Director Richard Pearce traces the musical odyssey of blues legend B.B. King in a film that pays tribute to the city that gave birth to a new style of blues.

Director Richard Pearce traces the musical odyssey of blues legend B.B. King in a film that pays tribute to the city that gave birth to a new style of blues. Pearce's homage to Memphis features original performances by B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon and Ike Turner, as well as historical footage of Howlin'Wolf and Rufus Thomas.

Says Pearce, "The Blues is a chance to celebrate one of the last truly indigenous American art forms, before it all but disappears, swallowed whole by the rock 'n'roll generation it spawned. Hopefully we'll get there before it's too late."

Film Credits
Directed and Photographed by: Richard Pearce
Produced and Recorded by: Robert Kenner
Written by: Robert Gordon
Co-Producer: Melissa Adelson
Edited by: Charlton McMillan
Associate Producers: Robert Gordon, Jeff Scheftel
Sound: Stuart Pearce
Featured Performers: B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Ike Turner, Little Milton, Rosco Gordon
Interviews: Bobby Rush, B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Rufus Thomas, Calvin Newborn, Hubert Sumlin, Rosco Gordon, Chris Spindel (WDIA program officer), Don Kern (WDIA Production Manager), Louis Cannonball Cantor, Cato Walker III, Little Milton Campbell, Sam Phillips, Ike Turner, Jim Dickinson
Featured Performers: B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Ike Turner, Little Milton, Rosco Gordon
Archival Performances: Howlin'Wolf, B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Nat D. Williams, The Coasters, Fats Domino, Little Richard