Starring Ike & Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, Carlos Santana, and Guy Warren
Directed by Denis Sanders
Music and Lyrics by various
Juneteenth is the newest Federal holiday, but African-Americans in Texas and other southern states have celebrated it since 1865. It honors African-Americans being released from slavery in Texas, the last state of the Confederacy to do so. This year, we honor their independence by celebrating freedom of a different sort. Ghana declared its independence from England in 1957. Poet Maya Angelou approached the government in the early 60's about a concert with African-Americans and local talent, only to see that government overthrown. It took another pair of Americans, father and son Ed and Tom Mosk, to convince the Ghana Arts Council that the time was right for Ghana to rock. How does the concert look today? Let's begin right in the thick of things, with Tina Turner shimmying to the title song, and find out...
The Story: Some of the top names in rock, jazz, and soul arrive in Ghana to appear in Black Star Square (now Independence Square) and celebrate the 14th anniversary of their independence. In between numbers, we see them interact with the people of Ghana, and even get to see some dynamic West African folk dances and ceremonies.
The Song and Dance: Wow. As awesome as the performances were, I think the people of Ghana may have them beat. Some of their routines were downright incredible. It's wonderful to see how the people of West Africa bring the musicians in on their ceremonies, and how much they respect them and treat them like royalty. For the African-American musicians, this was a chance to learn about their own heritages and discover more about the world many of their relatives and ancestors came from.
Favorite Number: We open with Tina Turner showing off her early raw style with the title song. She and Ike go into their hit "River Deep, Mountain High" towards the end of the film, and they also get the bluesy "I Smell Trouble." Wilson Pickett delights the huge crowds with his dynamic performances of his major hits "In the Midnight Hour" and "Land of 1,000 Dances." Carlos Santana wows the crowd with his frenzied guitar playing and manic energy to his two biggest hits of the time, "Black Magic Woman" and "Jungle Strut." Amid the celebrating, jazz singers Les McCann and Eddie Harris remind the crowds of "The Price You Gotta Pay to Be Free," while the Staple Singers wonder "When Will We Get Paid." Roberta Flack puts out the only ballad of the night, crooning about "Trying Times." Amoah Azango is a local witch doctor who can do incredible things by just shaking a calabash, a ball-shaped percussion instrument.
Trivia: Robera Flack's performance was cut from the current DVD copies at her request.
What I Don't Like: Some of the language, in the music and between the performers, and a few of the dances from the people of Ghana may border today on stereotypical or inappropriate. Some of the discussions between numbers does use language that may offend today.
The Big Finale: If you're a fan of soul, jazz, or rock from this era, want to learn more about African, rock, or black cultural history, or if you loved Summer of Soul from last year, you'll want to dig around for this celebration of all kinds of independence, cultural, personal, and countrywide.
Home Media: The DVD is majorly expensive, hard to find, and edited. There's currently a copy on YouTube with Japanese subtitles that retains Flack's number, though it's admittedly not in the greatest shape. If you really love the music, you may want to sign with The Coda Collection, which streams musical films and documentaries with a subscription.
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