America's Blues

Recaptures the lives and times of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, Ethel Waters, and the other legendary women who made blues music a vital part of American culture. The film brings together for the first time dozens of rare, classic renditions of the early blues.

Live, intimate, and raw, Sessions For Robert J is the essential audio/video companion to Eric Clapton's 2004 gold, Top 10 Me And Mr. Johnson, tribute to blues legend Robert Johnson. Filmed during tour rehearsals in London and Dallas plus a Los Angeles hotel room and the Dallas warehouse where Johnson made some of his final recordings, Sessions for Robert J finds Clapton performing all Robert Johnson songs with his touring band, acoustically with Doyle Bramhall II and solo-as well as discussing Johnson and his influence. A performance/documentary DVD with 14 tracks (from which the 11 CD selections are taken), Sessions for Robert J is blues heaven.

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

Blues Story presents an impressionistic history of one of the most lasting art forms America has ever produced - as told for the first time through the eyes of the artists who lived it. Combining exclusive interview and performance footage with vintage clips and the music of many Blues legends long gone, the history of this richly felt music is illuminated - from its African roots to its American urban expression - along with its profound place in our cultural heritage. The result is a rare, first-hand glimpse into the lives of these vanishing artists, and a moving, insightful and informative look into a music that continues to be loved by millions throughout the world.

Documentary which celebrates the music of Louisiana.

In 1962, a group of legendary American blues musicians embarked on a series of tours to the United Kingdom. Footage from these classic concerts, which feature the likes of Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, Junior Wells and more, are collected here. Blues fans will relish appearances by Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lonnie Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Big Joe Turner, Otis Rush ...

Originally recorded for the Canadian TV show "A Beautiful Noise", this program includes additional interview and musical footage. Healey, playing trumpet and guitar, leads his excellent band The Jazz Wizards forward into musical history. As always, he delivers jazz from the past with humor, respect for the tradition, and a contemporary attitude. Healey gained worldwide fame as a stunningly original rock/blues guitarist. His passion, however, was the infectious and joyful music from the classic jazz era - the days when Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke ruled the music world.

Taken from the European tours organised for American blues musicians between 1962 and 1969, this release features performances by several popular blues artists, including: Big Mama Thornton, Roosevelt Sykes, Buddy Guy, Dr. Isaiah Ross, Big Joe Turner, Skip James, Bukka White, Son House, Hound Dog Taylor and Little Walter, Koko Taylor and Little Walter, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Helen Humes, Earl Hooker, and Muddy Waters.

Tom Waits 1985 performance of "16 Shells From A 30.6" and “In the Neighborhood” from the album 'Swordfish Trombones' and "Cemetery Polka" and “Walking Spanish” from the album 'Rain Dogs' Live On The Tube.

Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, THE BLUES UNDER THE SKIN dramatizes the tumultuous relationship of a young couple (Onike Lee and Roland Sanchez) as they struggle to overcome the barriers of poverty and prejudice that keep them from finding happiness together.

Long Island (aka the Big Fish) was home to a blues scene that was one of the most incredible and fantastic musical experiences. From the early 1960's through the 1990's, people went to music clubs to hear the blues. Long Island was a home base to many of the top blues musicians who had fans from all over the world. Back in the day, fans would follow them weekly from club to club while their popularity grew worldwide. The Big Fish Blues documentary reveals a genre and a host of incredible performances by these Long Island blues greats. You will also learn about their journeys to success from their personal stories. So sit back, relax, let your hair down, and simply have some fun as you experience the "Blues way of life."

Live concert recording of B.B. King playing with many guests, including Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Etta James, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Billy Ocean & Phil Collins.

The star-studded special celebrates the trailblazing music series' 40th anniversary. With guest hosts Jeff Bridges, Matthew McConaughey and Sheryl Crow, the two-hour broadcast features memorable moments from the show's remarkable run, anchored by some of the brightest stars in the show's history returning to the AUSTIN CITY LIMITS stage for incredible performances. Highlights include legends Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Foo Fighters, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Clark Jr., Lyle Lovett, Alabama Shakes, Buddy Guy and more performing in celebration of AUSTIN CITY LIMITS' legacy as an American music institution over the last four decades.

Albert Collins (October 1, 1932 - 24 November 1993) was a blues guitarist, singer and African-American musician. He had many nicknames, such as "The Ice Man", "The Master of the Telecaster" and "The Razor Blade". The film features Albert Collins on a Quebec Radio production for Canadian TV in 1983.

The music of legendary blues-based guitarists Albert Collins, Lonnie Mack and Roy Buchanan are featured in this film highlighting their historic December 6, 1985 concert at Carnegie Hall. Included are personality profiles on each musician and the story of what brought these three innovative bluesmen together in one live performance. Released by Barznton Productions in 1986, the video has a running time of 90 minutes.

The story of The Blues traces the four main traditions of blues music: Form Blues, Blues, Urban Blues and Blues Electric. The blues has evolved and diversified, and filtered into a surprising variety of styles in contemporary music. In the blues the history of music was released. A look at the roots, origins and the subsequent influence of style the film explores the blues significant contribution to the development of jazz, rock and country and western music. Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Johnson, Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Alexander Texas, and many more artists are featured through the film.

Blues legend Eddie Taylor struggles against financial hardship and music industry exploitation to make a name for himself and provide a better life for his family.

This warm 90 minutes documentary shows us unknown blues musicians from Mississippi. They play everywhere : on the streets, in dirty little bars, in a barber shop, in big clubs. The film really captures the true faces of blues and shows us that this music had nothing to do with nostalgia or record company hypes. Documentary on the Delta blues.

From America's deep South, to Detroit and New York this captivating and enlightening documentary special traces the evolution of blues through pivotal moments in American history. Brewer discovers that there was no music called 'the blues' when its creators just stepped into a new feel of musical expressionism… just a means of releasing a lifetime of pain and oppression, from which music, momentarily, set them free.

A film about the first benefit rock concert when major musicians performed to raise relief funds for the poor of Bangladesh. The Concert for Bangladesh was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00 pm on Sunday, 1 August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of, and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide.