The Mods & Rockers Film Festival turns soulful this coming weekend with three programs and five films dedicated to soul and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Stax Records. In-person guests at the festival include soul icon Sam Moore - who first came to fame as half of Sam & Dave. One soul film receives its World Premiere - another film - lost in Norwegian TV vaults since 1967 finally gets its US Premiere. Renowned soul music writer David Nathan salivates at the goodies lined up for lovers of soul music...
As I muse on the wonderful films celebrating American soul music being shown this weekend (courtesy the Mods & Rockers Film Festival) in Los Angeles at the famed Egyptian Theatre, I zero in on the first-time showing of a full-length film of the Stax/Volt Revue which came to London in March of 1967. The film - featuring the late, great Otis Redding, the incredible Sam & Dave, Booker T. &The MGs and The Mar-Keys (the backbone of the Memphis-based Stax musical empire serving, respectively as the rhythm section and horn section on virtually every record made there from the early '60s to the early '70s) soul men Eddie Floyd and Arthur Conley (technically not a Stax artist but a protégé of Redding's) and soul queen Carla Thomas (daughter of Rufus) - was 'discovered' in a television vault in Norway - has been digitally-restored - and for those of us who are dedicated soul music lovers, it's a 'must-see.'
My own keen interest in seeing this amazing show on the silver screen stems directly from having attended one of the original performances in London. I was just a teenager, already besotted with the music of black America, first introduced to the genre known as R&B courtesy the somewhat pop-flavored-but-nonetheless-soulful sound of Dionne Warwick's "Walk On By" in 1964 as I suffered the pangs of unrequited puppy love (her name was Marilyn!). From there, in short succession, I heard Nina Simone and eager to be part of the 'in crowd' of young Brits who had formed fan clubs for their U.S. idols (including such then-relatively unknown-to-the-mainstream artists as Inez & Charlie Foxx, Doris Troy, Barbara Lynn and Irma Thomas), I had started the Nina Simone Appreciation Society (I felt that Nina was a little too 'grand' for a mere fan club!) In the autumn of 1966, I had partnered with Dave Godin, the acknowledged 'godfather of R&B and Motown' in England (and a former schoolmate of one Mick Jagger) and his friend Robert Blackmore, to create "Soul City," the first record store in Europe dedicated entirely to selling rhythm and blues music (with no concessions to reggae - and little play for the blues or gospel).
I was, in other words, a bona fide hardcore Brit soul man, following in the footsteps of The Beatles, The Stones, Eric Burdon and other Brits whose love for R&B was deeply felt. The connection between working class Brits and American rhythm-and-blues continues unabated to this day. In the UK, soul music receives far greater respect and admiration than on its home turf - ask any '60s or '70s performer how they are greeted in Britain. (I digress! That is a subject worthy of an entire other blog...)
The news that the famed Stax/Volt Revue was heading to Europe was a major event for us R&B-heads. We were chompin' at the bit to see our heroes and heroines live in concert for a first date on March 13, 1967 at the Finsbury Park Astoria, a popular venue in a working class neighborhood in North London (which I knew well since my love interest at that time happened to live in the area!). For whatever reason - and maybe it had something to do with that love interest! - I didn't make it to that particular show which was immortalized on tape and released in the summer of '67 as "The Stax/Volt Revue Live In London."
I did however make it to the show on March 27 at the Fairfield Hall in Croydon...ah and now I remember, with said love interest! The show differed little from the one that had enthralled Brit audiences who had had limited exposure to live soul music at that point (only seeing James Brown for the first time in '66 and the Motown revue in '65). As I recall, the sequence was pretty much the same for all the shows.
That we were watching the virtual backbone of the Memphis-based studio were Stax artists recorded right in front of our eyes was unbelievable. The Mar-Keys and Booker T. & The MGs were onstage and after two brief sets, we got a quick glimpse of Arthur Conley who had begun hitting big with his "Sweet Soul Music." Next up was Carla Thomas reprising her first big hit ("Gee Whiz") and giving us two more recent cuts, "Something Good" and "B-A-B-Y" written and produced by the then-fledgling team of Isaac Hayes & David Porter followed by Eddie Floyd (with his perennial "Knock On Wood") and a dynamite set by Sam & Dave. Now that I remember vividly! I mean, these guys sweated, stomped, sang with such guts and emotion that us somewhat reserved Brits were just blown away!
But the night belonged to "The Big 'O'": Otis Redding just tore it up, opening with "Respect", moving through "My Girl" and "Shake" and the Stones' "Satisfaction" (which us soul folks believed Otis had really written but given to the Stones - yes, we had conspiracy theories in the world of R&B too!). But it was the climax with a to-the-bone, deep soul-drenched reading of "Try A Little Tenderness" that stays fresh with me these forty years later.
That I will get a chance to re-live those precious memories (without a love interest but L.A. hasn't been good to me in that regard!) thanks to the Mods & Rockers Film Festival this coming weekend - has me waiting with soulful anticipation. That I'll get to see Otis Redding's famed performance at The Monterey Pop Festival, the groundbreaking "Wattstax" from 1972, D.A. Pennebaker's "Only The Strong Survive" - with the legendary Sam Moore of Sam & Dave in attendance - is icing on the cake!
THE "MODS & ROCKERS FESTIVAL" BLOGS
• GREGORY WEINKAUF - Skidoo Does Hollywood...
• STANLEY DORFMAN - Zeppelin Takes Flight
• BRAD SCHREIBER - Tripping Back to 1960s London...
• D.A. PENNEBAKER - Pennebaker on "Pop"
• MARTIN LEWIS - ROCK Like An Egyptian!
• DAVID HABER - Really With The Beatles
• PAUL WILLIAMS - Nilsson Is My Cup Of Tea
• BRAD SCHREIBER - Festival Opens & Explains "What's Happening!"
• PAUL KRASSNER - Skidoo
• MARTIN LEWIS - First Night Report!
• STEPHEN BISHOP - The Beatles Were My True Parents
• ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM - Mocking The Rockers
• BRUCE SPIZER -The Beatles Were Coming!
• MARTIN LEWIS - Movies For Nothing And Kicks For Free..
MORE "MODS & ROCKERS FESTIVAL" BLOGS COMING SOON FROM
• ERIC BURDON
• SPENCER DAVIS
• DANNY HUTTON
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