The Award Winning First Film in the Series
AVAILABLE to STREAM, RENT, or OWN NOW
Take Me To The River” is a feature documentary and record celebrating the intergenerational, cross-cultural and gender inclusive musical influence of Memphis musical influence of Memphis in the face of pervasive discrimination and segregation. The film brings multiple generations of award-winning Memphis and Mississippi Delta musicians together, following them through the creative process of recording a new album, to re-imagine the utopia of racial, gender, and generational collaboration of Memphis in its heyday. Hip-hop artists such as Snoop Dogg, PNut, Hustle & Flow’s Oscar-winning Frayser Boy, Al Kapone and Yo Gotti are paired with Grammy-winning legends of Memphis soul and R&B, including Mavis Staples, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Booker T. Jones, Charlie Musselwhite, Bobby Rush, WIlliam Bell, Otis Clay, and the incomparable session musicians of Stax and Hi Records. Oscar nominee Terrence Howard is our “MC” through the story as well as one of our recording artists.
“Take Me To The River” brings us inside these creative collaborations to share the struggles, the joy, and inspiration of some of America’s most talented master musicians, who have influenced and inspired the world’s popular music. The film reveals the story of America’s music and how it is undoubtedly one of the most original and finest gifts to the world.
“Take Me To The River” is a cinema-verite documentary. It is about the memory and lineage of this unique place of origin, Memphis, and how it has inspired and influenced the world’s popular music of today. The film is not only about music, the musicians and the unique place of origin, but about inviting the viewer into the process of making and creating a dynamic collaboration. This powerful style of documentary filmmaking invented by the French, often lost in today’s world, is influence by the work of French masters (Jean Rouch and Jean-Luc Godard). In “Take Me To The River,” the camera disappears and performances are natural and unique. Shot with as many as eight cameras at a time, no other music film has ever been made like this before.
Performers
BOBBY “BLUE” BLAND
OTIS CLAY
BOBBY RUSH
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE
Producer
HUBERT SUMLIN
BOOKER T. JONES
WILLIAM BELL
MAVIS STAPLES
SNOOP DOGG
FRAYSER BOY
YO GOTTI
AL KAPONE
LIL P-NUT
AL BELL
WILLA DEAN “DEANIE” PARKER
CHARLES “SKIP” PITTS
DAVID DIXON PORTER
THE STAX MUSIC ACADEMY
NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALL-STARS
THE CITY CHAMPS
Producer
ERIC GALES
TERRENCE HOWARD
IAN SIEGAL
Filmmakers
Music
1. Bobby “Blue” Bland featuring Yo Gotti – “Ain’t No Sunshine”
2. Mavis Staples with North Mississippi All-Stars – “Wish I Had Answered”
3. Bar Kays featuring 8Ball and MJG – “Be Like Me”
4. Bobby Rush* featuring Frayser Boy – “Push and Pull”
5. Booker T. with North Mississippi All-Stars featuring Al Kapone – “Supposed to Be”
6. Otis Clay* featuring P-Nut – “Trying to Live My Life Without You”
7. Mavis Staples with North Mississippi All-Stars – “I’ve Been Buked”
8. William Bell with Stax Music Academy featuring Snoop Dogg – “I Forgot to Be Your Lover”
9. Charlie Musselwhite with the City Champs – “If I Should Have Bad Luck”
10. William Bell with Stax Music Academy – “Knock On Wood”
11. Bobby Rush* featuring Frayser Boy – “Henpecked”
12. Terrence Howard with Hi Rhythm Section – “Walk Away”
* also with Hi Rhythm Section
