Features: DVD
In 2003 an all-star cast of gospel singers took Bob Dylan's gospel compositions and created a Grammy-nominated album. Now Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan features roof-raising performances by these spirited artists while documenting the making of the album of the same name, interweaving bracing reinterpretations with interviews of these celebrated gospel artists. It also presents commentary by musicians including Jim Keltner, Spooner Oldham, Fred Tackett, and Regina McCrary, who recorded and performed with Bob Dylan during his gospel period. Legendary record producer Jerry Wexler and respected music journalists Paul Williams and Alan Light also offer insights on this fascinating body of work.This musical documentary also premieres 1980 footage of Bob Dylan performing "When He Returns," the first archival performance released from this important era. Also featuring the Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples duet, "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking." Featured Performances:
Solid Rock (Sounds of Blackness)
Gotta Serve Somebody (Shirley Caesar)
I Believe In You (Dottie Peoples)
Saving Grace (Aaron Neville)
What Can I Do For You? (Helen Baylor)
Are You Ready (The Fairfield Four)
Saved (Mighty Clouds of Joy)
Pressing On (Chicago Mass Choir)
When He Returns (Rance Allen)
"Even agnostics may now agree there was something nearly supernatural about Dylan's mastery of an unlikely idiom--black gospel." Entertainment Weekly
"These songs from Bob Dylan's fundamentalist-Christian period are truly born again, thanks to bracing reinterpretations by gospel icons." Rolling Stone
Editor's Note
This program is a collection of vibrant performances from the artists behind the 2003 album of the same title, which featured some of today's most talented gospel singers covering some of the best music from Bob Dylan's gospel phase. Also included are interviews with and behind-the-scenes footage of the featured artists, including Shirley Caeser, Aaron Neville, Helen Baylor, the Fairfield Four, and the Chicago Mass Choir--as well as clips of Dylan himself performing "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking" with Mavis Staples and "When He Returns."
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