Godfathers and Sons

Featuring: Chuck D, Ike Turner, Pinetop Perkins, Otis Rush, Koko Taylor, Chuck D, Common, Sam Lay, Lonnie Brooks, Smokey Smothers, Magic Slim, “Electric Mud Band”, Rahzel and Ahmir (aka ?uestlove) of The Roots, Bo Diddley, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf.

In Marc Levin’s lively verité driven film, hip-hop legend Chuck D (of Public Enemy) and Marshall Chess (son of Leonard Chess and heir to the Chess Records legacy) return to Chicago to explore the heyday of Chicago blues. Their aim is to produce an album that brings veteran blues players together with contemporary hip-hop musicians such as Common and members of The Roots. Along with never-before-seen archival footage of Howlin’ Wolf are original performances by Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Magic Slim, Ike Turner and Sam Lay. Says Levin: “When we were shooting Sam Lay and his band at the Chicago Blues Festival, they were playing Muddy Waters’ classic, ‘I Got My Mojo Workin’. I closed my eyes and was transported back to when I was a 15-year-old hanging in my buddy’s basement listening to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band for the first time. My life was changed that day and 35 years later the music’s still shakin’ my soul. The feel of that day in the basement is what I have set out to capture in this film.”

US | English | 2003 | 120 mins