The symbolic value of Wattstax is probably too big for me ever to full understand. But I remember the first time I heard the live records, then discovering the documentary.

You probably know the Reverend Jesse Jackson’s legendary “I Am Somebody” poem. Goosebumps from beginning to end.

The concert was organized by Memphis’s Stax Records to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the Watts riots. Wattstax was seen by some as “the Afro-American answer to Woodstock“.

In order to enable as many members of the black community in L.A. as possible, tickets were sold for only $1.00 each.

A 1973 documentary film by Mel Stuart that focused on the 1972 Wattstax music festival and the African American community of Watts in Los Angeles, California.

The film was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Documentary Film in 1974.

(Thanks Julius!)

Previous episodes of your favourite online tv section: The Long Play On A Lazy Day:

Marvin Gaye in Ostend – Ostend Transit
Blaxploitation Cinema – The Rise and Shine of
Dark Days
80 Blocks From Tiffany’s
Children Underground
Style Wars
Born Into Brothels – Calcutta’s Red Light Kids
Sun Ra: Space Is The Place
Maestro
Quadrophenia
Grizzly Man
Fela Kuti Documentary
Louis Theroux in Saint-Quentin Prison

And more…

Tune in next Sunday for more!