Product Details

• Actors: John Junkerman, Ani DiFranco
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 4
• Studio: Acorn Media
• VHS Release Date: September 11, 1999
• Run Time: 240 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1569382948
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,443 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Even casual jazz and blues fans know those seminal American styles journeyed north from New Orleans and the Deep South, along the Mississippi River. But that tributary's penetration into the nation's heartlands, and its passage through a much broader, more diverse array of cultures, affords a richer portrait of how root musical styles have merged, diverged, recombined, or survived against the potential regimentation imposed by mass media and a more mobile, modern society. It's this latter process that provides the thread for director-producer John Junkerman's four-hour documentary, Mississippi: River of Song, originally broadcast by PBS.

Junkerman starts not in the Crescent City, from which African American musical hybrids emerged, but near one of the river's sources in northern Minnesota, winding his way through the varied populations and past a sometimes surprising melange of transplanted European, Asian, and South American musics. From Ojibwa powwows, traditional Hmong reed players, and Scandinavian fiddle groups to forceful gospel choirs, German polka bands, Mexican conjuntos, and alternative rock, Junkerman and his team capture American music beyond the glare of New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville. The pilgrimage does strike special sparks when it reaches the blues, R&B, jazz, zydeco, and Cajun strongholds further down river, yet much of the program's freshness stems from the stopovers that reveal unexpected cultural collisions.

Thrash folk singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco serves as narrator, bringing a warm enthusiasm to her connective commentary, but much of the underlying historical, cultural, and personal insight comes directly from the musicians. --Sam Sutherland

From the Back Cover

"You'll be swept away." - Washington Post "An ambitious multi-genre documentary...that bears comparison to such high profile PBS projects as Ken Burns' The Civil War." - Billboard From an Ojibwe powwow in northern Minnesota to the bandstands in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Mississippi River offers a mosaic of musical talent. Join folk-rock musician Ani DiFranco as she explores each bend in the river, highlighting the richness and vitality of American music at the close of the 20th century. Hear live performances as well as intimate discussions with artists who thrive in America's juke joints, clubs, churches and backyards. Filmed live on location, River of Song discovers the many sounds and musical talents that flourish in the heart of the nation. The series features more than 40 acts and over 500 musicians, such as R&B stars Rufus Thomas and Little Milton, the Mississippi Mass Choir with their exhilarating gospel, rock sensation Soul Asylum, river balladeer John Hartford, New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas, The Bottle Rockets with their rootsy country sound, Cajun legend D. L. Menard, zydeco accordionist Geno Delafose, country legend Jimmie Davis, blues drummer Levon Helm, harmonica player James Cotton, and many more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A matter of selecting good examples, May 4, 1999

By 

F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mississippi - River of Song [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Acorn Media has been issuing some really nice videos and one of their latest is of special value to anyone interested in American music. With the supertitle "The Mississippi, River of Song: The Grassroots of American Music," this program is divided into four tapes of about 60 minutes each. The basic idea is that we start with "Americans Old and New" at the northern source of the great river and follow the stream through the "Midwestern Crossroads," the "Southern Fusion," and wind up in "Louisiana, Where Music is King." Basically the idea is a good one. The first section starts with the Chippewa Nation and a Scandinavian fiddle group, both of whose representatives have much to say about tradition. But when we get to Minneapolis, we have to listen to the claims of alternative rock groups (the first one brags about not caring about success and annoying their neighbors when they rehearse) who have not quite as much relation to the Mississippi as do most of the other groups. For example, the German polka group in Wisconsin seem to belong right where they are, while rock and jazz groups could have been interviewed just about anywhere in these states. Yet in the four hours, there simply has to be music you will like. The interviews are always interesting; but after a while they begin to sound a bit the same-so I do not recommend watching all four hours at one sitting! The narration is always interesting, spoken as it is by folk-rock singer Ani DiFranco. Still you are struck with the incredible diversity of music we have not only in this country as a whole but even in the limited confines the producers of this series have chosen as their focal point. However you might quibble with the choice of groups used here, those selected are at least representative of the kind of music under consideration. For example, the third set, which takes us from LA Center, Kentucky to Jackson, Mississippi, includes Boundless Love Quartet, Sonny Burgess, Memphis Horns and Ann Peebles, Little Milton, and the Mississippi Mass Choir among others. I cannot begin to comment on whether other groups would have been better or worse choices. I would have preferred more ethnic groups, but that's me. Co-produced by the mighty Smithsonian Institute, these tapes have a companion set of two CDs (without the interviews, I imagine) and a "companion" book, "River of Song: a Musical Journey Down the Mississippi." I think you will find the videos music very worthwhile.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real players, real music, February 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mississippi - River of Song [VHS] (VHS Tape)

After watching this series on PBS and buying the soundtrack, I'm hooked. Here's the premise: start at the top of the Mississippi and follow the musical heritage and current music on down the river until you end up in Louisiana. What makes this series so cool is that it is REAL music, played by folks who love music itself and aren't just out to make money and become famous (though some of them have). They talk about how music reflects the place where it was made. If you like blues, jazz or zydeco, you will love this, and if you want to learn more about music BEYOND what's on MTV, VH1 or the radio, you will come away enriched.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved the variety of musicians covered in this title., April 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mississippi - River of Song [VHS] (VHS Tape)

What a great set. This series explores the diversity of talented musicians along the Mississippi River. I had the opportunity to learn several new styles of music.