1 00:00:02,828 --> 00:00:04,743 [amplifier feedback] 2 00:00:04,873 --> 00:00:08,051 [electric guitar strum] 3 00:00:12,403 --> 00:00:14,361 Growing up, when I discovered 4 00:00:14,492 --> 00:00:18,626 these incredible women making rock music, 5 00:00:18,757 --> 00:00:20,411 I mean, that's, like-- that's the dream. 6 00:00:22,891 --> 00:00:24,545 People would be like, "Whoa, 7 00:00:24,676 --> 00:00:25,894 look at that little gal with that big guitar," 8 00:00:26,025 --> 00:00:28,636 like a novelty. 9 00:00:28,767 --> 00:00:31,291 [Benatar] I wanted to break the boys' club. 10 00:00:31,422 --> 00:00:35,556 I wanted to break down that bullshit. 11 00:00:35,687 --> 00:00:37,515 [Khan] I said, "Let me tell you something. 12 00:00:37,645 --> 00:00:41,171 I'm going to be a star with or without you." 13 00:00:42,476 --> 00:00:43,521 [Jett] Growing up, I thought, 14 00:00:43,651 --> 00:00:44,652 "There's gotta be other girls 15 00:00:44,783 --> 00:00:46,654 that wanna play rock 'n' roll. 16 00:00:46,785 --> 00:00:48,569 I can't be the only one." 17 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:49,918 [Twain] There's something very liberating 18 00:00:50,049 --> 00:00:54,836 about being able to take on a rock 'n' roll attitude 19 00:00:54,967 --> 00:00:56,273 and not have to abandon your femininity 20 00:00:56,403 --> 00:00:58,144 at the same time. 21 00:00:58,275 --> 00:01:01,104 [Crow] There were lots of obstacles along the way for me, 22 00:01:01,234 --> 00:01:02,757 but I knew the only person that could drive my ship 23 00:01:02,888 --> 00:01:04,585 that I felt I could trust was me. 24 00:01:04,716 --> 00:01:07,371 [Staples] I'm not a diva. 25 00:01:07,501 --> 00:01:09,286 I love people. I'm a people person. 26 00:01:09,416 --> 00:01:11,201 I'm just Mavis. 27 00:01:11,331 --> 00:01:12,463 Just Mavis. 28 00:01:12,593 --> 00:01:13,420 Yeah. 29 00:01:21,863 --> 00:01:23,691 Oh, my gosh. 30 00:01:23,822 --> 00:01:26,738 What are you doing with this? 31 00:01:26,868 --> 00:01:29,523 I remember climbing up on this airplane. 32 00:01:29,654 --> 00:01:32,439 People were in the plane. 33 00:01:32,570 --> 00:01:34,485 And they were looking out the window at us. 34 00:01:34,615 --> 00:01:35,790 The photographers say, 35 00:01:35,921 --> 00:01:38,793 "You Staple Singers, y'all do anything." 36 00:01:38,924 --> 00:01:40,752 So, you wanna hear this? 37 00:01:40,882 --> 00:01:42,362 What do you want me to do with it? 38 00:01:45,409 --> 00:01:47,324 ♪♪♪ 39 00:01:51,589 --> 00:01:53,243 ♪ Oh, huh 40 00:01:53,373 --> 00:01:54,157 ♪ Mm 41 00:01:56,811 --> 00:01:58,465 ♪ I know a place 42 00:02:00,989 --> 00:02:03,470 ♪ Ain't nobody cryin' 43 00:02:06,517 --> 00:02:08,562 ♪ Ain't nobody worried 44 00:02:08,693 --> 00:02:10,564 ♪ No 45 00:02:10,695 --> 00:02:13,393 ♪ Ain't no smilin' faces 46 00:02:13,524 --> 00:02:15,569 ♪ Mm, no, no 47 00:02:15,700 --> 00:02:17,615 ♪ Lyin' to the races 48 00:02:17,745 --> 00:02:19,269 That's the sound of America right there. 49 00:02:19,399 --> 00:02:20,748 You know? 50 00:02:20,879 --> 00:02:23,795 Mavis Staples, the best part of America. 51 00:02:23,925 --> 00:02:26,363 There's no bigger gangsta than Mavis Staples. 52 00:02:26,493 --> 00:02:27,886 She's Mavis Staples. 53 00:02:28,016 --> 00:02:29,844 ♪ I'll take you there 54 00:02:29,975 --> 00:02:31,585 -♪ Oh, oh -[Jones] It's the truth 55 00:02:31,716 --> 00:02:32,804 that comes through her songs 56 00:02:32,934 --> 00:02:34,545 and the way she sings them, 57 00:02:34,675 --> 00:02:36,242 and it's the love. 58 00:02:36,373 --> 00:02:38,679 -I get nothing but love. -♪ I'll take you there 59 00:02:38,810 --> 00:02:41,682 Mavis' voice told me 60 00:02:41,813 --> 00:02:44,598 about the joy of life and the pain of life. 61 00:02:45,686 --> 00:02:47,688 [Crow] When I get to sing with Mavis Staples, 62 00:02:47,819 --> 00:02:49,429 or when I get to sing with any of these women 63 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:51,823 that paved the way for me, 64 00:02:51,953 --> 00:02:55,522 there's something bigger than my experience. 65 00:02:55,653 --> 00:02:57,394 There's something more. 66 00:02:57,524 --> 00:02:59,831 um, heavenly about it. 67 00:02:59,961 --> 00:03:01,702 [Khan] There was a lot of hometown pride 68 00:03:01,833 --> 00:03:03,008 about the Staple Singers. 69 00:03:03,138 --> 00:03:04,705 "I'll Take You There," when it came out, 70 00:03:04,836 --> 00:03:07,360 it transcended 71 00:03:07,491 --> 00:03:08,840 Chicago's petty-ass racism. 72 00:03:08,970 --> 00:03:11,625 [applause] 73 00:03:12,452 --> 00:03:16,674 [Staples] My father started us singing, 74 00:03:16,804 --> 00:03:18,980 and the first song that he taught us 75 00:03:19,111 --> 00:03:22,070 was "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." 76 00:03:22,201 --> 00:03:24,682 He called us children into the living room, 77 00:03:24,812 --> 00:03:26,988 set us on the floor in a circle, 78 00:03:27,119 --> 00:03:30,078 and began giving us voices to sing 79 00:03:30,209 --> 00:03:32,472 that he and his sisters and brothers would sing 80 00:03:32,603 --> 00:03:33,560 when they were in Mississippi. 81 00:03:35,997 --> 00:03:37,651 One night, my Aunt Katie said, 82 00:03:37,782 --> 00:03:40,828 "Shucks, y'all sound pretty good. 83 00:03:40,959 --> 00:03:43,962 I believe I want you all to sing in my church Sunday." 84 00:03:44,092 --> 00:03:46,617 And, oh, they would have to stand me up in a chair, 85 00:03:46,747 --> 00:03:48,706 'cause I was so little, 86 00:03:49,881 --> 00:03:52,884 But we ended up having to sing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" 87 00:03:53,014 --> 00:03:55,060 three times. 88 00:03:55,190 --> 00:03:56,714 Pops said, "Shucks, these people like us." 89 00:03:58,629 --> 00:04:01,284 It happened that Vivian Carter, 90 00:04:01,414 --> 00:04:03,938 who was the president of Vee-Jay Records, 91 00:04:04,069 --> 00:04:06,506 she was in the audience that day, 92 00:04:06,637 --> 00:04:08,508 and she called Pops and asked him 93 00:04:08,639 --> 00:04:10,858 if we could make a record, 94 00:04:10,989 --> 00:04:14,122 so we learned more songs, 95 00:04:14,253 --> 00:04:18,083 and we went in the studio and we recorded "Uncloudy Day." 96 00:04:18,213 --> 00:04:20,825 "Uncloudy Day" took off, you know, 97 00:04:20,955 --> 00:04:24,002 and mostly in the South. 98 00:04:24,132 --> 00:04:27,962 That was the very first gospel record to sell a million. 99 00:04:28,093 --> 00:04:30,574 But in the meantime, 100 00:04:30,704 --> 00:04:33,620 people are calling us to come and sing. 101 00:04:33,751 --> 00:04:36,449 We would go to places like Atlanta, Georgia. 102 00:04:36,580 --> 00:04:38,451 New Orleans. 103 00:04:38,582 --> 00:04:40,018 Memphis. 104 00:04:40,148 --> 00:04:42,977 But as we started traveling on "Uncloudy Day," 105 00:04:43,108 --> 00:04:44,979 the people would come on the radio 106 00:04:45,110 --> 00:04:47,025 and say, "That's little Mavis Staples. 107 00:04:47,155 --> 00:04:48,722 "That's this little girl. 108 00:04:48,853 --> 00:04:50,550 She's singing this song." 109 00:04:50,681 --> 00:04:51,943 And people just wouldn't believe it. 110 00:04:52,073 --> 00:04:53,553 My part was 111 00:04:53,684 --> 00:04:56,687 ♪ Well, well, well, oh 112 00:04:56,817 --> 00:04:58,863 ♪ Lord, they tell me now 113 00:04:58,993 --> 00:05:01,909 I was singing a lady's bass. 114 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,695 And we'd get to these towns and they would tell Pops, 115 00:05:04,825 --> 00:05:06,523 "People are betting that's not your daughter 116 00:05:06,653 --> 00:05:08,916 singing that song." 117 00:05:09,047 --> 00:05:11,571 So as the four of us were singing, 118 00:05:11,702 --> 00:05:12,964 and then, when my part came, 119 00:05:13,094 --> 00:05:15,706 Pervis, my brother. 120 00:05:15,836 --> 00:05:18,622 he would step up like it was gonna be him saying that, 121 00:05:18,752 --> 00:05:20,188 and you would hear all over the audience, 122 00:05:20,319 --> 00:05:22,016 "I told you that wasn't no little girl. 123 00:05:22,147 --> 00:05:23,888 I told you that wasn't no little girl." 124 00:05:24,018 --> 00:05:24,889 And while they going through that, 125 00:05:25,019 --> 00:05:27,152 I'm easing up to the mic, 126 00:05:27,282 --> 00:05:29,763 and I say, ♪ Well, well, well 127 00:05:29,894 --> 00:05:31,765 [laughing] 128 00:05:31,896 --> 00:05:34,028 We--we-- 129 00:05:34,159 --> 00:05:35,769 we would have so much fun with that. 130 00:05:35,900 --> 00:05:39,860 [giggling] 131 00:05:39,991 --> 00:05:43,690 So, I was having fun singing with my family. 132 00:05:43,821 --> 00:05:47,868 ♪♪♪ 133 00:05:47,999 --> 00:05:49,566 ♪ Early one morning 134 00:05:49,696 --> 00:05:50,784 ♪ Yes, sir 135 00:05:50,915 --> 00:05:51,916 ♪ I felt the pain 136 00:05:52,046 --> 00:05:53,874 ♪ Oh, yeah 137 00:05:54,005 --> 00:05:56,703 -♪ Felt like death -♪ Mm-hmm 138 00:05:56,834 --> 00:05:59,663 -♪ Done sung my name -♪ Oh, yeah 139 00:05:59,793 --> 00:06:01,752 -♪ I started to tremble -♪ Whoa, yeah 140 00:06:01,882 --> 00:06:04,276 ♪ Deep down inside, yeah 141 00:06:04,407 --> 00:06:06,974 ♪ And I felt the fear 142 00:06:07,105 --> 00:06:08,976 ♪ Of the swelling tide 143 00:06:09,107 --> 00:06:10,804 ♪ Yeah, yeah 144 00:06:10,935 --> 00:06:13,807 ♪ Wish I had answered 145 00:06:13,938 --> 00:06:16,897 ♪ Wish I had answered ♪ 146 00:06:17,028 --> 00:06:20,510 ♪ Wish I had answered when he ♪ 147 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:23,948 ♪ Called 148 00:06:26,211 --> 00:06:27,778 [Clayton] The Staple Singers would come 149 00:06:27,908 --> 00:06:30,868 maybe once a year in town, 150 00:06:30,998 --> 00:06:32,913 and sometimes we were blessed 151 00:06:33,044 --> 00:06:36,700 to have them at my dad's church in New Orleans. 152 00:06:36,830 --> 00:06:38,789 They would come and do programs, 153 00:06:38,919 --> 00:06:40,965 and during the program, 154 00:06:41,095 --> 00:06:43,750 everybody was assigned records, 155 00:06:43,881 --> 00:06:46,274 albums, to sell, 156 00:06:46,405 --> 00:06:48,929 and I would always have my little five albums, 157 00:06:49,060 --> 00:06:51,149 and I would walk, you know, the aisles of the church, 158 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:53,281 and people would buy, and I-- 159 00:06:53,412 --> 00:06:57,851 and it would do me the greatest deed for me 160 00:06:57,982 --> 00:07:01,159 to be able to go to Pop Staples and give him the money 161 00:07:01,289 --> 00:07:02,769 for whatever the records were I sold. 162 00:07:04,989 --> 00:07:08,819 So, yes, I have very fond memories of the Staple Singers, 163 00:07:08,949 --> 00:07:10,777 and boy, could they sing. 164 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:15,869 It felt great to sing with my family. 165 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,176 If one of us were off key, 166 00:07:18,306 --> 00:07:21,875 the other would help get it right. 167 00:07:22,006 --> 00:07:25,836 But I'll tell you, one of my sisters, Yvonne, 168 00:07:25,966 --> 00:07:28,229 was very proper. 169 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:30,928 Now, if you notice how I talk, 170 00:07:31,058 --> 00:07:34,018 I have a Southern accent like my mother. 171 00:07:34,148 --> 00:07:35,715 Where I would say, 172 00:07:35,846 --> 00:07:39,893 ♪ Ev'ry day, ev'ry hour okay? 173 00:07:40,024 --> 00:07:44,724 Yvonne said, ♪ Ev-e-ry day, ev-e-ry hour 174 00:07:44,855 --> 00:07:46,944 and we would just die laughing. 175 00:07:47,074 --> 00:07:49,337 She would even be proper singing. 176 00:07:49,468 --> 00:07:52,253 You know? [laughs] 177 00:07:52,384 --> 00:07:55,866 But to sing with my family, to travel with my family, 178 00:07:55,996 --> 00:07:57,911 that's the best thing that could happen in the world. 179 00:07:58,912 --> 00:08:01,872 Kept us loving one another, kept us together. 180 00:08:02,002 --> 00:08:04,831 You know? That's home. 181 00:08:04,962 --> 00:08:06,050 That's home. 182 00:08:08,574 --> 00:08:11,272 One day, Pops came in from work. 183 00:08:11,403 --> 00:08:13,100 He said, "Mavis, guess what?" 184 00:08:13,231 --> 00:08:14,928 I said, "What, Daddy?" 185 00:08:15,059 --> 00:08:17,017 He said, "Tabernacle Church 186 00:08:17,148 --> 00:08:18,976 "wants us to open up for Mahalia Jackson 187 00:08:19,106 --> 00:08:21,021 Monday night." 188 00:08:21,152 --> 00:08:25,025 And, oh, my little heart just almost came out. 189 00:08:25,156 --> 00:08:28,072 Lucky for me, we were in the same dressing room. 190 00:08:28,202 --> 00:08:29,943 And I walked up to her. 191 00:08:30,074 --> 00:08:32,772 I said, "Well, hello, Miss Sister Mahalia Jackson." 192 00:08:32,903 --> 00:08:33,773 And she looked at me, and she said, 193 00:08:33,904 --> 00:08:35,862 "Well, how are you, baby?" 194 00:08:35,993 --> 00:08:37,995 I say, "I'm fine. My name is Mavis, 195 00:08:38,125 --> 00:08:39,866 and I sing too." 196 00:08:39,997 --> 00:08:42,347 She said, "Well, I wanna hear you sing." 197 00:08:42,477 --> 00:08:45,698 I said, "Oh, you'll hear me, because I sing loud." 198 00:08:45,829 --> 00:08:48,135 [laughing] 199 00:08:48,266 --> 00:08:50,268 I--I got through singing. 200 00:08:50,398 --> 00:08:52,139 Sister Mahalia Jackson, 201 00:08:52,270 --> 00:08:53,576 she said, "You a good little ol' singer." 202 00:08:56,143 --> 00:08:59,103 I was just the happiest little girl on this planet. 203 00:09:00,278 --> 00:09:04,456 ♪ I've 204 00:09:04,587 --> 00:09:08,112 ♪ been 'buked and 205 00:09:08,242 --> 00:09:12,986 ♪ I've been scorned 206 00:09:13,117 --> 00:09:16,250 [Clayton] Mahalia Jackson would come to my dad's church 207 00:09:16,381 --> 00:09:19,036 and be a guest singer, 208 00:09:19,166 --> 00:09:23,083 so I wanted to be just like Mahalia, 209 00:09:23,214 --> 00:09:26,043 and so much so that everything that she would sing, 210 00:09:26,173 --> 00:09:27,131 I would emulate. 211 00:09:29,437 --> 00:09:32,919 And when you sing in church 212 00:09:33,050 --> 00:09:36,357 as much as Mavis and I sung in church coming up, 213 00:09:36,488 --> 00:09:38,185 that's where you really develop your voice 214 00:09:38,316 --> 00:09:39,970 is in church choirs, 215 00:09:40,100 --> 00:09:41,275 singing solos, 216 00:09:41,406 --> 00:09:42,842 and this was every Sunday. 217 00:09:42,973 --> 00:09:45,802 ♪ God said touch her 218 00:09:45,932 --> 00:09:47,847 ♪ In my name 219 00:09:47,978 --> 00:09:50,197 ♪ I rose this morning 220 00:09:50,328 --> 00:09:52,852 ♪ I rose this morning ♪ 221 00:09:52,983 --> 00:09:55,202 ♪ I rose this morning 222 00:09:55,333 --> 00:09:57,988 ♪ I feel like shouting 223 00:09:58,118 --> 00:10:00,251 ♪ I feel like shouting ♪ 224 00:10:00,381 --> 00:10:02,993 ♪ I feel like shouting 225 00:10:03,123 --> 00:10:05,256 ♪ I feel like shouting ♪ 226 00:10:05,386 --> 00:10:07,998 ♪ I feel like shouting 227 00:10:08,128 --> 00:10:09,956 ♪ I feel like shouting ♪ 228 00:10:12,393 --> 00:10:14,352 [Staples] Sister Mahalia was my idol, 229 00:10:14,482 --> 00:10:17,877 my friend, and my teacher. 230 00:10:21,228 --> 00:10:23,970 You know, people from different Southern states 231 00:10:24,101 --> 00:10:28,235 migrate to Chicago, 232 00:10:28,366 --> 00:10:31,195 especially the blues and gospel singers. 233 00:10:33,153 --> 00:10:36,200 Mahalia came out of New Orleans. 234 00:10:36,330 --> 00:10:41,205 But all of them, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, you know, 235 00:10:41,335 --> 00:10:46,079 and a lot of the gospel people like Sallie Martin, 236 00:10:46,210 --> 00:10:49,126 and my father. He came from Mississippi. 237 00:10:51,476 --> 00:10:57,308 I'll tell ya, for gospel, blues, R&B, you name 'em, 238 00:10:57,438 --> 00:10:59,353 you can't beat Chicago for music. 239 00:10:59,484 --> 00:11:00,964 You just can't do it. 240 00:11:03,314 --> 00:11:05,185 [Contreras] That was really the beginning 241 00:11:05,316 --> 00:11:08,232 of when Chicago was becoming a mecca for the blues. 242 00:11:10,582 --> 00:11:12,889 The interesting thing about that scene 243 00:11:13,019 --> 00:11:15,326 for the Staple Singers 244 00:11:15,456 --> 00:11:20,418 is that there were so many folks that presaged it. 245 00:11:20,548 --> 00:11:25,379 Mavis, in so many ways, was drawing from artists 246 00:11:25,510 --> 00:11:30,167 like Clara Ward and her amazing voice. 247 00:11:30,297 --> 00:11:33,387 I'm even thinking about Lovie Austin 248 00:11:33,518 --> 00:11:37,391 and Ida Cox back in the 1920s and '30s 249 00:11:37,522 --> 00:11:41,569 with some really amazing, beautiful blues music. 250 00:11:41,700 --> 00:11:47,184 I--I think there's just such a long lineage of wild women 251 00:11:47,314 --> 00:11:50,274 that all of these artists are drawing from. 252 00:11:50,404 --> 00:11:54,365 ♪ My man's got a heart 253 00:11:54,495 --> 00:11:56,933 ♪ Like a rock 254 00:11:57,063 --> 00:12:02,286 ♪ Cast in the sea 255 00:12:02,416 --> 00:12:04,027 [George-Warren] Bessie Smith was 256 00:12:04,157 --> 00:12:05,593 the great, great blues singer 257 00:12:05,724 --> 00:12:08,118 of the 20th century. 258 00:12:08,248 --> 00:12:11,382 You know, she kind of made the music industry boom 259 00:12:11,512 --> 00:12:14,472 with her popularity on Columbia Records. 260 00:12:14,602 --> 00:12:18,258 Without Bessie Smith, there would be no Janis Joplin. 261 00:12:18,389 --> 00:12:21,305 It's one of those great tragedies that when she died, 262 00:12:21,435 --> 00:12:23,176 she was forgotten for a while, 263 00:12:23,307 --> 00:12:26,266 but same thing with Ma Rainey, too. 264 00:12:26,397 --> 00:12:28,399 She was another great, great blues singer, 265 00:12:28,529 --> 00:12:32,446 and both of these women were also very entrepreneurial 266 00:12:32,577 --> 00:12:34,405 at a time when women were barely, you know, 267 00:12:34,535 --> 00:12:37,060 allowed out of the kitchen. 268 00:12:37,190 --> 00:12:38,452 But thank goodness they left behind 269 00:12:38,583 --> 00:12:41,194 this incredible music. 270 00:12:41,325 --> 00:12:43,153 There were so many other women in that era 271 00:12:43,283 --> 00:12:44,807 who were sadly forgotten. 272 00:12:46,243 --> 00:12:47,722 [Hendryx] When I think of the women 273 00:12:47,853 --> 00:12:50,290 who were singing back at the time, 274 00:12:50,421 --> 00:12:52,466 the first time I heard Big Mama Thornton, 275 00:12:52,597 --> 00:12:54,425 this was so powerful, 276 00:12:54,555 --> 00:12:56,644 and, yes, it's the name "Big Mama Thornton," 277 00:12:56,775 --> 00:12:59,909 but I think the voice was there, big or not, 278 00:13:00,039 --> 00:13:02,259 And-- 279 00:13:02,389 --> 00:13:04,130 I think the other voice would be Sister Rosetta Tharpe. 280 00:13:06,524 --> 00:13:08,221 [Weymouth] They were big stars. 281 00:13:08,352 --> 00:13:10,180 They were the icons of their day. 282 00:13:10,310 --> 00:13:12,530 But Sister Rosetta, 283 00:13:12,660 --> 00:13:15,402 I didn't even know who she was 284 00:13:15,533 --> 00:13:18,449 until maybe the last ten years. 285 00:13:18,579 --> 00:13:21,278 I said, "Who is this? This is-- 286 00:13:21,408 --> 00:13:24,498 "Why did American network television 287 00:13:24,629 --> 00:13:28,154 deprive us of these amazing people?" 288 00:13:28,285 --> 00:13:30,156 ♪♪♪ 289 00:13:43,213 --> 00:13:47,347 ♪ Didn't it rain, children? 290 00:13:47,478 --> 00:13:49,088 -[audience cheering] -♪ Rain? Oh yes 291 00:13:49,219 --> 00:13:50,655 ♪ Didn't it? Yes 292 00:13:50,785 --> 00:13:52,135 ♪ Didn't it? You know it did ♪ 293 00:13:52,265 --> 00:13:53,527 ♪ Didn't it? 294 00:13:53,658 --> 00:13:55,268 ♪ Oh, oh, yeah 295 00:13:55,399 --> 00:13:57,096 I loved Sister Rosetta Tharpe 296 00:13:57,227 --> 00:13:58,619 playing the guitar in her high heels, 297 00:13:58,750 --> 00:14:03,102 in her fur coat, and a dress, 298 00:14:03,233 --> 00:14:05,496 rocking out on the guitar. 299 00:14:05,626 --> 00:14:08,151 I mean, it's just, like, badassery, you know? 300 00:14:08,281 --> 00:14:11,154 She's just doing her thing. 301 00:14:11,284 --> 00:14:14,113 ♪ Oh, my Lord, how it rained 302 00:14:16,463 --> 00:14:19,031 [guitar solo] 303 00:14:22,382 --> 00:14:24,210 Over the years, 304 00:14:24,341 --> 00:14:28,258 we've had some great, great female singers. 305 00:14:28,388 --> 00:14:32,044 Etta James, I loved her. 306 00:14:32,175 --> 00:14:33,916 Oh, she's a fun person, too. 307 00:14:35,221 --> 00:14:37,136 I love Sarah Vaughan. 308 00:14:37,267 --> 00:14:40,052 And, of course, Aretha. 309 00:14:40,183 --> 00:14:41,488 She's the greatest. 310 00:14:41,619 --> 00:14:43,621 ♪ Ooh, your kisses 311 00:14:43,751 --> 00:14:45,405 ♪ Sweeter than honey 312 00:14:45,536 --> 00:14:47,146 ♪ And guess what? 313 00:14:47,277 --> 00:14:48,582 ♪ So is my money 314 00:14:48,713 --> 00:14:51,281 ♪ All I need 315 00:14:51,411 --> 00:14:54,675 ♪ Is just a little respect when you get back ♪ 316 00:14:54,806 --> 00:14:56,503 -♪ When you get home -♪ Just a little bit 317 00:14:56,634 --> 00:14:58,462 ♪ No doubt about it, yeah ♪ 318 00:14:58,592 --> 00:15:00,377 ♪ R-E-S-P-E-C-T 319 00:15:00,507 --> 00:15:02,074 ♪ Find out what it means to me ♪ 320 00:15:02,205 --> 00:15:03,815 ♪ R-E-S-P-E-C-T 321 00:15:03,946 --> 00:15:05,338 ♪ Take care of TCB 322 00:15:05,469 --> 00:15:07,123 ♪ Oh 323 00:15:07,253 --> 00:15:10,430 ♪ A little respect Baby ♪ 324 00:15:10,561 --> 00:15:12,389 -♪ Just a little bit -♪ A little respect 325 00:15:12,519 --> 00:15:13,781 -♪ I get by -♪ Just a little bit 326 00:15:13,912 --> 00:15:15,479 -♪ Keep on by -♪ Just a little bit 327 00:15:15,609 --> 00:15:17,307 -♪ Whoo -♪ Just a little bit 328 00:15:17,437 --> 00:15:18,438 -♪ I'm not lying -♪ Just a little bit 329 00:15:18,569 --> 00:15:20,397 ♪ Respect 330 00:15:20,527 --> 00:15:21,789 ♪ That's what I want 331 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:23,443 ♪ Respect 332 00:15:23,574 --> 00:15:25,184 ♪ Sure what I need 333 00:15:25,315 --> 00:15:26,664 ♪ Respect 334 00:15:26,794 --> 00:15:28,187 ♪ I gotta have it 335 00:15:28,318 --> 00:15:28,971 ♪ Just a little bit 336 00:15:30,450 --> 00:15:33,453 ♪♪♪ 337 00:15:37,414 --> 00:15:40,591 In the 1950s, you get these incredible artists 338 00:15:40,721 --> 00:15:42,506 taking different eras of music 339 00:15:42,636 --> 00:15:44,377 and combining it together 340 00:15:44,508 --> 00:15:46,640 and creating a whole new genre of music. 341 00:15:46,771 --> 00:15:49,382 It was the beginning of rock 'n' roll. 342 00:15:51,341 --> 00:15:53,386 One of the great early rock 'n' rollers 343 00:15:53,517 --> 00:15:55,258 was Wanda Jackson. 344 00:15:55,388 --> 00:15:56,607 ♪ A hard-headed woman 345 00:15:56,737 --> 00:15:58,261 ♪ A soft-hearted man 346 00:15:58,391 --> 00:15:59,436 ♪ They've been causing trouble 347 00:15:59,566 --> 00:16:01,003 ♪ Ever since the world began 348 00:16:01,133 --> 00:16:04,354 ♪ Oh yeah, ever since the world began ♪ 349 00:16:04,484 --> 00:16:05,790 ♪ Whoo, yeah 350 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:07,444 ♪ Well, a hard-headed woman 351 00:16:07,574 --> 00:16:10,490 ♪ Is a thorn in the side of a man ♪ 352 00:16:10,621 --> 00:16:12,275 ♪ Huh-huh-huh-huh-huh 353 00:16:12,405 --> 00:16:13,711 ♪ A hard-headed woman 354 00:16:13,841 --> 00:16:15,539 ♪ Is a thorn in the side of a man ♪ 355 00:16:15,669 --> 00:16:17,454 Let's go again. Yeah. 356 00:16:20,544 --> 00:16:23,590 Back in the day, Doris Day was kind of the role model, 357 00:16:23,721 --> 00:16:26,289 just to stand there and sweetly sing, 358 00:16:26,419 --> 00:16:28,508 and Wanda puts all this kind of raunch into it 359 00:16:28,639 --> 00:16:30,858 with that amazing voice and her movement. 360 00:16:30,989 --> 00:16:33,557 her incredible outfits that her mom made with the fringe, 361 00:16:35,341 --> 00:16:37,300 so I love Wanda Jackson. 362 00:16:37,430 --> 00:16:39,693 She really kicked down the doors 363 00:16:39,824 --> 00:16:42,218 of the boys' club of those early rockabilly dudes. 364 00:16:44,655 --> 00:16:47,527 Wanda Jackson is a pioneer, 365 00:16:47,658 --> 00:16:51,314 and I think that-- 366 00:16:51,444 --> 00:16:53,577 you know, she was one of the original bad girls. 367 00:16:53,707 --> 00:16:55,709 She has had a massive influence 368 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,844 over bridging rock 'n' roll and country music. 369 00:16:59,974 --> 00:17:05,328 Wanda Jackson is an absolutely crucial 370 00:17:05,458 --> 00:17:07,634 founding figure in rock 'n' roll, 371 00:17:08,853 --> 00:17:13,640 But, of course, at the beginning of rock 'n' roll, 372 00:17:13,771 --> 00:17:16,817 rock is colliding with society's norms. 373 00:17:17,688 --> 00:17:20,604 People were afraid that this new phenomenon of music 374 00:17:20,734 --> 00:17:22,606 endangered young people. 375 00:17:25,696 --> 00:17:28,481 [Staples] In our home, I only heard gospel music. 376 00:17:28,612 --> 00:17:31,528 Pops wouldn't allow any other. 377 00:17:31,658 --> 00:17:34,966 So for me to hear rock 'n' roll, 378 00:17:35,097 --> 00:17:37,664 I had to get to school, 379 00:17:37,795 --> 00:17:41,494 put a quarter in the jukebox, and play James Brown. 380 00:17:41,625 --> 00:17:43,670 But, um... 381 00:17:43,801 --> 00:17:46,412 it was--it was-- it was not for us to hear 382 00:17:46,543 --> 00:17:48,414 when we were kids. 383 00:17:48,545 --> 00:17:52,723 Black people looked at it as the Devil's music. 384 00:17:52,853 --> 00:17:55,421 You know, "I'll Take You There." 385 00:17:55,552 --> 00:17:57,684 When we recorded "I'll Take You There," 386 00:17:57,815 --> 00:17:59,686 people started saying, "The Staple Singers 387 00:17:59,817 --> 00:18:01,688 are singing the Devil's music." 388 00:18:01,819 --> 00:18:04,430 You know, because of the beat. 389 00:18:04,561 --> 00:18:07,651 [singing bass line] 390 00:18:07,781 --> 00:18:09,348 And people jump up on the floor 391 00:18:09,479 --> 00:18:11,437 and start dancing, you know? 392 00:18:11,568 --> 00:18:13,657 So they just think, 393 00:18:13,787 --> 00:18:15,876 "The Staple Singers are gone to the Devil." 394 00:18:16,007 --> 00:18:17,791 [Clayton] The church members would tell me, 395 00:18:17,922 --> 00:18:21,491 "My God, we don't want you to sing rock 'n' roll 396 00:18:21,621 --> 00:18:24,276 and sing in the church." 397 00:18:24,407 --> 00:18:25,625 It was rock 'n' roll. 398 00:18:25,756 --> 00:18:26,974 [chuckles] It was-- 399 00:18:27,105 --> 00:18:31,022 It was what they would call "hellish music," 400 00:18:31,153 --> 00:18:35,287 and it would lead you down a path that was not very savory. 401 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:38,638 I believe with all of my heart 402 00:18:38,769 --> 00:18:41,554 that rock 'n' roll music is a contributing factor 403 00:18:41,685 --> 00:18:43,730 to our juvenile delinquency of today. 404 00:18:43,861 --> 00:18:45,819 I 100% believe. 405 00:18:45,950 --> 00:18:47,647 And why I believe that 406 00:18:47,778 --> 00:18:50,346 is because I know how it feels when you sing it. 407 00:18:50,476 --> 00:18:51,869 I know what it does to you. 408 00:18:51,999 --> 00:18:56,003 And I know the evil that you get into in the beat. 409 00:18:56,134 --> 00:18:58,528 If you talk to the average teenager of today, 410 00:18:58,658 --> 00:19:00,443 and you ask them what it is about rock 'n' roll music 411 00:19:00,573 --> 00:19:02,009 that they like, 412 00:19:02,140 --> 00:19:03,576 and the first thing they'll say is "The beat. 413 00:19:03,707 --> 00:19:05,317 The beat. The beat." 414 00:19:07,798 --> 00:19:09,887 [Staples] When we recorded "I'll Take You There," 415 00:19:10,017 --> 00:19:13,717 I remember we were in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. 416 00:19:13,847 --> 00:19:17,024 That was the first time we had gone there to make a record. 417 00:19:17,155 --> 00:19:22,552 And these guys, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, 418 00:19:22,682 --> 00:19:25,468 David Hood, and Jimmy. 419 00:19:25,598 --> 00:19:28,427 they were probably the best rhythm section 420 00:19:28,558 --> 00:19:31,038 at that time in the world. 421 00:19:31,169 --> 00:19:33,519 They'd had a lot of hits come out of there. 422 00:19:37,001 --> 00:19:41,614 But long before we were singing "I'll Take You There," 423 00:19:41,745 --> 00:19:45,792 we sang strictly gospel songs 424 00:19:45,923 --> 00:19:49,840 for, oh, ten, 12 years. 425 00:19:49,970 --> 00:19:53,670 We started singing in 1949, 426 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,803 and in 1960, 427 00:19:56,934 --> 00:19:59,719 we happened to be in Montgomery, Alabama 428 00:19:59,850 --> 00:20:02,461 on a Sunday morning. 429 00:20:02,592 --> 00:20:04,507 Pops said, "Listen, y'all. 430 00:20:04,637 --> 00:20:07,684 This man, Martin Luther King, is here. 431 00:20:07,814 --> 00:20:10,817 I'd like to go to his 11:00 service." 432 00:20:10,948 --> 00:20:12,776 So we all got in the car and went down 433 00:20:12,906 --> 00:20:15,474 to Dexter Ave. Baptist Church. 434 00:20:15,605 --> 00:20:17,868 We heard Dr. King's sermon. 435 00:20:17,998 --> 00:20:19,652 [King] I'm worried about America. 436 00:20:19,783 --> 00:20:21,698 -Yeah. -I'm worried about our nation, 437 00:20:21,828 --> 00:20:26,877 because it's sick with racism. 438 00:20:27,007 --> 00:20:31,055 Pops said, "Listen, y'all, I really like his message, 439 00:20:31,185 --> 00:20:34,667 and I think that if he can preach it, we can sing it." 440 00:20:35,799 --> 00:20:40,499 And that was the beginning of our message songs. 441 00:20:40,630 --> 00:20:42,806 "March Up Freedom's Highway." 442 00:20:42,936 --> 00:20:44,503 "Why? [Am I Treated So Bad]." 443 00:20:44,634 --> 00:20:46,418 You know? 444 00:20:46,549 --> 00:20:48,028 ♪ Made up my mind 445 00:20:48,159 --> 00:20:49,987 ♪ And I won't turn around 446 00:20:50,117 --> 00:20:52,032 ♪ Made up my mind 447 00:20:52,163 --> 00:20:53,164 ♪ And I won't turn around 448 00:20:53,295 --> 00:20:55,166 Marching up freedom's highway. 449 00:20:55,297 --> 00:20:58,648 ♪ Made up my mind 450 00:20:58,778 --> 00:21:00,737 ♪ And I won't turn around 451 00:21:00,867 --> 00:21:02,652 Pops used to tell us stories 452 00:21:02,782 --> 00:21:04,349 about how if a white man 453 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,482 was coming towards him on the same side of the street, 454 00:21:06,612 --> 00:21:08,484 he'd have to cross over, 455 00:21:08,614 --> 00:21:09,789 and I couldn't believe that, 456 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,662 but it was real, 457 00:21:12,792 --> 00:21:15,491 and it was just so sad that it had to be that way. 458 00:21:16,927 --> 00:21:18,842 But it was. 459 00:21:18,972 --> 00:21:21,540 It took Pops to let me know, 460 00:21:21,671 --> 00:21:23,107 "Unlock your mind, Mavis, 461 00:21:23,237 --> 00:21:25,544 and see what's going on around you." 462 00:21:25,675 --> 00:21:27,981 You know, I was-- I was the youngest. 463 00:21:28,112 --> 00:21:30,897 I was still having fun. You know? 464 00:21:31,028 --> 00:21:33,247 I was--I was still a kid, 465 00:21:33,378 --> 00:21:36,555 but I realized what was going on 466 00:21:36,686 --> 00:21:38,818 because we were living it. 467 00:21:38,949 --> 00:21:41,778 I saw how Black people were treated in the South. 468 00:21:41,908 --> 00:21:45,521 I saw the signs for "colored only." 469 00:21:45,651 --> 00:21:47,871 I saw Emmett Till, 470 00:21:48,001 --> 00:21:50,656 I saw Rosa Parks, 471 00:21:50,787 --> 00:21:55,139 and I knew we needed to sing these songs to help. 472 00:21:55,269 --> 00:21:59,491 Music played a big part in the change. 473 00:21:59,622 --> 00:22:01,537 A huge part. 474 00:22:03,756 --> 00:22:06,672 ♪ And I won't turn back 475 00:22:08,108 --> 00:22:10,546 ♪ And I'm on my way 476 00:22:10,676 --> 00:22:12,722 ♪ I'm on my way 477 00:22:12,852 --> 00:22:14,811 ♪ And I won't turn back 478 00:22:14,941 --> 00:22:16,682 ♪ And I won't turn back ♪ 479 00:22:16,813 --> 00:22:18,728 ♪ And I'm on my way 480 00:22:18,858 --> 00:22:20,991 ♪ I'm on my way 481 00:22:21,121 --> 00:22:22,906 ♪ And I won't turn back 482 00:22:23,036 --> 00:22:24,864 ♪ And I won't turn back ♪ 483 00:22:24,995 --> 00:22:28,085 ♪ I'm on my way 484 00:22:28,215 --> 00:22:32,611 ♪ Thank God I'm on my way 485 00:22:32,742 --> 00:22:34,570 [Clayton] Odetta was a folk singer. 486 00:22:34,700 --> 00:22:37,660 She was very soulful. 487 00:22:37,790 --> 00:22:39,096 And then she would play this guitar, 488 00:22:39,226 --> 00:22:40,706 and it was just beautiful. 489 00:22:42,752 --> 00:22:45,058 She was like a mom to me, 490 00:22:45,189 --> 00:22:47,626 and she would always give me great advice 491 00:22:47,757 --> 00:22:49,541 about anything that I talked to her about. 492 00:22:49,672 --> 00:22:52,239 ♪♪♪ 493 00:22:52,370 --> 00:22:53,850 [George-Warren] At the time, folk music 494 00:22:53,980 --> 00:22:56,722 was becoming popular again, 495 00:22:56,853 --> 00:22:59,595 and Odetta was trained as an opera singer, 496 00:22:59,725 --> 00:23:01,684 musical theater, 497 00:23:01,814 --> 00:23:03,990 but then, she really fell madly in love 498 00:23:04,121 --> 00:23:06,079 with folk songs, blues, 499 00:23:06,210 --> 00:23:10,606 and, you know, using music as a form of protest. 500 00:23:10,736 --> 00:23:12,477 She was such a powerful presence. 501 00:23:14,174 --> 00:23:16,089 [Hoff] There was so much great folk music 502 00:23:16,220 --> 00:23:18,048 when I was growing up in the '60s, 503 00:23:18,178 --> 00:23:21,747 and I loved Odetta, 504 00:23:21,878 --> 00:23:25,882 the badass guitar playing and just the soulfulness, 505 00:23:26,012 --> 00:23:28,058 and I--I like it 506 00:23:28,188 --> 00:23:31,801 when it's just so raw and real, you know? 507 00:23:31,931 --> 00:23:32,845 And truthful. 508 00:23:34,978 --> 00:23:36,283 [George-Warren] In the early '60s 509 00:23:36,414 --> 00:23:39,809 with new faces coming along in the folk scene, 510 00:23:39,939 --> 00:23:42,507 they were in awe of Odetta, 511 00:23:42,638 --> 00:23:45,336 and there were these women working in the folk tradition 512 00:23:45,467 --> 00:23:48,470 that had very powerful things to say with their music. 513 00:23:50,559 --> 00:23:52,952 [Hendryx] The change in this country 514 00:23:53,083 --> 00:23:54,693 that was going on 515 00:23:54,824 --> 00:23:56,913 meant people needed a lot of-- 516 00:23:58,262 --> 00:23:59,916 a lot of truth, 517 00:24:00,046 --> 00:24:05,008 so you had to be authentic and be you. 518 00:24:05,138 --> 00:24:07,924 Even if it was a show, even if it was entertaining, 519 00:24:08,054 --> 00:24:09,926 it had to be authentic entertainment. 520 00:24:12,102 --> 00:24:15,061 Nina Simone was just an incredible artist 521 00:24:15,192 --> 00:24:20,153 who was a musician, singer, songwriter, 522 00:24:20,284 --> 00:24:24,157 a fierce advocate for social change, 523 00:24:24,288 --> 00:24:25,985 and a friend as well. 524 00:24:26,116 --> 00:24:29,946 So, you know, she was a few years older than me, 525 00:24:30,076 --> 00:24:35,908 but just being able to have a conversation with her 526 00:24:36,039 --> 00:24:39,912 about music and about what she was fighting against... 527 00:24:41,044 --> 00:24:44,613 that was very much a blueprint for my foundation. 528 00:24:47,224 --> 00:24:48,181 [Gray] Being a woman and being Black 529 00:24:48,312 --> 00:24:50,357 in the '50s and '60s, 530 00:24:50,488 --> 00:24:53,143 and being really gifted and being really smart 531 00:24:53,273 --> 00:24:54,884 made her life really difficult. 532 00:24:56,363 --> 00:24:58,148 So when I listen to her music, 533 00:24:58,278 --> 00:25:00,150 I just feel like I'm--I'm so blessed. 534 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,936 Like, I'm so blessed to be able to hear 535 00:25:04,067 --> 00:25:05,677 what came from somebody like that. 536 00:25:05,808 --> 00:25:08,767 ♪♪♪ 537 00:25:08,898 --> 00:25:11,030 ♪ Alabama's got me so upset 538 00:25:11,161 --> 00:25:14,207 ♪ And Tennessee's made me lose my rest ♪ 539 00:25:14,338 --> 00:25:17,123 ♪ Everybody knows about Mississippi ♪ 540 00:25:17,254 --> 00:25:20,083 ♪ Goddamn! 541 00:25:20,213 --> 00:25:22,172 [Staples] I loved Nina Simone. 542 00:25:22,302 --> 00:25:25,262 She was tough. She was tough. 543 00:25:25,392 --> 00:25:27,917 And when she'd hit that piano, 544 00:25:28,047 --> 00:25:29,092 and stand up, and-- 545 00:25:29,222 --> 00:25:30,920 and turn around, and-- 546 00:25:31,050 --> 00:25:32,878 oh, she was powerful. 547 00:25:33,009 --> 00:25:35,054 ♪ Everybody knows about Mississippi ♪ 548 00:25:35,185 --> 00:25:38,449 ♪ Goddamn! 549 00:25:38,580 --> 00:25:42,235 [Amos] Nina Simone's voice was a challenge to wake up. 550 00:25:42,366 --> 00:25:43,846 "Mississippi Goddamn." 551 00:25:43,976 --> 00:25:46,152 Wow. "Goddamn"? 552 00:25:46,283 --> 00:25:47,937 As a minister's daughter, just, Goddamn, 553 00:25:48,067 --> 00:25:49,068 how great is that? 554 00:25:49,199 --> 00:25:51,462 But...wow. 555 00:25:51,593 --> 00:25:53,420 To look at what's happening 556 00:25:53,551 --> 00:25:55,466 and then have the courage to sing about it, 557 00:25:55,597 --> 00:25:56,685 that's what she stands for. 558 00:25:56,815 --> 00:25:57,860 That's it! 559 00:25:57,990 --> 00:26:00,906 [applause] 560 00:26:03,561 --> 00:26:06,259 [Hendryx] I was able to learn from someone like a Nina Simone, 561 00:26:06,390 --> 00:26:07,957 Abbey Lincoln. 562 00:26:08,914 --> 00:26:11,787 These women, they had gone through things 563 00:26:11,917 --> 00:26:13,136 that I didn't have to go through. 564 00:26:14,398 --> 00:26:17,009 In the early '60s, 565 00:26:17,140 --> 00:26:20,796 I was in the girl group Bluebelles. 566 00:26:20,926 --> 00:26:22,798 We were dressed alike, 567 00:26:22,928 --> 00:26:24,974 and we had coiffed hair, 568 00:26:25,104 --> 00:26:28,151 and sometimes tiaras, gloves. 569 00:26:28,281 --> 00:26:29,848 You know, all the sort of, like, 570 00:26:29,979 --> 00:26:31,850 trappings of the feminine. 571 00:26:31,981 --> 00:26:33,591 You know, you were-- 572 00:26:33,722 --> 00:26:36,855 you were cute, you were kind of these... 573 00:26:36,986 --> 00:26:40,163 dolls that were on stage, 574 00:26:40,293 --> 00:26:45,951 and, you know, that was about a fantasy of women. 575 00:26:47,300 --> 00:26:49,389 People really saw 576 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:51,957 the girl groups of the '50s and '60s 577 00:26:52,088 --> 00:26:56,875 as just sort of a manufactured pop phenomenon, 578 00:26:57,006 --> 00:26:59,835 acting at the behest of the puppetry 579 00:26:59,965 --> 00:27:01,924 of the, you know, 580 00:27:02,054 --> 00:27:04,230 gleaming male producer on the mount. 581 00:27:07,233 --> 00:27:10,236 But I really see girl groups like 582 00:27:10,367 --> 00:27:12,195 Diana Ross and The Supremes 583 00:27:12,325 --> 00:27:16,112 as breaking out and actually seeking agency. 584 00:27:18,244 --> 00:27:19,942 [Jones] Well, the first one I noticed, I suppose, 585 00:27:20,072 --> 00:27:21,900 is Diana Ross. 586 00:27:22,031 --> 00:27:25,164 She had an unusual voice, 587 00:27:25,295 --> 00:27:28,298 and when I now try to sing a Diana Ross song, 588 00:27:28,428 --> 00:27:29,865 the thing that I notice is 589 00:27:29,995 --> 00:27:32,824 she makes everything sound very easy. 590 00:27:32,955 --> 00:27:34,260 It's so natural, 591 00:27:34,391 --> 00:27:37,916 and the songs are actually not, any of them, 592 00:27:38,047 --> 00:27:39,788 not easy to sing. 593 00:27:40,745 --> 00:27:42,225 [Ross] We just wanted to do harmony things 594 00:27:42,355 --> 00:27:44,096 where the three voices blend, 595 00:27:44,227 --> 00:27:46,446 but as we began to release records, 596 00:27:46,577 --> 00:27:49,493 we separated ourselves into a lead and background singers, 597 00:27:49,623 --> 00:27:52,061 because in the rhythm 'n' blues feel, 598 00:27:52,191 --> 00:27:53,105 and rock 'n' roll, 599 00:27:53,236 --> 00:27:55,194 this is the way it is now 600 00:27:55,325 --> 00:27:58,154 with the lead voice and the back harmony notes 601 00:27:58,284 --> 00:27:59,242 or even the back unison notes. 602 00:28:01,461 --> 00:28:04,203 The Supremes were kind of like a girl gang. 603 00:28:04,334 --> 00:28:05,988 They were a little bit more sophisticated 604 00:28:06,118 --> 00:28:08,077 than, say, the Girl Gang or The Ronettes, 605 00:28:08,207 --> 00:28:10,993 who had a little meaner, kind of, tougher stance, 606 00:28:11,123 --> 00:28:13,082 and same thing with The Shangri-Las, 607 00:28:13,212 --> 00:28:16,041 but these were amazing singers. 608 00:28:16,172 --> 00:28:19,349 They totally knew how to rock a song. 609 00:28:19,479 --> 00:28:23,179 I loved the girl-group thing with the look, the hair. 610 00:28:23,309 --> 00:28:24,310 like, lashes out to there, 611 00:28:24,441 --> 00:28:26,573 hair higher than the sky, 612 00:28:26,704 --> 00:28:30,099 and the incredible. incredible singing, 613 00:28:30,229 --> 00:28:33,450 and it was mostly Black women 614 00:28:33,580 --> 00:28:36,322 that were at the forefront of all these groups, 615 00:28:36,453 --> 00:28:39,456 and so that kind of coincided with the Civil Rights Movement. 616 00:28:39,586 --> 00:28:43,242 -♪ No more brothers in jail -Off the pigs! 617 00:28:43,373 --> 00:28:46,985 -♪ Pigs are gonna get killed -Off the pigs! 618 00:28:47,116 --> 00:28:48,595 ♪ No more brothers in jail 619 00:28:48,726 --> 00:28:52,295 [Hendryx] The period was very...volatile 620 00:28:52,425 --> 00:28:54,776 in terms of the country changing... 621 00:28:57,561 --> 00:29:01,565 and the people who peopled my life very closely, 622 00:29:01,695 --> 00:29:05,177 a lot of them were poets, writers, 623 00:29:05,308 --> 00:29:08,137 people like Stokely Carmichael, the Black Panthers. 624 00:29:08,267 --> 00:29:10,139 Angela Davis was a friend, 625 00:29:10,269 --> 00:29:12,141 Nikki Giovanni, 626 00:29:12,271 --> 00:29:13,707 you know, Muhammad Ali. 627 00:29:13,838 --> 00:29:17,276 You know, so all these people were a part of my life, 628 00:29:17,407 --> 00:29:20,540 and I could see what was happening to them. 629 00:29:20,671 --> 00:29:24,370 If we do not seize the time, 630 00:29:24,501 --> 00:29:28,548 if we do not realize that the time is now, 631 00:29:28,679 --> 00:29:32,639 then the time will never come. 632 00:29:32,770 --> 00:29:35,468 So everybody who believes it, and can say it, 633 00:29:35,599 --> 00:29:38,036 and can fight for it, all power to the people. 634 00:29:38,167 --> 00:29:40,212 [Hendryx] These were thinkers. 635 00:29:40,343 --> 00:29:42,084 These were people about change. 636 00:29:42,214 --> 00:29:44,651 They were people about social change. 637 00:29:44,782 --> 00:29:49,439 They were crossing lines, kicking down doors. 638 00:29:49,569 --> 00:29:52,398 You know, they were fierce people. 639 00:29:54,313 --> 00:29:57,142 That's what raised my consciousness. 640 00:30:00,450 --> 00:30:03,018 The change that had happened in the country, 641 00:30:03,148 --> 00:30:04,280 in the world, 642 00:30:04,410 --> 00:30:06,586 and specifically in our world, 643 00:30:06,717 --> 00:30:09,198 there was no way of going back to being that fantasy. 644 00:30:11,243 --> 00:30:14,464 When we were the girl group Bluebelles, 645 00:30:14,594 --> 00:30:17,510 we felt that we, you know-- 646 00:30:17,641 --> 00:30:19,643 that we were being fake, 647 00:30:19,773 --> 00:30:22,864 and that's when we began the transition to Labelle. 648 00:30:24,866 --> 00:30:28,304 I think Labelle brought something completely different. 649 00:30:29,261 --> 00:30:35,137 I was interested in writing music about the future, 650 00:30:35,267 --> 00:30:38,227 writing music about space travel, 651 00:30:38,357 --> 00:30:40,316 so that also became a part 652 00:30:40,446 --> 00:30:42,971 of what it was that we were wearing. 653 00:30:43,928 --> 00:30:48,193 Larry LeGaspi and a whole gaggle of gay guys 654 00:30:48,324 --> 00:30:53,068 who were very into a futuristic vision 655 00:30:53,198 --> 00:30:56,158 of fashion and design 656 00:30:56,288 --> 00:31:00,031 said, "Get rid of what you're wearing. 657 00:31:00,162 --> 00:31:02,686 "It doesn't work. 658 00:31:02,816 --> 00:31:05,471 We have some better things, better ideas for you." 659 00:31:07,386 --> 00:31:09,258 Larry had a vision 660 00:31:09,388 --> 00:31:13,436 about how to bring this futuristic look to Labelle. 661 00:31:14,350 --> 00:31:16,482 This just happened about four years ago 662 00:31:16,613 --> 00:31:19,224 when we changed our name and our everything. 663 00:31:19,355 --> 00:31:20,660 We saw that as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, 664 00:31:20,791 --> 00:31:23,141 we weren't going anyplace, really. 665 00:31:23,272 --> 00:31:25,578 And after changing, we could see the change, 666 00:31:25,709 --> 00:31:27,189 It was very necessary. 667 00:31:27,319 --> 00:31:28,712 But you seem with your music 668 00:31:28,842 --> 00:31:30,279 to really be taking us somewhere. 669 00:31:30,409 --> 00:31:31,715 I get the feeling 670 00:31:31,845 --> 00:31:33,760 that there's a lot more to it than-- 671 00:31:33,891 --> 00:31:36,328 than the way you-- you know, the space clothes, 672 00:31:36,459 --> 00:31:37,503 and I think you're saying something. 673 00:31:37,634 --> 00:31:39,070 Am I tuned in there? 674 00:31:39,201 --> 00:31:41,116 The space clothes 675 00:31:41,246 --> 00:31:44,380 came about just by us being us. 676 00:31:44,510 --> 00:31:47,600 It wasn't an intention to put something, a facade up 677 00:31:47,731 --> 00:31:50,299 for the people to look at rather than to listen. 678 00:31:50,429 --> 00:31:52,170 But don't you feel that you're part of the future? 679 00:31:52,301 --> 00:31:53,824 -Oh, yes. -Yeah. 680 00:31:53,955 --> 00:31:57,219 Well, in the sense of being in the future, we're present. 681 00:31:57,349 --> 00:31:58,481 We deal with what's going on now. 682 00:31:58,611 --> 00:32:01,614 ♪ About love 683 00:32:01,745 --> 00:32:03,442 -♪ Oh yeah -♪ What you say, y'all 684 00:32:03,573 --> 00:32:06,315 ♪ Oh yeah 685 00:32:06,445 --> 00:32:07,751 [Hendryx] What we were wearing 686 00:32:07,881 --> 00:32:12,364 was ornamental and fun and creative, 687 00:32:12,495 --> 00:32:16,281 but it wasn't the reason for 688 00:32:16,412 --> 00:32:18,718 our being there on stage. 689 00:32:18,849 --> 00:32:21,417 The reason was to communicate. 690 00:32:23,288 --> 00:32:26,335 We could have this fantasy look, 691 00:32:26,465 --> 00:32:28,206 becoming these birds. 692 00:32:28,337 --> 00:32:30,208 these bird-like characters, 693 00:32:30,339 --> 00:32:34,996 but also say things like, 694 00:32:35,126 --> 00:32:36,998 "People of color are going to be in the future." 695 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:40,610 People didn't know that that's what we were saying, 696 00:32:40,740 --> 00:32:42,003 but that's what we were saying. 697 00:32:44,092 --> 00:32:45,702 [Contreras] The audacity of believing 698 00:32:45,832 --> 00:32:47,617 that there is a place for you in the future 699 00:32:47,747 --> 00:32:49,836 as a Black person in America, 700 00:32:49,967 --> 00:32:53,492 especially back in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, 701 00:32:53,623 --> 00:32:55,451 is--is--it's-- 702 00:32:55,581 --> 00:32:57,018 you know, that takes some cojones. 703 00:32:59,498 --> 00:33:03,589 Basically Labelle is just sort of like a power trio, 704 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,766 because you had Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, 705 00:33:06,897 --> 00:33:08,333 and then you had Sarah Dash. 706 00:33:10,422 --> 00:33:13,425 Labelle was part of a larger imagining 707 00:33:13,556 --> 00:33:15,601 that was coming from growing up 708 00:33:15,732 --> 00:33:18,822 around sci-fi movies and the space race. 709 00:33:18,952 --> 00:33:21,390 If you think about it, outside of Lieutenant Uhura, 710 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,654 there weren't really any Black people in those spaces. 711 00:33:24,784 --> 00:33:26,351 You know? 712 00:33:26,482 --> 00:33:28,136 So we're gonna imagine our own future. 713 00:33:31,487 --> 00:33:34,316 [Hendryx] We knew that people would want to see us 714 00:33:34,446 --> 00:33:36,753 because of what we looked like, 715 00:33:36,883 --> 00:33:38,798 but then we can inform you 716 00:33:38,929 --> 00:33:41,584 about what was going on in the world 717 00:33:41,714 --> 00:33:44,804 in a way that was celebratory 718 00:33:44,935 --> 00:33:48,591 as opposed to beating you over the head with the issue. 719 00:33:50,332 --> 00:33:52,508 [applause] 720 00:34:01,517 --> 00:34:03,867 [Khan] In the late '60s, I was still in high school, 721 00:34:03,997 --> 00:34:07,523 and I was going to a lot of Black Panther rallies. 722 00:34:07,653 --> 00:34:10,874 Black Panthers were beautiful to me, 723 00:34:11,004 --> 00:34:14,443 because if you put your life on the line for something, 724 00:34:14,573 --> 00:34:16,097 that's beautiful. 725 00:34:17,663 --> 00:34:19,491 I did join the Panther party, 726 00:34:19,622 --> 00:34:21,145 but they wouldn't let me do much, you know? 727 00:34:22,755 --> 00:34:26,629 I was a young chick with jeans on, 728 00:34:26,759 --> 00:34:29,501 and I didn't wear shoes a lot. 729 00:34:29,632 --> 00:34:32,635 I was so cool, and, um, 730 00:34:32,765 --> 00:34:35,594 I sold kisses once to raise money. 731 00:34:35,725 --> 00:34:37,683 I started a free breakfast for children's program 732 00:34:37,814 --> 00:34:39,772 with the Panthers backing, 733 00:34:39,903 --> 00:34:42,471 and I became very close to Fred Hampton. 734 00:34:42,601 --> 00:34:44,299 -I. -[crowd repeats] 735 00:34:44,429 --> 00:34:45,909 -Am. -[crowd repeats] 736 00:34:46,039 --> 00:34:48,477 -A revolutionary. -[crowd repeats] 737 00:34:48,607 --> 00:34:49,956 -I am. -[crowd repeats] 738 00:34:50,087 --> 00:34:52,394 -A. -[crowd repeats] 739 00:34:52,524 --> 00:34:54,787 -Revolutionary. -[crowd repeats] 740 00:34:54,918 --> 00:34:57,355 [Khan] I loved that man. 741 00:34:57,486 --> 00:35:00,576 And I used to cut class 742 00:35:00,706 --> 00:35:02,752 and beeline down to LouCity College 743 00:35:02,882 --> 00:35:04,319 and watch "Battle of the Algiers" 744 00:35:04,449 --> 00:35:05,494 over and over again. 745 00:35:05,624 --> 00:35:06,712 Over and friggin' over again. 746 00:35:06,843 --> 00:35:08,671 It was a Panther movie. 747 00:35:11,021 --> 00:35:12,762 This night watchman came in. 748 00:35:12,892 --> 00:35:14,764 He said, "Y'all not supposed to be in here," 749 00:35:14,894 --> 00:35:16,635 so we all rushed him to the floor. 750 00:35:16,766 --> 00:35:18,071 We didn't hurt him, 751 00:35:18,202 --> 00:35:19,682 but while he was on the floor, I-- 752 00:35:19,812 --> 00:35:22,424 I took the .38 police special, 753 00:35:22,554 --> 00:35:25,427 and everybody thought I was so... 754 00:35:25,557 --> 00:35:27,820 "right on" doing that, so... [laughs] 755 00:35:27,951 --> 00:35:29,735 I took it. I secretly took it home. 756 00:35:33,478 --> 00:35:36,046 And I just had it there. 757 00:35:36,177 --> 00:35:38,614 And in my mindset, I said, 758 00:35:38,744 --> 00:35:39,789 "Well, you know, if shit goes down, 759 00:35:39,919 --> 00:35:41,051 I'm gonna have to use this." 760 00:35:41,182 --> 00:35:42,792 And I have to make sure-- 761 00:35:42,922 --> 00:35:43,967 I've devoted my life to this shit. 762 00:35:44,097 --> 00:35:45,751 I have to make sure I wanna die for this. 763 00:35:45,882 --> 00:35:48,493 Do I feel that strong? 764 00:35:48,624 --> 00:35:50,408 And the one main thing about the Panthers 765 00:35:50,539 --> 00:35:52,671 that I really loved 766 00:35:52,802 --> 00:35:54,543 was that they're willing to fight for something, 767 00:35:54,673 --> 00:35:55,805 to die for something. 768 00:35:56,849 --> 00:35:59,591 [Bobby Rush] And we are going to see to it, Freddy... 769 00:36:01,071 --> 00:36:04,596 that you did not die in vain. 770 00:36:04,727 --> 00:36:06,207 [applause] 771 00:36:08,731 --> 00:36:10,994 [Khan] When Fred Hampton got killed, 772 00:36:11,124 --> 00:36:14,040 that was when I made the decision. 773 00:36:14,171 --> 00:36:16,695 so I ended up throwing the gun in Botany Pond. 774 00:36:19,916 --> 00:36:21,439 And that's the first time I really sat down 775 00:36:21,570 --> 00:36:23,441 and really took stock 776 00:36:23,572 --> 00:36:25,226 of what I was gonna do for my future. 777 00:36:26,966 --> 00:36:29,360 And that's when I decided I was gonna do music. 778 00:36:33,973 --> 00:36:36,585 I was with a group called Life. 779 00:36:36,715 --> 00:36:38,543 We played at five or six clubs 780 00:36:38,674 --> 00:36:41,633 that were on Rush Street in Chicago, 781 00:36:41,764 --> 00:36:44,810 and we did four or five sets a night, 782 00:36:44,941 --> 00:36:47,944 but I was 16 when I started doing that work, 783 00:36:48,074 --> 00:36:50,642 and I had no business in a club at my age. 784 00:36:50,773 --> 00:36:52,688 Of course, they didn't card anybody, 785 00:36:52,818 --> 00:36:54,994 but I used to love peppermint schnapps. 786 00:36:55,125 --> 00:36:56,822 Anybody who loves peppermint schnapps, 787 00:36:56,953 --> 00:36:59,738 you have to be pretty young, German, 788 00:36:59,869 --> 00:37:01,958 or really out of your mind, 789 00:37:02,088 --> 00:37:04,482 Right, so I was doing shots of peppermint schnapps, 790 00:37:04,613 --> 00:37:06,223 and so, they had to, like, 791 00:37:06,354 --> 00:37:08,530 pour me in the car most of the nights. 792 00:37:10,227 --> 00:37:12,534 But, in retrospect, 793 00:37:12,664 --> 00:37:15,798 singing that much, it was training, 794 00:37:15,928 --> 00:37:18,540 and I did develop some kind of stamina and strength. 795 00:37:19,976 --> 00:37:20,890 But those were good days. 796 00:37:21,020 --> 00:37:23,545 I--you know, I was-- 797 00:37:23,675 --> 00:37:25,416 I don't think I can think of a time 798 00:37:25,547 --> 00:37:27,070 where I was happier. 799 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:28,506 You know, it was a great place to be. 800 00:37:28,637 --> 00:37:30,769 You'd meet all the bands, 801 00:37:30,900 --> 00:37:33,032 and that's where I met the guys from Rufus, 802 00:37:33,163 --> 00:37:34,817 'cause they were also playing the same... 803 00:37:36,732 --> 00:37:38,777 five or six clubs that were on Rush Street. 804 00:37:38,908 --> 00:37:41,084 So, whenever I had my 20-minute break, 805 00:37:41,214 --> 00:37:43,608 I'd run across the street to see Rufus, 806 00:37:43,739 --> 00:37:45,958 because they were doing all original music, 807 00:37:46,089 --> 00:37:48,439 and this girl named Paulette McWilliams 808 00:37:48,570 --> 00:37:50,963 was singing lead. 809 00:37:51,094 --> 00:37:54,097 Paulette was very beautiful, and she knew everything, 810 00:37:54,227 --> 00:37:56,752 and she taught me a lot about makeup 811 00:37:56,882 --> 00:38:00,973 and, you know, what to wear, and things like that. 812 00:38:01,104 --> 00:38:03,411 She sort of really was a big sister. 813 00:38:05,848 --> 00:38:07,763 But then Paulette decided that she was going to go solo. 814 00:38:08,764 --> 00:38:11,810 The guys immediately asked me to join them. 815 00:38:12,724 --> 00:38:17,076 That was training for the rest of my life. Really. 816 00:38:17,207 --> 00:38:19,949 In that day, it wasn't unusual 817 00:38:20,079 --> 00:38:22,995 for a band to be discovered at a club, 818 00:38:23,126 --> 00:38:26,434 and to sign a record deal on the spot at the very club. 819 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:32,701 ♪ Love me right 820 00:38:32,831 --> 00:38:36,531 ♪ What's the matter with you? 821 00:38:36,661 --> 00:38:41,666 ♪ Hold me tight 822 00:38:41,797 --> 00:38:45,757 ♪ Why must I tell you what to do? ♪ 823 00:38:45,888 --> 00:38:50,588 ♪ Smilin', smilin' 824 00:38:50,719 --> 00:38:54,984 ♪ Comes as no surprise, no 825 00:38:55,114 --> 00:38:56,899 ♪ So you're smilin' 826 00:38:57,029 --> 00:38:59,771 ♪ Ain't hidin' 827 00:38:59,902 --> 00:39:02,513 ♪ But what I see in your eyes 828 00:39:02,644 --> 00:39:04,776 ♪ The story goes 829 00:39:04,907 --> 00:39:06,865 ♪ A little deeper 830 00:39:06,996 --> 00:39:09,477 ♪ Than the eye can see 831 00:39:09,607 --> 00:39:10,782 ♪ Yeah 832 00:39:10,913 --> 00:39:12,828 ♪ Stop runnin' the game 833 00:39:12,958 --> 00:39:14,786 Her artistry, her gift, 834 00:39:14,917 --> 00:39:17,615 and the legacy to come from a band 835 00:39:17,746 --> 00:39:19,574 and to be still standing strong 836 00:39:19,704 --> 00:39:21,706 no matter what, you know, 837 00:39:21,837 --> 00:39:25,014 that is the one and only Chaka Khan. 838 00:39:26,798 --> 00:39:28,017 [Staples] The first time I heard her sing 839 00:39:28,147 --> 00:39:32,021 was in our basement at our rehearsal. 840 00:39:32,151 --> 00:39:34,980 I remember her singing "Amazing Grace." 841 00:39:35,111 --> 00:39:38,114 And, and Pops, we all talked about this kid, 842 00:39:38,244 --> 00:39:40,682 she has a beautiful voi-- 843 00:39:40,812 --> 00:39:43,598 Chaka was no more than 13, 14 years old. 844 00:39:43,728 --> 00:39:46,296 She just had this high-- 845 00:39:46,427 --> 00:39:49,473 and she had a smile on her face when she would sing. 846 00:39:51,214 --> 00:39:53,216 [Contreras] To an entire generation, 847 00:39:53,346 --> 00:39:56,785 Chaka Khan represents Black radical imagination. 848 00:39:56,915 --> 00:40:01,224 So you saw her with her jeans 849 00:40:01,354 --> 00:40:02,965 that were festooned with feathers 850 00:40:03,095 --> 00:40:04,923 and her little midriff top, 851 00:40:05,054 --> 00:40:07,360 and she was fronting this bad band, 852 00:40:07,491 --> 00:40:11,060 and she embodied this joie de vivre 853 00:40:11,190 --> 00:40:14,324 that made you feel like anything was possible. 854 00:40:14,455 --> 00:40:17,066 Here's the thing with Chaka Khan. 855 00:40:17,196 --> 00:40:20,939 You can't deejay a Chaka Khan song 856 00:40:21,070 --> 00:40:24,856 without getting the room just completely lit. 857 00:40:24,987 --> 00:40:27,468 Like, she's just fire. 858 00:40:29,687 --> 00:40:35,084 [Jones] For me, there were two great vocalists at that time. 859 00:40:35,214 --> 00:40:38,087 The first was Aretha, and the next was Chaka, 860 00:40:38,217 --> 00:40:41,090 and they both had licks they did 861 00:40:41,220 --> 00:40:43,832 that would be emulated by all singers 862 00:40:43,962 --> 00:40:45,050 for the rest of time. 863 00:40:45,181 --> 00:40:49,011 ♪ Yeah is Aretha. 864 00:40:49,141 --> 00:40:53,102 Chaka was ♪ Oh, whoa 865 00:40:53,232 --> 00:40:55,234 It's just this thing they do. 866 00:40:55,365 --> 00:41:00,370 It's a different thing that you might not even notice, 867 00:41:00,501 --> 00:41:03,112 but as a singer, you go, "Nobody's done that before. 868 00:41:03,242 --> 00:41:04,635 Nobody's done that before." 869 00:41:04,766 --> 00:41:06,245 They brought it, 870 00:41:06,376 --> 00:41:09,379 and now everybody in its wake 871 00:41:09,510 --> 00:41:11,947 emulates it or imitates it. 872 00:41:12,991 --> 00:41:15,864 [Khan] Rufus was like a really tight-knit family. 873 00:41:15,994 --> 00:41:18,257 I was the little sister, 874 00:41:18,388 --> 00:41:21,696 and if I had a boyfriend, the guys had to approve him, 875 00:41:21,826 --> 00:41:22,871 and things like that. 876 00:41:23,001 --> 00:41:24,786 I mean, we were on the road. 877 00:41:24,916 --> 00:41:27,919 They would come to my room, do a walk-through, 878 00:41:28,050 --> 00:41:29,747 make sure no one was in the room. 879 00:41:29,878 --> 00:41:32,054 I was a prisoner. I was-- 880 00:41:32,184 --> 00:41:34,926 Once I was with Rufus, I was a prisoner on the road. 881 00:41:35,057 --> 00:41:36,537 I couldn't go anywhere. 882 00:41:39,235 --> 00:41:40,976 Certain members of the band would make sure 883 00:41:41,106 --> 00:41:44,109 I would stay pretty fucked up, you know? 884 00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:47,069 So I was, you know, pliant. 885 00:41:47,199 --> 00:41:49,724 It can be an ugly, ugly world, 886 00:41:49,854 --> 00:41:50,899 an ugly scene, you know? 887 00:41:53,466 --> 00:41:56,078 My A&R man, his name was Otis Smith, 888 00:41:56,208 --> 00:41:58,384 and he was a very powerful guy. 889 00:41:58,515 --> 00:42:01,126 He was the guy who decided that the band would be 890 00:42:01,257 --> 00:42:03,955 Rufus featuring Chaka Khan. 891 00:42:04,086 --> 00:42:05,043 That was the beginning of the end 892 00:42:05,174 --> 00:42:06,784 for Rufus, obviously. 893 00:42:09,091 --> 00:42:13,791 I was working so hard all the time. 894 00:42:13,922 --> 00:42:15,576 I don't think I'd found... 895 00:42:17,012 --> 00:42:18,100 my power. 896 00:42:20,581 --> 00:42:22,844 When I became a solo artist, 897 00:42:22,974 --> 00:42:26,456 because of the way I was living before, 898 00:42:26,587 --> 00:42:28,937 was I just went head-on 899 00:42:29,067 --> 00:42:32,941 into some places that I--I--I shouldn't have. 900 00:42:33,071 --> 00:42:34,899 Or, you know, were dangerous. 901 00:42:37,119 --> 00:42:39,295 Etta James happened to be at the Warner Brothers offices 902 00:42:39,425 --> 00:42:40,557 when I was having a meeting. 903 00:42:40,688 --> 00:42:42,428 She pulled me aside and into a room, 904 00:42:42,559 --> 00:42:44,169 and closed the door, 905 00:42:44,300 --> 00:42:46,128 and she said, "I've been watching you. 906 00:42:46,258 --> 00:42:47,956 "I know--I know what you're doing. 907 00:42:48,086 --> 00:42:49,261 "You're doing a good job. 908 00:42:49,392 --> 00:42:51,046 "You sound beautiful, 909 00:42:51,176 --> 00:42:52,830 but I don't want you to end up like this." 910 00:42:52,961 --> 00:42:55,093 She pulled up her sleeve, 911 00:42:55,224 --> 00:42:57,095 and I saw tracks. 912 00:42:58,967 --> 00:43:01,360 There's tracks up and down her arms. 913 00:43:01,491 --> 00:43:02,927 "I don't want you to end up like this. 914 00:43:03,058 --> 00:43:04,973 I don't want you like this." 915 00:43:05,103 --> 00:43:06,975 When I saw her tracks, 916 00:43:07,105 --> 00:43:08,193 I was like-- it was high impact. 917 00:43:08,324 --> 00:43:10,065 That was like some wild shit. 918 00:43:10,195 --> 00:43:12,894 I said, "Don't worry, Etta. Don't worry." 919 00:43:13,024 --> 00:43:14,983 I said, "It's not gonna happen to me." 920 00:43:15,113 --> 00:43:17,289 [applause] 921 00:43:17,420 --> 00:43:19,291 There's no reason 922 00:43:19,422 --> 00:43:20,858 why I shouldn't be making as much money 923 00:43:20,989 --> 00:43:22,904 on tours as the Rolling Stones. 924 00:43:23,034 --> 00:43:24,993 There's no reason why I shouldn't be. 925 00:43:25,123 --> 00:43:27,778 But I'm not. You know? 926 00:43:30,476 --> 00:43:34,872 There's no way that we are seen as equals in this game. 927 00:43:35,003 --> 00:43:36,308 Period. 928 00:43:36,439 --> 00:43:38,223 With the guys. Okay? 929 00:43:38,354 --> 00:43:39,964 Forget about it. [laughs] 930 00:43:40,095 --> 00:43:41,879 You know, you just have to go through them. 931 00:43:42,010 --> 00:43:43,446 You know what I'm saying? 932 00:43:43,576 --> 00:43:45,013 You just have to just go through them 933 00:43:45,143 --> 00:43:46,841 to get what you want. 934 00:43:50,105 --> 00:43:52,542 I had to fight for that. 935 00:43:52,673 --> 00:43:56,894 I mean, I used to keep my band in check, you know? 936 00:43:57,025 --> 00:43:59,897 If they started out a song on stage, 937 00:44:00,028 --> 00:44:01,246 and I didn't like the intro, 938 00:44:01,377 --> 00:44:02,291 I would just say, "Stop!" 939 00:44:02,421 --> 00:44:05,207 [laughs] 940 00:44:05,337 --> 00:44:07,862 I'd say, "Stop everything. 941 00:44:07,992 --> 00:44:10,125 We're gonna do this song over again." 942 00:44:10,255 --> 00:44:11,909 In front of the audience, I'd do that. 943 00:44:13,171 --> 00:44:15,043 So... 944 00:44:15,173 --> 00:44:17,045 I--yeah, I was doing stupid shit like that. 945 00:44:17,175 --> 00:44:18,699 It was--you know, but... 946 00:44:20,570 --> 00:44:22,006 I had to remind them who the boss was. 947 00:44:26,141 --> 00:44:30,101 You have to be very meticulous about what is yours 948 00:44:30,232 --> 00:44:32,103 and what you want for it, 949 00:44:32,234 --> 00:44:34,192 because I am 950 00:44:34,323 --> 00:44:39,241 a very strong, opinionated, ass-kicking woman. 951 00:44:39,371 --> 00:44:41,722 So I took my power back. 952 00:44:44,550 --> 00:44:47,205 When I got pregnant with my daughter, my first child, 953 00:44:47,336 --> 00:44:49,164 I was 20, 954 00:44:49,294 --> 00:44:51,166 and Otis Smith said to me-- 955 00:44:51,296 --> 00:44:52,907 I told him I was pregnant. 956 00:44:53,037 --> 00:44:55,213 He said, "How the hell 957 00:44:55,344 --> 00:44:56,301 "am I going to make a fucking star out of you 958 00:44:56,432 --> 00:44:58,173 if you're gonna be having babies?" 959 00:44:58,303 --> 00:45:00,305 I said, "Let me tell you something. 960 00:45:00,436 --> 00:45:03,395 "I'm going to be a star, 961 00:45:03,526 --> 00:45:06,921 "with or without you. 962 00:45:07,051 --> 00:45:09,227 "With a baby, or without a baby. 963 00:45:09,358 --> 00:45:10,925 "Any way I come. 964 00:45:11,055 --> 00:45:12,143 I'm gonna be all right." 965 00:45:16,060 --> 00:45:18,106 ♪♪♪ 966 00:45:21,457 --> 00:45:23,981 [Staples] In the late '60s and into the '70s, 967 00:45:24,112 --> 00:45:27,245 people were more alert 968 00:45:27,376 --> 00:45:29,552 of what was going on around them. 969 00:45:29,682 --> 00:45:33,121 People were so much more ready 970 00:45:33,251 --> 00:45:34,775 to stand up... 971 00:45:36,167 --> 00:45:39,170 and to--to work together to get it right. 972 00:45:40,606 --> 00:45:43,348 [Khan] It seemed like a mass... 973 00:45:43,479 --> 00:45:47,265 revelation was happening. 974 00:45:47,396 --> 00:45:50,312 With the Vietnam War, a lot of the guys that went out 975 00:45:50,442 --> 00:45:51,966 nice, clean, healthy young guys, 976 00:45:52,096 --> 00:45:54,272 and came back addicts, 977 00:45:54,403 --> 00:45:56,013 and all they wanted to do was be musicians, 978 00:45:56,144 --> 00:46:00,148 or just--wild out, you know? 979 00:46:00,278 --> 00:46:02,150 And everyone is trusting 980 00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:05,196 and this beautiful, open-hearted thing was going on. 981 00:46:05,327 --> 00:46:06,284 It'll never happen again. 982 00:46:08,373 --> 00:46:11,376 [Staples] It was just a time you--you heard music. 983 00:46:11,507 --> 00:46:13,204 Music had a lot to do with it. 984 00:46:14,510 --> 00:46:17,252 I liked all kind of music, 985 00:46:17,382 --> 00:46:19,167 and I've been fortunate to meet 986 00:46:19,297 --> 00:46:21,343 most of the artists that I loved. 987 00:46:23,171 --> 00:46:25,129 'Cause there would be times 988 00:46:25,260 --> 00:46:26,565 when we would be on the same show, you know, 989 00:46:26,696 --> 00:46:28,437 especially, like, festivals. 990 00:46:28,567 --> 00:46:30,656 Tina Turner. 991 00:46:30,787 --> 00:46:35,183 We all went to Ghana together on the same plane, 992 00:46:35,313 --> 00:46:36,967 and we had big fun. 993 00:46:38,490 --> 00:46:41,450 Another one was Janis Joplin. 994 00:46:41,580 --> 00:46:43,452 I first met Janis Joplin 995 00:46:43,582 --> 00:46:47,151 at Fillmore West in San Francisco. 996 00:46:47,978 --> 00:46:50,111 Janis came into the dressing room. 997 00:46:50,241 --> 00:46:53,114 She had a rabbit-fur shoulder bag 998 00:46:53,244 --> 00:46:56,204 with her Southern Comfort in there. 999 00:46:56,334 --> 00:46:59,511 You know, and she said, "Which one of you is Mavis?" 1000 00:46:59,642 --> 00:47:02,427 And the way she said it, 1001 00:47:02,558 --> 00:47:04,603 I was almost afraid to raise my hand. 1002 00:47:04,734 --> 00:47:07,563 I said--I said, "I'm Mavis." 1003 00:47:07,693 --> 00:47:10,696 She says, "Oh. I like your voice. 1004 00:47:10,827 --> 00:47:13,438 My name is Janis, and I'm making a record." 1005 00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:18,313 She hadn't even recorded yet when I met her, 1006 00:47:18,443 --> 00:47:21,446 but I'd say about six months after that, 1007 00:47:21,577 --> 00:47:23,884 Janis was on top of the charts. 1008 00:47:25,842 --> 00:47:28,192 Janis had transcended this "pretty" thing. 1009 00:47:28,323 --> 00:47:30,716 She was so attractive, 1010 00:47:30,847 --> 00:47:36,070 and you wanted to hug her, as well as become her, 1011 00:47:36,200 --> 00:47:37,636 and I don't know how she did it. 1012 00:47:37,767 --> 00:47:42,119 She was boyish, but she was totally a woman. 1013 00:47:42,250 --> 00:47:43,512 She didn't seem to have 1014 00:47:43,642 --> 00:47:45,340 anything to do with the hippies. 1015 00:47:45,470 --> 00:47:48,299 She was more like that other generation. 1016 00:47:48,430 --> 00:47:50,345 [Cavett] Why aren't there more ladies who do what you do? 1017 00:47:50,475 --> 00:47:52,651 -Sing, you mean? -No, do--the kind you do. 1018 00:47:52,782 --> 00:47:55,698 You're not in the same category with Kate Smith, or-- 1019 00:47:55,828 --> 00:47:58,309 I don't know why. I always wondered, 1020 00:47:58,440 --> 00:48:00,050 because it seemed so natural to me. 1021 00:48:00,181 --> 00:48:02,574 But, um. I don't know. 1022 00:48:02,705 --> 00:48:04,533 It's not feminine, maybe, that's why. 1023 00:48:04,663 --> 00:48:06,578 I mean, to get down and really get into music, 1024 00:48:06,709 --> 00:48:08,406 get on the bottom side of the music, 1025 00:48:08,537 --> 00:48:09,407 instead of float around on the top 1026 00:48:09,538 --> 00:48:10,931 like most chick singers do. 1027 00:48:11,061 --> 00:48:13,629 I think they [vocalizes] on the top of the melody 1028 00:48:13,759 --> 00:48:15,370 instead of get into the feeling of the music. 1029 00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:16,545 I don't know. 1030 00:48:18,764 --> 00:48:20,375 [George-Warren] Janis had to blaze a trail 1031 00:48:20,505 --> 00:48:23,639 because there were no women 1032 00:48:23,769 --> 00:48:26,555 doing the kind of work that she was doing. 1033 00:48:27,860 --> 00:48:32,778 She wasn't playing the game of a pretty little girl singer, 1034 00:48:32,909 --> 00:48:36,739 which was a role that had been "opened" to women. 1035 00:48:36,869 --> 00:48:39,829 Janis just laughed at, you know? 1036 00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:43,050 She wanted to do things the way she wanted to do them. 1037 00:48:45,487 --> 00:48:48,359 And it was through her many influences 1038 00:48:48,490 --> 00:48:52,624 and her own incredible talent that out came Janis Joplin. 1039 00:48:53,625 --> 00:48:57,499 Whatever the song needed, she could bring to that song, 1040 00:48:57,629 --> 00:49:00,589 and she was one of the few women that was in that scene. 1041 00:49:00,719 --> 00:49:03,113 There was Grace Slick with Jefferson Airplane, 1042 00:49:03,244 --> 00:49:05,376 but when Janis came along, 1043 00:49:05,507 --> 00:49:07,683 there weren't a lot of women doing it. 1044 00:49:07,813 --> 00:49:11,339 She's driven about 3,000 miles to get here in her Cadillac, 1045 00:49:11,469 --> 00:49:13,254 which she says is sometimes gray and sometimes brown, 1046 00:49:13,384 --> 00:49:15,691 but right now is mostly muddy. 1047 00:49:15,821 --> 00:49:19,390 So let's have a big welcome for Big Mama Thornton. 1048 00:49:19,521 --> 00:49:21,523 [applause] 1049 00:49:25,614 --> 00:49:27,007 [music begins] 1050 00:49:30,836 --> 00:49:34,014 ♪ Well, you know hard luck and trouble ♪ 1051 00:49:35,754 --> 00:49:38,148 ♪ Is my only friend 1052 00:49:40,368 --> 00:49:43,371 ♪ I wanna let you know, baby 1053 00:49:43,501 --> 00:49:47,462 ♪ I've been down ever since I walked in ♪ 1054 00:49:47,592 --> 00:49:50,465 ♪ You know, I was born under a bad sign ♪ 1055 00:49:50,595 --> 00:49:52,467 [Terkel] People who influenced you. 1056 00:49:52,597 --> 00:49:53,685 Big Mama Thornton. 1057 00:49:53,816 --> 00:49:54,643 [Joplin] Yeah, she's still playing. 1058 00:49:54,773 --> 00:49:55,513 We've played with her twice. 1059 00:49:55,644 --> 00:49:57,472 She's fantastic. 1060 00:49:57,602 --> 00:49:58,908 [Terkel] Did you and she sing together? 1061 00:49:59,039 --> 00:50:00,649 [Joplin] I wouldn't get on the same stage with her. 1062 00:50:00,779 --> 00:50:02,738 Oh, she'd kill me. [laughing] 1063 00:50:02,868 --> 00:50:04,870 No, but we have played at the same bill, you know? 1064 00:50:05,001 --> 00:50:09,310 And I was absolutely terrified. [laughs] 1065 00:50:09,440 --> 00:50:11,051 But it was really a thrill for me. 1066 00:50:12,922 --> 00:50:14,706 [George-Warren] One of the great, great rock 'n' rollers 1067 00:50:14,837 --> 00:50:19,276 who came out in the 1950s is Big Mama Thornton, 1068 00:50:19,407 --> 00:50:22,366 and of course, as the world turns, you know, 1069 00:50:22,497 --> 00:50:24,368 in the 1960s, 1070 00:50:24,499 --> 00:50:26,327 Janis sees Big Mama Thornton 1071 00:50:26,457 --> 00:50:28,459 playing a little club in San Francisco 1072 00:50:28,590 --> 00:50:30,679 and hear her do "Ball and Chain," 1073 00:50:30,809 --> 00:50:33,421 which had not even been recorded yet, 1074 00:50:33,551 --> 00:50:36,641 and that really became Janis Joplin's signature song 1075 00:50:36,772 --> 00:50:39,383 after she and her bandmates saw her do it. 1076 00:50:39,514 --> 00:50:41,472 She goes backstage, meets Big Mama, 1077 00:50:41,603 --> 00:50:42,691 and says, "Hey, can we do your song?" 1078 00:50:42,821 --> 00:50:44,475 And Big Mama was like, "Yeah, 1079 00:50:44,606 --> 00:50:46,260 as long as you don't, you know, F it up." 1080 00:50:46,390 --> 00:50:47,522 So that really became 1081 00:50:47,652 --> 00:50:49,306 Big Brother and the Holding Company's 1082 00:50:49,437 --> 00:50:50,829 breakthrough song for them, 1083 00:50:50,960 --> 00:50:52,831 and what got them, you know, 1084 00:50:52,962 --> 00:50:54,572 their notoriety when they played it 1085 00:50:54,703 --> 00:50:55,399 at--at Monterey Pop. 1086 00:50:57,575 --> 00:51:01,753 ♪ And I said, oh, whoa, whoa 1087 00:51:01,884 --> 00:51:03,929 ♪ Well, honey, this can't be, 1088 00:51:04,060 --> 00:51:07,498 ♪ Oh, b-b-b-b-be--be-- baby, no ♪ 1089 00:51:07,629 --> 00:51:08,717 ♪ In vain 1090 00:51:08,847 --> 00:51:12,721 ♪ I said, no, no, no, yeah 1091 00:51:12,851 --> 00:51:14,679 ♪ Aah 1092 00:51:14,810 --> 00:51:17,552 ♪ And I-- 1093 00:51:17,682 --> 00:51:19,771 ♪ And I want somebody to tell me, come on ♪ 1094 00:51:19,902 --> 00:51:21,686 ♪ Tell me why 1095 00:51:21,817 --> 00:51:23,645 ♪ Want to know why 1096 00:51:23,775 --> 00:51:25,995 ♪ Oh, people tell me why love 1097 00:51:26,126 --> 00:51:29,825 ♪ Honey, why love is like 1098 00:51:29,955 --> 00:51:30,956 ♪ Well, it's like 1099 00:51:31,087 --> 00:51:33,698 ♪ A ball and 1100 00:51:33,829 --> 00:51:42,403 ♪ And a chain 1101 00:51:42,533 --> 00:51:44,753 [cheering] 1102 00:51:44,883 --> 00:51:45,928 [George-Warren] Everybody remembers 1103 00:51:46,058 --> 00:51:49,932 Mama Cass voicing, like, "Wow." 1104 00:51:50,062 --> 00:51:51,325 I think it was just such a shock 1105 00:51:51,455 --> 00:51:53,849 to see someone 1106 00:51:53,979 --> 00:51:57,505 who was able to put it all out there on the stage 1107 00:51:57,635 --> 00:51:58,897 without holding back. 1108 00:51:59,028 --> 00:52:02,597 It was this kind of opening of, 1109 00:52:02,727 --> 00:52:05,208 "This is who I am and this is my music," 1110 00:52:05,339 --> 00:52:08,342 and it was--It just raised people out of their seats. 1111 00:52:08,472 --> 00:52:09,908 It was like a-- 1112 00:52:10,039 --> 00:52:13,477 an orgy and a religious experience at the same time. 1113 00:52:17,742 --> 00:52:20,702 [Jones] "Ball and Chain" remains 1114 00:52:20,832 --> 00:52:23,748 one of the greatest live recordings ever done. 1115 00:52:23,879 --> 00:52:26,664 I don't know why we don't hear from it more. 1116 00:52:26,795 --> 00:52:28,840 The shame attached to dying 1117 00:52:28,971 --> 00:52:31,974 in a motel by yourself from heroin? 1118 00:52:32,104 --> 00:52:36,805 Why is she not remembered and talked about 1119 00:52:36,935 --> 00:52:41,462 as much as any guy who died by himself in a motel? 1120 00:52:41,592 --> 00:52:43,855 She was left behind as quickly as they could. 1121 00:52:43,986 --> 00:52:45,553 "Oh, good, I'm so glad she's gone. 1122 00:52:45,683 --> 00:52:50,297 Let's tie her and go on, and move into the 1970s." 1123 00:52:55,737 --> 00:52:57,869 ♪♪♪ 1124 00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:01,743 [Wilson] In the early '70s, the culture had shifted so much, 1125 00:53:01,873 --> 00:53:03,788 mainly from the Beatles. 1126 00:53:03,919 --> 00:53:05,573 We were just fresh-faced, 1127 00:53:05,703 --> 00:53:07,618 apple-cheeked girls from Seattle. 1128 00:53:07,749 --> 00:53:10,534 We just had it in our cap 1129 00:53:10,665 --> 00:53:13,581 that we were just gonna get on those stages 1130 00:53:13,711 --> 00:53:14,886 and rock out on big stages, 1131 00:53:15,017 --> 00:53:17,628 and it worked. [laughs] 1132 00:53:19,500 --> 00:53:22,633 ♪♪♪