saw versions of his tunes recorded by the Everly Brothers, Marianne Faithfull, Johnny Cash, and Eric Burdon & War and who wrote the now-standard “Tobacco Road.”

Additional performances include mesmerizing turns from a young Joann Kelley and “Backwards” Sam Firk; delta bluesman Lum Guffin; Memphis’ own Jefferson Street Jug Band joined by Fahey; the electric Insect Trust; and gospel group The Salem Harmonizers.

The footage was originally filmed by Adelphi Records founder Gene Rosenthal, who drove down from Maryland with a crew, shooting undaunted even as the heat reached 106 degrees. With over 40,000 feet of film, he spent his entire budget and just to process it, having to sell the cameras he had just acquired and leaving him with no ability to craft it into a finished film. Fat Possum’s Bruce Watson came on board in 2016, bringing with him filmmakers Joe and Lisa LaMattina, who have also done film work for Green Day, Rihanna, the Cold War Kids, Snoop Dog, Florence + The Machine, and Tom Morello. The LaMattinas then edited the footage, crafting it into the finished film. This was no easy task given that the audio engineer in 1969 was tripping on acid. Award-winning author and filmmaker Robert Gordon also served as a consultant. 

Watch Memphis '69 while it's temporarily available on YouTube...