Rhythm & Blues Music
Use these buttons to select a section:
Documentaries
Traditional Blues
Traditional blues is a secular folk music created by African Americans in the Deep South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is characterized by the use of “blue notes” (flattened pitches), a conversational “call-and-response” structure, and themes of hardship, resilience, and daily survival. Traditional blues frequently follows a repeating 12-measure chord progression that builds tension and resolves, providing a flexible framework for improvisation. Traditional blues musicians were there before the era of electric guitars.
Leadbelly
Directed by Gordon Parks, Leadbelly (1976) is a biographical drama detailing the life of the legendary 12-string guitar virtuoso and blues singer, Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter. The film chronicles his youth, his struggles with the segregated South, and his experiences on chain gangs.
You See Me Laughin'
The 2002 documentary You See Me Laughin’, directed by Mandy Stein and published by Fat Possum Records, offers an intimate and raw look into the lives, struggles, and hypnotic music of the final generation of North Mississippi Hill Country blues musicians, highlighting the lives and music of North Mississippi hill-country blues legends like R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.
Memories of Rev. Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis (1896–1972) was a legendary American blues and gospel singer and a master of the Piedmont fingerpicking guitar style. Stefan Grossman began studying with Reverend Gary Davis at age 15. The blind blues and gospel master taught Grossman through imitation, with lessons often lasting all day.
Georgia Blues - Blind Willie McTell
Georgia Blues (also released as Blind Willie’s Blues) is a highly regarded 1997 biographical documentary film directed and produced by award-winning author and music scholar David Fulmer. It chronicles the life, music, and lasting cultural legacy of influential acoustic bluesman Blind Willie McTell.
Can't You Hear the Wind Howl?
Can’t You Hear the Wind Howl? The Life & Music of Robert Johnson is an award-winning biographical documentary film released in 1997, directed and produced by Peter Meyer. The 76-minute film explores the elusive history, mythic legends, and profound cultural impact of the “King of the Delta Blues,” Robert Johnson.
Lightning Hopkins
The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins is a legendary 31-minute documentary directed by Les Blank and Skip Gerson, produced by Blank’s company, Flower Films. It is an intimate, lyrical portrait of the enigmatic Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins, capturing his daily life, culture, and musical genius.
Blues
In this section, we cover the whole spectrum of blues music, including urban, electric blues.
Blues Story
“Blues Story” (2003) is a comprehensive music documentary produced and directed by Jay Levey. The film explores the history of American blues music through the first-hand accounts, memories, and live sets of the legendary musicians who created it, tracing the genre’s origins from its African roots through the Mississippi Delta up to its modern, urban expressions.
Legends of Rhythm and Blues
Legends of Rhythm and Blues is a specific episode from the acclaimed 1984 PBS/Channel Four documentary series Repercussions: A Celebration of African American Music that was co-directed by Geoffrey Haydon and Dennis Marks. It features performances and interviews with pioneers of the West Coast blues and early R&B scenes. Haydon and his team spotlight how R&B developed into a driving force in American music, capturing the personal stories of artists who shaped the sound but frequently missed out on mainstream recognition.
Blues Masters - Part One
Blues Masters: The Essential History of the Blues is a highly regarded, multi-volume documentary video series produced by Lanny Lee and released by Rhino Home Video in 1993. Volume One focuses heavily on the origins of the genre, spanning early folk roots, acoustic country blues, and the foundational era of the 1920s and 1930s. It highlights early trailblazers like Mamie Smith and Bessie Smith.
Blues Masters - Part Two
Blues Masters: The Essential History of the Blues is a highly regarded, multi-volume documentary video series produced by Lanny Lee and released by Rhino Home Video in 1993. Volume Two details the migration of the blues into urban centers, tracking the post-WWII transition into electric blues, the rise of the Chicago blues scene, and the genre’s massive influence on early rock and roll.
Chicago Blues
Chicago blues is an electric style of urban blues born when Southern Delta musicians migrated north for industrial jobs and amplified their acoustic guitars and harmonicas to cut through the noisy, bustling city clubs. Driven by the heavily amplified electric guitars, a driving drum backbeat, boogie-woogie bass lines, and a wailing harmonica, legendary artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, and Willie Dixon defined the genre’s raw, intense, dark, streetwise feel.
Chicago Blues
Chicago Blues (1972) is a highly regarded 59-minute documentary directed by Chicago-born filmmaker Harley Cokeliss. It captures the gritty, electric Chicago blues scene of the late 1960s and early ’70s, exploring how rural Mississippi blues evolved into tough urban music.
Record Row - Cradle of Rhythm and Blues
Record Row: Cradle of Rhythm and Blues is a 1997 PBS documentary film that explores the birth and rise of the soul and R&B music industry in the late 1950s. It focuses on Chicago’s South Michigan Avenue, a 12-block stretch where independent, barrier-breaking record labels created a massive cultural impact.
Roll Over Beethoven - Chess Records Saga
Roll over Beethoven: The Chess Records Saga (2010) is an acclaimed BBC Four documentary celebrating the 60th anniversary of Chicago’s legendary Chess Records. Directed by James Maycock, the film explores how Polish immigrants Leonard and Phil Chess built a blues label that changed the landscape of popular music forever.
Dinah Washington - Evil Gal Blues
Evil Gal Blues (2007) is a biographical music documentary about the legendary American jazz and blues singer Dinah Washington. Directed by Jill Nicholls, the film chronicles the meteoric rise, musical genius, and tumultuous life of the artist often dubbed “the female Ray Charles” and “Queen of the Blues”.
Soul
Soul music is an influential genre that originated in African American communities in the United States during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It blends elements of gospel, rhythm and blues (R&B), and jazz. Soul is defined by its emotional directness, intense vocals, and powerful social and cultural resonance.
The Sounds of Soul Volume One
The Sounds of Soul is a prominent installment in the acclaimed 10-part documentary series The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, which originally aired in 1995.Produced by veteran music and media industry executive Jeffrey Peisch, this specific chapter serves as a deep dive into the rise and cultural impact of soul music during the 1960s.
The Sounds of Soul Volume Two
The Sounds of Soul is a prominent installment in the acclaimed 10-part documentary series The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, which originally aired in 1995.Produced by veteran music and media industry executive Jeffrey Peisch, this specific chapter serves as a deep dive into the rise and cultural impact of soul music during the 1960s.
Fame Recording Studios
The 1970 documentary Fame Recording Studios is a Swedish television special that offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the legendary F.A.M.E. (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The film was not actually directed by Alan Parker, but rather serves as a slice-of-life television feature. The documentary captures the raw, laid-back atmosphere of the Southern R&B and soul hub.
Otis Redding - Soul Ambassador
Otis Redding: Soul Ambassador is a 2013 documentary directed by Jeremy Marre for the BBC. It was the first television documentary dedicated to the legendary soul singer, charting his life, career, and lasting musical legacy. The film features rare, previously unseen home footage and delves into Redding’s rapid rise from a Macon, Georgia church choir to an international soul icon.