Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Film Tribute to America’s Great Musical Tradition

“I can’t imagine my life, or anyone else’s, without music,” says filmmaker Martin Scorsese. “It’s like a light in the darkness that never goes out.” So begins Feel Like Going Home, Scorsese’s fascinating and at times lyrical documentary on the origin and evolution of the blues.

Feel Like Going Home (shown above in its entirety) is the first of seven installments, by seven directors, in the PBS series The Blues. It follows musician Corey Harris as he traces the roots of the Blues from the Mississippi Delta back to West Africa. The documentary includes interviews and performances from contemporary artists like Taj Mahal and Willie King, as well as archival footage of legends like Son House, Muddy Waters and Lead Belly.

“I’ve always felt an affinity for blues music,” Scorsese told PBS. “The culture of storytelling through music is incredibly fascinating and appealing to me. The blues have great emotional resonance and are the foundation for American popular music.” Scorsese served as executive producer of the series, which includes episodes directed by Clint Eastwood (Piano Blues) and Wim Wenders (The Soul of a Man). The complete seven-part series is available on DVD as Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues–A Musical Journey.

Related Content:

The Alan Lomax Sound Archive Now Online: Features 17,000 Recordings

Animated: Robert Johnson’s Classic Blues Tune Me and the Devil Blues

Watch the Only Known Footage of the Legendary Bluesman Lead Belly (1935 and 1945)


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  1. Alcapone says . . . | January 5, 2013 / 10:02 am

    Thanks for the video !

  2. ST STP says . . . | February 24, 2013 / 12:58 am

    —WHY is Scorsese wasting sao much
    time on second hand cultural incest?
    —and done to death cultural incest
    at that?

    Meanwhile, DeNiro is looking ever more
    like STALIN, even as debt receivership
    to Globalist conjured RED CHINA —-looms.

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