Directed by Denis Sanders, Soul to Soul was released in August 1971.[1] The film consists of extensive excerpts from the concert performances, along with documentary footage of the musicians interacting with local Ghanaians in the days before the show.[2]
Ghana, after declaring its Independence on 6 March 1957, had made a variety of efforts to connect with African diasporans, some of whom — including Maya Angelou, W. E. B. Du Bois and George Padmore — lived in the West African nation for a time. In the mid-1960s, Angelou approached the government of Kwame Nkrumah and suggested bringing a number of African-American artists to Ghana for the annual independence celebrations. Nkrumah was deposed before action could be taken, but when the American father-son team of Ed Mosk and Tom Mosk approached the Ghana Arts Council in 1970 with an idea for a concert, the Council agreed. At 1970 West Africa concert by James Brown, Brown performed in Lagos, Nigeria, but he did not perform in Ghana.
Several at the show remarked that the band Santana, despite having only one black member, played the most "African-sounding" music of the night. Some have argued that Santana's merger of Latin rhythms with rock music strongly influenced the development of Afrobeat.[5]
Musicians
The American artists were mostly African-American and represented a variety of musical styles:
"Soul to Soul" will hook you. We defy anybody to watch the final half hour of this color documentary of a soul and gospel music concert, performed in Ghana, without tapping a foot. But it is the sea of rapturous black faces, those of the visiting American artists and their Ghana audiences, that makes this movie a haunting experience … Mainly and compactly, the film sticks to the concert, brilliantly evoking the performances and crowd reactions in a flow of closeups and panoramic shots, to the stabbing, pounding pulse of the music.[1]
Home video
The film was eventually restored thanks to a program by the Grammy Foundation that seeks to preserve important films about music, and it debuted again in February 2004 at an event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was released on DVD on 24 August 2004. The new release does not include any performances by Roberta Flack, who requested their removal.[7] But it does include a soundtrack album on CD, which features tracks from all the U.S. performers excluding Santana and Flack, plus the Kumasi Drummers, the Damas Choir, and Kwa Mensah.
^Arts Council of Ghana, Soul to Soul, Black Star Square, Accra, Ghana, 6th March, 1971 : with American and Ghanaian soul, R&B, gospel, jazz, latin rock and dance groups, featuring Wilson Pickett (and others) : M.C., Mike Eghan, Accra : Moxon Paperbacks, 1971.
^ClapboardArchipelago (7 March 2021). "50 Years Ago Today [6 March 1971] The "Soul to Soul" concert, celebrating African singers and music, takes place in Accra and features acts such as Ike and Tina Turner, Carlos Santana, and Wilson Pickett". r/ghana. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
^"Kofi Ghanaba: Drummer who pioneered Afro-jazz", The Independent, 26 April 2022
^Haynes, Monica (24 September 2004). "New on Video: "Soul to Soul' documents historic 1971 music festival in Ghana". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"Soul to Soul at 50: A Look Back at Ghana's Legendary Music Festival"—25 February 2021 (rebroadcast 2 September 2021) episode of Afropop Worldwide on the concert and the film
March 20, 2023
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For the album see Soul to Soul soundtrack Soul to Soul is a 1971 documentary film about the Independence Day concert held in Accra Ghana on 6 March 1971 It features an array of mostly American R amp B soul rock and jazz musicians 1 Soul to SoulDirected byDenis SandersProduced byRichard Bock Tom MoskCinematographyDavid MyersProductioncompanyNigram Aura ProductionsDistributed byCinerama Releasing CorporationRelease date1971Running time96 min LanguageEnglishDirected by Denis Sanders Soul to Soul was released in August 1971 1 The film consists of extensive excerpts from the concert performances along with documentary footage of the musicians interacting with local Ghanaians in the days before the show 2 Contents 1 Concert 2 Musicians 3 Reception 4 Home video 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksConcert EditGhana after declaring its Independence on 6 March 1957 had made a variety of efforts to connect with African diasporans some of whom including Maya Angelou W E B Du Bois and George Padmore lived in the West African nation for a time In the mid 1960s Angelou approached the government of Kwame Nkrumah and suggested bringing a number of African American artists to Ghana for the annual independence celebrations Nkrumah was deposed before action could be taken but when the American father son team of Ed Mosk and Tom Mosk approached the Ghana Arts Council in 1970 with an idea for a concert the Council agreed At 1970 West Africa concert by James Brown Brown performed in Lagos Nigeria but he did not perform in Ghana Of the musicians invited to perform Wilson Pickett was by far the biggest star in Ghana 3 Organizers also unsuccessfully sought performances by Americans Aretha Franklin James Brown Booker T amp The MG s Louis Armstrong and gospel singer Marion Williams The show with broadcaster Mike Eghan as MC 4 was held in Black Star Square now Independence Square Several at the show remarked that the band Santana despite having only one black member played the most African sounding music of the night Some have argued that Santana s merger of Latin rhythms with rock music strongly influenced the development of Afrobeat 5 Musicians EditThe American artists were mostly African American and represented a variety of musical styles Wilson Pickett Ike amp Tina Turner Les McCann and Eddie Harris The Staple Singers Santana featuring Willie Bobo on timbale Roberta Flack The Voices of East HarlemThe concert also featured performances by several Ghanaian acts Guy Warren a k a The Divine Drummer also known as Kofi Ghanaba one of the first African musicians to play alongside American jazz musicians 6 The Damas Choir perhaps the nation s most prominent vocal group since the 1940s led by Ishmael Adams Charlotte Dada sometimes spelled Dadah or Daddah best known in the West for her soul cover of The Beatles song Don t Let Me Down Kwa Mensah a pioneer in highlife music and the older palmwine style The Kumasi Drummers a group from the Ashanti Region The Aliens Ghana s best known rock band sometimes known as The Psychedelic Aliens or The Magic Aliens The Anansekromian Zounds the house band for the Ghana Arts CouncilAlso performing and seen on the film were the Nandom Sekpere group from the Northern now Upper West region and the whistle player Nakpi In addition Les McCann and Eddie Harris played part of their set with a Ghanaian calabash player and medicine man named Amoah Azangeo Reception EditThe New York Times 19 August 1971 Soul to Soul will hook you We defy anybody to watch the final half hour of this color documentary of a soul and gospel music concert performed in Ghana without tapping a foot But it is the sea of rapturous black faces those of the visiting American artists and their Ghana audiences that makes this movie a haunting experience Mainly and compactly the film sticks to the concert brilliantly evoking the performances and crowd reactions in a flow of closeups and panoramic shots to the stabbing pounding pulse of the music 1 Home video EditThe film was eventually restored thanks to a program by the Grammy Foundation that seeks to preserve important films about music and it debuted again in February 2004 at an event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art It was released on DVD on 24 August 2004 The new release does not include any performances by Roberta Flack who requested their removal 7 But it does include a soundtrack album on CD which features tracks from all the U S performers excluding Santana and Flack plus the Kumasi Drummers the Damas Choir and Kwa Mensah See also EditWattstax 1972 Soul Power Super Fly T N T Funk Curtis Mayfield OsibisaReferences Edit a b c Thompson Howard 19 August 1971 Rousing Soul to Soul The New York Times Soul to Soul 1971 Full Cast amp Crew IMDb Soul to Soul Retrieved 23 April 2022 Arts Council of Ghana Soul to Soul Black Star Square Accra Ghana 6th March 1971 with American and Ghanaian soul R amp B gospel jazz latin rock and dance groups featuring Wilson Pickett and others M C Mike Eghan Accra Moxon Paperbacks 1971 ClapboardArchipelago 7 March 2021 50 Years Ago Today 6 March 1971 The Soul to Soul concert celebrating African singers and music takes place in Accra and features acts such as Ike and Tina Turner Carlos Santana and Wilson Pickett r ghana Retrieved 14 January 2022 Kofi Ghanaba Drummer who pioneered Afro jazz The Independent 26 April 2022 Haynes Monica 24 September 2004 New on Video Soul to Soul documents historic 1971 music festival in Ghana Pittsburgh Post Gazette External links EditSoul to Soul at IMDb Soul to Soul at 50 A Look Back at Ghana s Legendary Music Festival 25 February 2021 rebroadcast 2 September 2021 episode of Afropop Worldwide on the concert and the film Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Soul to Soul film amp oldid 1144164642, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
