Riveting performance footage of American blues artists in the UK during the mid-1960's: Muddy Waters singing his pop crossover hit 'Got My Mojo Workin',' Howlin' Wolf alternately growling and wailing his way through an ominous 'Smokestack Lightning,' and Big Joe Turner merrily belting out 'Oh Well, Oh Well,' the kind of jump blues to which rock 'n' roll owes its very existence. ("She's yours, she's mine, she's somebody else's too," Turner shouts with a knowing smile, encapsulating the meaning of the blues in one deceptively simple line.) Bonus footage showcases Muddy playing two more traditional blues numbers--complete with his signature twangy lead breaks--and also features Sister Rosetta Tharpe's powerful performance of 'Didn't It Rain,' a clip which has found new fame on 21st century social media.
On 'Too Late to Cry,' Lonnie Johnson (the man who invented single-string lead guitar) sounds gracefully, eerily similar to his 1920's self despite the passage of decades. Considering the fact that Johnson had known and admired the original Sonny Boy Williamson, you have to wonder how he felt about being introduced by Aleck Miller, the imitation Sonny Boy!
On 'Too Late to Cry,' Lonnie Johnson (the man who invented single-string lead guitar) sounds gracefully, eerily similar to his 1920's self despite the passage of decades. Considering the fact that Johnson had known and admired the original Sonny Boy Williamson, you have to wonder how he felt about being introduced by Aleck Miller, the imitation Sonny Boy!
