Sidemen: Long Road to Glory (2016) - full transcript

[light music]

[footsteps]

- [cane clanking]
- [stool scuffing]

[upbeat piano music]

[crowd cheering]

[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen,
we want to bring you out

one of the baddest,
guitar players

that ever did it
and got away with it.

The incredible
Mr. Hubert Sumlin.

[audience cheering]

The one, the only,



Mr. Pine...

top... Perkins.

One of the greatest drummers
of all time,

- Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.
- Whoo!

[upbeat blues music]

? Yeah ?

? Now when I was a young boy ?

When you're talking
about electric blues,
Hubert Sumlin's

contribution to Wolf's music...

? My mother said I going to be ?

...can't separate
those great records

from Hubert's playing.

He was the guitar player on

"I Ain't Superstitious."



? But now I'm a man ?

Willie Smith, he's the engine,
you know? He's the groove.

[Pretty]
How do you explain when someone

adds every time
you sit down to play?

? I had lots of fun ?

Pinetop's playing
was really identifiable.

Everybody from Eric Clapton
to the Rolling Stones,

Led Zeppelin,
rock bands all over the place

that have made some
of the most legendary records

in the history of music,

all of these guys
were influenced by them

to one degree or another.

? Yeah ?

It's the ABCs of rock, baby.

? Whoa, child ?

? Why ?

That Howlin' Wolf sound,
you know,

Hubert and Howlin' Wolf
and that band

really changed a lot of people.

All the slow,
fast and medium-tempo blues,

rock and roll
just kind of took that

and they had the gold,
and everybody kind of tried

to make a little
gold from their gold

because it was perfect,
you know?

? I'm a man ?

? Yeah ?

? I'm a rolling stone ?

[Robben]
Hendrix was very influenced
by Hubert Sumlin.

His sound and his
looseness on the guitar.

? I'm a hoochie coochie man ?

It was fascinating
being on the road with, uh,

with Clapton realizing how,

how hard he dug into that
stuff when he was kid and--

[Eric]
All of the early stuff I heard,

Howlin' Wolf band
and Muddy Waters' band

and Howlin' Wolf's band,
it was Hubert Sumlin.

And so he became

a hero of mine in his style.

He's a fantastic player.

? Hey, child ?

Pinetop's the ability to,
to play like that

and not step on the vocal

and not step on the guitar
player and not overdo it,

but not underdo it,
is just incredible.

It takes incredible talent
to be able to do that

and there's not a lot
of players that can do that

the way Pinetop did.

? That mean, mannish boy ?

I watch his hands move.

I mean, he's from the old,
old, old school.

It seemed like every
nook was just gold.

Every nook meant so much.

? I'm a natural-born
lover's man ?

I think that's one of the things

we inherited from the blues.

You just play ahead.
You're playing for yourself,

but you're also there
to entertain the audience

and the show must go on.

? Yeah ?

- [laughing]
- [Muddy] Not that bad.

Imagine growing up
on a plantation going,

"My choices are...

this life,

or I have this harmonica,
or this guitar or an idea,

and I can entertain people,

and maybe if I take
a chance and move to Chicago,

I get discovered, I can get
myself out of this life."

[upbeat blues music]

[Marc]
As World War I erupted,

millions of Southern,
black men and women

seeking to escape
the oppressive conditions

of the Jim Crow South
would take their chances

and head to Northern,
industrial cities

like New York,
Philadelphia and Chicago.

? Oh, oh ?

As immigrants
from the Delta Region,

they carried
with them a rich culture,

a culture that included
American roots music

or what we know
today as the blues.

? Well, tell me baby ?

Two Delta musicians who decided

to take their chances on Chicago

were Muddy Waters
and Howlin' Wolf.

? Don't you hear me cryin'?

At times friends,
at times bitter rivals,

these men would ultimately go
on to establish themselves

as the two titans of the blues.

Over the course
of their long careers,

Muddy and Wolf would employ
dozens of side musicians.

Of these sidemen, Howlin'
Wolf guitarist, Hubert Sumlin.

[blues guitar music]

[Marc]
Muddy Waters' piano player,
Pinetop Perkins.

[upbeat piano music]

[Marc]
Muddy Waters' drummer,
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.

[percussive blues music]

Each of these men would
have a unique relationship

and play a pivotal role

in the legacy of their
respected, band leaders.

And collectively,
these three sidemen

would go on to help redefine
popular music as we know it.

But to fully understand
the remarkable lives

of these three men,

one must first understand
the life of a sideman.

It's the same story 1,000 times.

There's the guy
and then there's everybody else.

Unfortunately, they always,

they always kind of get
brushed aside when,

- I mean, there's no doubt,
you take--
- Willie.

Yeah, Hubert or any
of those guys out of that,

and it's an entirely
different beast.

It's not,
it's not nearly the same.

When your name isn't
on the publishing, right...

[chuckles] you're, you're,
ain't getting any checks.

And when you're not
the lead singer,

you know your name
on the marquee

isn't really going
to draw that many people.

[Warren]
Well, Hubert wasn't
an artist like B.B. King

or Freddy King or Albert King

in the way that he wasn't front
and center singing and playing.

He was normally a sideman

and he was adding his presence
and his personality

to the music
and to those amazing records.

The true role of,

uh, a second, a, a hired,
second gun,

you don't want it
to overpower the guy.

? I've been [indistinct] ?

? You can't believe what I say ?

? I've been [indistinct] baby ?

? And you can't believe
what I say ?

Without the sideman,
no music, you know?

Without that riff on "Killing
Floor," no "Killing Floor."

[upbeat blues music]

You don't hear a lot of, uh...

Hubert's solos the way
you would hear, like,

Albert King solos
and stuff like that.

What you hear is
the atmosphere that he created.

He plugs in and starts
playing guitar,

and this is what
happens automatically.

[guitar solo]

[Shemekia]
He was just, like,
always in the background,

quiet and calm, but,

when he came out on stage

to do his thing, it was amazing.

I know from my own music
but from all the music I love,

it's never just
a matter of whose name

is on the front of the record,

or who the singer is,
or even the writer.

It's always
a collaborative effort

with the band members, you know?

It's hard to say whether
Willie showed up

at the studio at Chess
and gave Muddy the arrangement

the way he came up with it, but,

I like to think that after years

of opening
for the Muddy Waters Band

and all the years when I went on

and they were--
We collaborated when shows,

when they opened
for me later in colleges,

the musicianship
and the chemistry

between Willie and Pinetop
was just phenomenal.

I mean, there's no way
to separate the contribution

of each member of that.

There was just a feel.

[Marc]
Levon Helm's summed up

the difficult life of a sideman

with his direct,
plainspoken style.

"The very term itself, sideman,

it's just a God damn putdown.

Hell, everyone knows
who Muddy Waters is.

Everyone knows who Howlin' Wolf
is and they should.

But, damn, not enough people
know who Hubert Sumlin is.

Not enough people know
who Pinetop Perkins is.

The players, they don't
even get a dance book.

Hell, they don't even
get to go to the dance.

Muddy and Wolf get fucked
while there, at the dance,

while the rest of us
just have to hear about it."

Blues is the music of survivors.

It's not those who died in,
on the path and got lynched.

It's those who survived.

They got to sing the blues.

? Who's that writin' ?

? John The Revalator ?

? Tell me who's that writin'
John The Revelator ?

Those songs were meant so that
a man could go out in the field

and he could chop all day long.

And he's chopping
and you hear a song like a--

? There ain't no hammer ?

? That ring like mine ?

Woke up this morning.

I was-- Feeling around
for my shoes. Well?

? All the way to the jail, boy ?

The blues came along
during the times of separate,

but unequal, if you want
to be truthful about that,

segregation in its worst,

more harsh forms.

[Bernard]
It developed from a struggle.

They had the blues
for real, you know?

Field working, the Ku Klux Klan.

Just being black and living
in America was rough.

It gave, it gave everybody
black the blues.

Pine and Hubert both knew,

if you stepped out of line,

you either got beaten or killed.

And you didn't step out of line

in Mississippi in 1920s and '30s

if you were an
African American man.

You didn't look
at a white woman.

You didn't do a lot of things,

and they knew they had to get on

that highway
and get out of there.

Get 55, go through St. Louis,
and end up in Chicago.

And that's where
everybody was headed

in order to have some respect.

? In your neighborhood ?

When did you start playing?

How old were you when
you started playing piano?

Not playing for the money,

just playing, just learning
how to play, how old were you?

Around about 13, 14 years old.

Yeah.

[crickets chirping]

[birds chirping]

[Marc]
Born July 7th, 1913

on the Honey Island Plantation
in Belzoni, Mississippi,

Pinetop Perkins was born into
a sharecropper's existence.

[upbeat blues music]

By age seven,
Pinetop's parents had split up

and his mother took him
to live with his grandmother.

A woman Pinetop described as,

"A mean, Black Creek Indian

who would get mad at you
just for looking at her."

Pine would find out the hard way

that disobeying Grandma

literally meant taking
his life in his own hands.

As Pine's passion
for music grew,

he began to resent
the backbreaking,

field labor and strict existence

of life living
under Grandma's roof.

This all came to a head one day

when Pine failed to obey
Grandma's instructions

regarding the cutting
of stove wood

for the family shack.

Infuriated, she grabbed
a glass, cork bottle

and smashed him
across the head with it.

The bottle shattered
knocking Pinetop out cold.

When he came to,
he found Grandma beating him

with one of those
sticks of stove wood.

Pinetop had had enough.

Later recounting the incident,
he said,

"I woke up, man,
and I left there running.

I hauled rump away from there.

I left them
and I went out on my own."

Pinetop was 16 years old.

[upbeat blues music]

By this time, Pinetop
had become a skillful musician

and was finding steady work
playing gambling houses,

juke joints,
fish fries and brothels.

In 1943, Pinetop would get
his big break

when he was asked to join
Sonny Boy Williamson

and the King Biscuit
Entertainers

on the popular
King Biscuit Time radio show.

In the decades to follow,

Pinetop would work countless,
odd jobs

to support himself
as a musician.

He did everything
from driving a tractor,

running a gambling house,
making moonshine

and teaching Ike Turner
how to play the piano.

[Marc]
He would go on
to record and tour

with the likes
of Bobby Blueblan,

Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker

and legendary Sun Records
Producer, Sam Phillips.

Uh-huh.

[upbeat blues music]

[Marc]
At a 1969 gig
in Upstate New York,

Muddy Waters would ask
Pinetop to join his band.

[Paul]
We had a gig in Buffalo,
New York

at the Governor's Tavern

and Pine was an opening act
for Muddy Waters.

Pinetop's relationship
with Muddy was of two people

that had shared very
similar experiences

whereas some of the other
band members hadn't,

grown up on a plantation.

Muddy and Pine hit it
off right away.

Muddy used to call
Pine "Old man,"

and I, I don't know
who was older though.

On the piano, the Old Man.

Pinetop Perkins.

[audience applauding]

[Paul]
Muddy called,
"Come on over here, Old Man,

and let's play some cards."

And they'd play casino.

[indistinct chattering]

I used to get a kick out
of watching them play casino

because, because
they put the card out.

"Ha! I'm going to,
I'm going to get you.

I 'm going to get you, Old Man."

[Marc]
Pinetop would go on to occupy

the piano chair in Muddy's
band for over a decade.

Pine would appear on more
than half a dozen albums

and play a significant
role in the revitalization

of Muddy's career that would
unfold throughout the '70s.

Uh-huh.

? I long, Babe, I long ?

? You think I'm going
to let you ?

? Do me wrong ?

? But I don't know ?

? I long ?

? Babe, I long ?

? And I'm going
to sing this time, baby ?

? Ain't going to sing no more ?

? Now my time go around ?

? I believe I've got to go ?

? Oh, I long ?

? I long ?

? Babe, I long ?

[audience applauding]

Without the blues, there
would be no rock and roll.

I mean, there's all
that there is to it.

There wouldn't be
any rock and roll

if it wasn't for those guys.

I mean, they've
had a huge influence.
Like Muddy did that song,

"The Blues Had a Baby and
They Named It Rock and Roll."

That was, just about right.

I mean, there definitely
wouldn't be rock and roll

if it wasn't for the blues.

[upbeat blues music]

? 'Cause all you people ?

[Scott]
We wouldn't have any
rock and roll

if it wasn't for Chess Records.

Any rock and roll.

Chess had Howlin' Wolf,
Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry.

So they are the architects
of rock and roll.

I know they're
in the blues genre.

But that, that is the very
beating heart of rock and roll,

is, is the, the blues music
of the South and Chicago.

The music that
those guys created,

it built this bridge
from blues to rock

because it was too dirty
and nasty and angular

to just be Delta blues
and traditional blues.

But people had not quite
taken it all the way

to like Jimi Hendrix
at that time.

So this was the missing link.

This was that area
where the music

kind of had its own
categorization.

It was like nothing else
anybody else was doing.

[Marc]
By the late '50s, British teens

unaffected by issues
of politics and race

were fascinated
by the mysterious nature

and undeniable authenticity
of American blues.

I mean, there's this exotic
thing about finding records

from the Deep South and,
you know,

these, I mean,
there's a whole collection.

- These guys--
- The mystery...

Yeah, the mystery of it all.
I mean, there's,

you don't know if these guys
are alive or dead.

And you don't, you don't
know if these stories
are mythical or true.

In Britain, they'd be,
they'd-- I don't know
what they'd be playing.

There'd certainly be no
Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin

or Beatles
without those records.

[Marc]
In 1964, the Rolling Stones,

still a fledgling band,

decided against
management's advice

to record an American blues
song as their next single.

The Stones insisted
on recording Howlin' Wolf's
"Little Red Rooster"

featuring Hubert Sumlin's
signature, guitar riff.

The Rolling Stones.

[crowd cheering]

? I am the Little
Red Rooster, baby ?

? Too lazy to crow today ?

[Keith]
Let's see if we can actually
spin it back around

and give them the blues

and make American, white kids

listen to "Little Red Rooster"

and then go, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Uh-huh.

"You had it all the time, pal,

you know,
you just didn't listen."

[man]
We actually said, "This
is a Howlin' Wolf's song

or this is
a Muddy Waters' song."

So the kids got to know this

and then they went out
searching for the records.

? The dogs begin to bark, baby ?

? The howls began howlin' ?

It was really the British
guys that brought it around,

you know, to the Americans
and then, uh, um,

turned on guys like me and, uh,
to go back and, and dig.

British bands at that time,
they sort of, um...

you know, took it in,

they sort of made it
their own thing,

and they put it
right back in our face.

Like, "Hey, Americans,
look what you have

and you're
not even aware of it."

[Marc]
"Little Red Rooster" would
reach number one in England

and to this day remains
the only blues song

ever to hit that mark.

[Joe]
The Stones made no bones

about whose songs
they were playing.

Then the next generation,
were these bands

were, like,
really playing blues.

The Allman Brothers...

we don't play

a whole lot of real
intricate stuff.

Basis of it,
the groove of it is, is...

spawned from the blues.

? I don't care
how long you're gone ?

? I don't care
how long you stay ?

? It's going
to come true, baby ?

? We get a home someday ?

No matter where else it may go,

it's going to come back to--

I mean, it's all just
drenched in the blues.

Those guys, those are
the guys that performed all the,

all the songs that are
so dear to my heart, you know?

We started doing the Beacon
and guests

started showing up
and I was like,

"You know what? If we're
going to have people out,

let's have people out."

Like, "Let's have
people that started this band.

Let's have people that Duane
Allman would want to have out."

It was like sitting down,
playing with your grandpa.

[Derek]
Hubert was one of the first
names that come to mind.

So, when those guys got
back to us, it was like,

"Hu would love to come out."

You know, Me and Warren,
we were, we were pumped.

"No shit? Hubert's
coming out?" [laughing]

[Warren]
The one and only legendary
Hubert Sumlin on the guitar.

[crowd cheering]

? One summer day ?

? She went away ?

? She had packed her suitcase ?

? And moved away ?

? I don't worry ?

? I don't worry ?

? I'm sat on top ?

? Of the world ?

? Goodbye ?

When you hear Hubert tell
stories, he's talking about,

"You know, I was with
Etta backstage in 1955..."

And you realize he's
talking about The Apollo

with James Brown and Etta James

and he's hitting on Etta in 1955

and all this stuff's going on.

He doesn't realize
how incredibly cool it is.

He was, he was a fantastic guy
and a great storyteller too

because he had all these
stories about being on the road.

And he would always do that
thing where he'd incorporate

your name in the story,
and then he's like,

"And then, Derek, you know
what Wolf said to me?"

And I was like,
"What, Hubert? What?"

He's one of those guys
that had a knack,

that when you talk to him,
of making you feel

like the most important
guy in the world.

Pinetop...

uh,

he, wow, what a resilient guy.

Chain smoked cigarettes.

[lighter flicking]

And he loved women, we had lots
of discussions about women.

Hey, Pinetop, what was that song
you sung about big women?

[man]
Yeah! [Laughing]

Shaking on the bones.

[men laughing]

[Bobby]
Just--just warmhearted.

Just easygoing, whatever,
whatever, you know?

Yeah, as long as
they got some McDonald.

[laughing]

He loved McDonald's.

Two double cheeseburgers,
two apple pies and Sprite,

which is five dollars on
the dollar menu and shares
for two meals.

That's what he ate every day.

He didn't even care that
I was some long-haired,

young, white kid who
probably should have been,

you know,
in a Pearl Jam cover band.

These guys were
my fricking Pearl Jam.

They were my musical heroes

and they just treated me
like any other cat.

Mostly we just talked
about other stuff, you know?

Like fishing and women
and what they like to drink.

Willie was another one of those
guys that called me son.

And, you know, we took him out
on the road with us as well

and we had a,
a tremendous amount of fun.

And we talked about
a lot of things, uh, personal.

I mean, he's got a lot of kids

and I've met
many of his children.

He and I were friends
and discussed, uh,

my experience becoming a father

and starting, you know,
beginning my own family

and raising children and stuff.

But I'm from Tulsa, Oklahoma

and in 1960

I went to Chicago
to get into the blues,

and the first band
I ever saw in my life

had these guys in it.

Muddy Waters, James Cotton,
Otis Spann

and, guess who was playing
drums in that band?

[audience screaming]

Willie Smith.

[Willie]
If you want to go back,
let's go all the way back.

Ever since I can remember,
I always wanted to play.

[percussive music]

[trumpet playing]

? Train arrive ?

[Marc]
Willie Smith
was born January 19th, 1936

just across
the mighty Mississippi

from Pinetop and Hubert
in Helena, Arkansas.

[upbeat blues music]

Growing up amidst all
the great music of the South,

Willie inherited
his mother's love of music

and passion for the blues
at an early age.

However, a burning desire
to play an instrument

was hampered by a lack of money.

[Marc]
Undeterred, Willie
picked up the harmonica,

the most affordable
and portable instrument

available to him at the time.

[harmonica playing]

Like so many Southern,
black men and women,

Willie's mother would join
the great migration North

and head to Chicago.

Leaving Willie behind
with his grandmother,

she hoped to find a better job
and build a better life

for her and her young son.

Throughout his youth,
Willie formed many bands

and was developing
a serious love of the blues.

Never missing a chance
to check out the new music

playing on all the juke boxes,

Willie became particularly
fond of Muddy Waters,

the man who was
redefining the music

with his new, Chicago style,
electrified blues.

? Well, I'm going
away to leave ?

? Won't be back no more
going back down South ?

At age 17, Willie was called
to join his mother in Chicago.

Taking the Illinois
Central North,

he didn't get off
until he arrived

at Chicago Central Station.

? Well, babe, I just can't be
satisfied and I just can't be ?

It wouldn't be long
before his mom would take him
to meet his idol, Muddy Waters.

And within a few years,

Willie would find himself
occupying the drum chair

in Muddy's band.

A position he would fill
off and on

for the next four decades.

[upbeat blues guitar music]

[upbeat blues guitar music]

And he was a great,
blues player. I mean, I think
people kind of overlooked that

a little bit because
they're so enamored

of his sound and his tone,

just this aura of Jimi Hendrix.

[Marc]
Arriving in England
in the fall of 1966,

Jimi Hendrix, a big fan
of Hubert's guitar playing

and in particular his lick
on the song, "Killing Floor,"

would use that song
to stun the who's who

of the British Rock scene.

[audience applauding]

Jimi would then take his
talent to a much larger stage,

one populated by none
other than his idols,

Hubert Sumlin and Howlin' Wolf.

Thank you.

[Will]
Hendrix was in the crowd
and, and he came up and,

you know, he was just,
went straight for the stage.

[upbeat blues music]

[Will]
Wolf-- the band was playing

and he came on the stage
and played with the band.

? I should have quit you ?

? A long time ago ?

[upbeat rock music]

[Will] If you look
at Jimi Hendrix choosing
to play "Killing Floor,"

he's the guy that redefined
electric guitar playing.

[guitar playing]

[Will]
To have been influenced then by
Hubert Sumlin, that says a lot.

Hubert was a big influence
on Jimi Hendrix.

Basically, if you take him,

you take that style
and you put it through

a big amplifier and turn it up,

you've got Hendrix.

When you listen to a lot
of those Wolf records,

Hubert's contribution
to that music

was so important because

it helped create something

that transcended where blues
had been at that point.

It led us to rock and roll.

That's such
a heavy contribution,

it can't be overlooked.

I always found myself wondering

does he know how heavy he is?

Did he know how heavy he was?

I don't know,
he was such a lighthearted,

fun-loving character

that I never got the,
the sense that he was even aware

of how much he had contributed.

The blues for him was life.

Life.

And it made him happy.

And he could play
the devil out of it.

[upbeat blues music]

[Marc]
Hubert Sumlin
was born to a loving mother

and strict, sharecropping father

in Greenwood, Mississippi
on November 16th, 1931.

His big brother ignited
Hubert's passion for music

after fashioning
a makeshift guitar

known as a diddley bow,

by nailing a piece
of bailing wire

to the side of the family shack.

Using a Coke bottle as a slide,

he made a sound that Hubert
found irresistible.

Hubert's mother,
recognizing her son's passion,

would spend an entire
week's salary

to buy Hubert
his first real guitar.

This would mark the start

of a lifelong,
love affair with the instrument.

[upbeat blues guitar music]

[Marc]
The next time a Coke bottle
would figure so prominently

into young Hubert's life,

it would have
equally significant

and long-lasting consequences.

? I've got the house
rockin' boogie ?

? Everybody's on the ball ?

[upbeat blues music]

? Baby, that's Howlin' time ?

? Hey, hey ?

? Baby, saint is on the ball ?

? Hey, hey ?

? Saint is on the ball ?

[upbeat blues music]

[Marc]
In the ensuing years,

Howlin' Wolf would keep tabs
on the brash, young man

who had literally fallen
out of the sky

onto his head and into his life.

In 1954, Wolf would
call down South

and ask Hubert
to join him in Chicago.

His arrival would mark the
beginning of an extraordinary

father son-like relationship

that would last
for the next quarter century.

During that time,
Hubert and Wolf

would form one of the greatest,
musical partnerships

in the history of Western music.

The relationship
between Hubert and Wolf,

was really the relationship
between a father and a son.

Hubert thought
of Wolf as his father.

Wolf thought of him as,
as his son.

Howlin' Wolf's voice and
Hubert Sumlin's guitar playing
went hand-in-hand.

And you almost couldn't really
hear one without the other.

The combination of Hubert Sumlin
and Howlin' Wolf

was like that was why they were
brought into this world.

For that.

Don't care what they were doing
before or who they had with.

It's just when you see a hand
that fit in the glove perfect,

that's what you use
to catch everything with.

Hubert is a smart,
guitar player.

And he don't ever, he didn't
ever pretend he knew so much.

He would use the world like,
"I tried."

And when he said that...

[puffs]

[Bonnie]
"300 Pounds of Joy" to me

is the greatest
guitar solo I've ever heard.

That guitar solo,
when I want to show people

what I love about Wolf,

not only is it his singing,

but it's Hubert's playing,
and that solo does it.

The timing of the solo
on "300 Hundred Pounds of Joy,"

which I can sing
to you verbatim,

and I've been at parties,
you know, high and sober

and played it and made
people sit, "Shh-shh-shh."

[upbeat blues music]

The way he swings
inside the beat

and delays and does,
it's so much poetry.

I mean, I'm sure that
he wasn't sitting around

thinking about it, it's
just the way that he played.

Of all these guys,
he was the legit rock star.

People knew about
Pinetop and Willie.

People revered in the rock
world of Hubert Sumlin.

[cars humming]

- [woman] Willie?
- [man] Look at that.

[Hubert laughing]

Look at that!

To rank him
in 100 top guitar players,

he's got to at least be
in the top five

if not the top three.

I mean, for his influence
and his imprint

that he left on everybody.

[Derek]
I was really happy to see Hubert

on that list
when it first came out.

- It's like there
was some justice. [Chuckles]
- Exactly.

It wasn't correct
where he was put.

But it was the fact
that he was on there.

- Yep.
- Made me feel good.

All these kids that, that
play guitar now, you know,

even if they don't know it,

they've stolen something
from Hubert Sumlin.

Ha-ha-ha.

Yeah!

[Lance]
It blows my mind
that Hubert Sumlin's not

in the rock and roll
Hall of Fame.

You can hear Hubert Sumlin

in every modern,
lead guitar player today.

I mean, he is as important
as Chuck Berry in that respect.

For him to not get
that due is mind-blowing.

[upbeat blues music]

? Should've quit you
long, long, long time ago ?

? Should have quit you, baby,
long, long, long time ago ?

? Should've quit you
way on back in Mexico ?

[Marc]
As the 1970s dawned,
the demand and appreciation

for the blues had begun to fade.

However, like so many
times in the past,

the music would
ultimately prevail,

helped in a large part
by several key events

that not only
kept the blues alive,

but also helped it thrive.

These would include
the Johnny Winter produced

Muddy Waters album
Hard Again and Chess Records,

The London Howlin'
Wolf Sessions.

Pinetop, Willie and Hubert

would each play integral parts
in these important events.

[blues guitar music]

[Wolf]
Let's show you how to do it.
You know now.

Now you and Hubert take it.

I just started to pick up guitar

and at that point
I was listening to...

Clapton, and Hendrix,
and Johnny Winter.

And my brother said,

"Hey, check out
this Howlin' Wolf record.

Eric Clapton's playing on it."

And it was
the London Session records.

So like a lot of people my age,

my first encounter with Wolf

was the London Sessions.

When Wolf went over
to do the London Sessions,

uh, in England
and they flew him over there,

generally what
they did with people

is they would bring, like,
Muddy Waters or whatever.

And, and then they
would match them up

with a bunch
of English musicians.

But Wolf brought
Hubert with him.

He insisted that Hubert
be there, you know,

because he was such
an integral part of his sound.

[man]
Tell me about the London
Howlin' Wolf Sessions.

[blues guitar music]

Those sessions,
I think it's incalculable

because you've got,
if you bring together,

almost at the peak
of their powers, uh,

you have these
British musicians.

Uh, and, and now the,

they're slowly becoming
the elder statesmen of blues,

uh, people like Howlin' Wolf

uh, and almost passing
the torch to a degree.

Bill Wyman,
Charlie Watts showed up.

And, you know, every
musician in London was there.

Mick Jagger was in the studio.

[blues guitar music]

Howlin' Wolf was very resistant
to playing with these guys.

In London, Wolf was completely
out of his element.

He, was uncomfortable
out of his element.

Eric came up to me
after the first day and said,

"Do you think I should even
come back tomorrow, you know,

I mean, Wolf just grabbed me

and seems he doesn't like us."

And I said, "No, no, no, come,
you can come back tomorrow.

It'll be fine."

So the next day
I saw Eric, I said,

"Look, why don't you ask him

to show you the changes

on slide guitar for
'Little Red Rooster?"'

And, of course,
Eric knew it in his sleep.

But he got the idea.

And so you can hear
on the record him saying,

"Hey, Wolf, you know,
would you show us how,

you know, the slide part
goes on 'Little Red Rooster?'

We really can't do
it without you, man.

We want you to play it with us."

So Wolf reaches down
to his cardboard,

guitar case and pulls out his
old, Sears Silvertone Guitar

and he starts playing
this humongous,

unbelievable, slide sound.

And you can hear on the record
if you listen to it,

you know,
how he's teaching them the song.

And at that moment,
I think Wolf melted.

[blues guitar music]

[Wolf]
Let's show you how to do it.
You know now.

Now you and Hubert take it.
Now you play it that way.

[Eric]
You sure you wouldn't like, why
don't you play acoustic on it?

- [Wolf] No.
- [Eric] With us, man.

See if you'll play
with us, Wolf,

then we'll be able
to follow you better.

Like, like you were
doing it right then, man.

- [man] You there.
- [Eric] That's how
we should record it

and I can follow you,

I can see what you're doing.

[man]
Really, just sit here and do it.

[Wolf]
Listen,
everybody get together there

and we'll try to make it.

[Eric]
Okay, let's try.

I don't know if I can do it

- without you.
- [Wolf] Oh, man.

Come on, he's just,
you ain't got nothing to do

but count if off and, and, um,

and, uh, change on the,
and you know, when you said.

One.

[blues guitar music]

Two.

[blues guitar music]

Three.

[blues guitar music]

Four, you change.

[upbeat blues music]

? Have you seen
my little red rooster ?

? Even when you're at peace ?

? Same as all ?

? You know I had no peace ?

? In my mind ?

? People said my little
red rooster be gone ?

- [man 1] Alright.
- [man 2] That's it.

- [man 1] Yeah, that's it.
- [man 2] That's it.

[man 1]
That's it, that's it.
[chuckles]

Hard Again sonically
is one of the best albums

ever recorded
in the blues genre.

It's just one of the great,

greatest,
blues albums of all time.

That record comes on

and it is just fat
and compressed.

That first tune hits you

and it's just like,
that groove is just bam.

[blues guitar music]

? Yeah ?

That's the most powerful
blues riff ever played.

Everybody knows that riff,
everybody.

The Muddy Waters Band that
I always wanted to be a part of,

it had Pinetop,
it had Willie "Big Eyes" Smith,

it had Bob Margolin,
Johnny Winter,

Muddy Waters, all these guys.

Once Chess folded
and he went to G.R.T,

they didn't really know
what to do with him.

They made some
pretty bad records.

I just wanted to get him
back to where I knew

he always wanted to be.

[Lance]
Johnny wanted to capture
the essence and the passion

of that whole band

being in the room together

and, you know, capture,
like I said capturing

that lightning in a bottle,
and, and he did.

? And ?

[Johnny]
It was a lot of fun.
We did everything real quick.

One or two takes.

Everybody knew
what they were doing.

It's all seasoned, blues guys.

So it was a very easy record to
make. It was just a lot of fun.

[Muddy]
Johnny the boss man now.

[indistinct]
We going to hear something.

[upbeat blues music]

Johnny wanted to turn Muddy back

into the Muddy that
he knew and listened to.

So that was his main thing,
that's how he produced that.

It was all live.

He tried to do it one
take as much as possible.

Willie's drums were captured

in the most powerful light ever.

Pinetop's playing
is just weaving in and out

of every song throughout
the entire record

and he plays all these great
parts just at the right time.

Johnny is of course in the band.

They're, they're playing live

and he couldn't control
himself behind the console,

like, screaming and shouting.

Just getting off
so much on the music.

I think that
kind of says it all.

[Bob]
Hard Again really kind
of helped revive Muddy's career

and I run into a lot
of people who are,

all about 50 years old
now who say,

"That's what got me
into blues right there.
Through Johnny Winter."

Which is exactly what
Johnny was deliberately

trying to do and he did that.

? Because I know
she can't be beat ?

Yeah. That were
some fun years, man.

[man]
Great music.

No money but look at all the fun

you was having,
that's what life is all about.

[upbeat blues music]

[Marc]
Three and a half
decades after it's released,

"The Blues Brothers"
is considered a timeless classic

and continues to entertain
fans around the world.

? Boom, boom, boom ?

? Hmm-hmm ?

When Danny and I
wrote the movie,

it, it was important
that we have artists

on Maxwell Street in Chicago.

And then we said, "Well, great,

here's an opportunity
to get some great artists."

And so we approached
Muddy Waters

and he was very enthusiastic.

And that's why Pinetop,
that's why those guys are there,

because it's his backup guys.

? Oh, c'mon on home ?

The plan was for John
Lee Hooker to sing a song

and for Muddy to sing a song.

Uh, the day that came
to shoot Maxwell Street,

Muddy was sick, he got the flu.

So we went ahead without Muddy

and that's why John Lee
is by himself there

backed up by those guys.

? Why'd you talk like that ?

? I can't take it like that ?

? How, how, how, how ?

? Hey, hey ?

? Yeah, yeah ?

These guys were
greatly appreciated,

but not by a mass audience,

which basically means
they were opening acts and,

and not being booked that much.

So Danny and John did
an extraordinary thing,

they exploited
their own celebrity

to focus attention

on these amazing, American acts.

[Marc]
Although Pinetop
and Willie appear in the film

playing a part in yet another
significant, cultural moment,

most viewers never
even noticed they were there.

Just another day
in the life of a sideman.

? One summer day she went away ?

? Walked off and left me ?

? She gone to stay ?

When Wolf was schedule to play
in Europe, couldn't make it.

And Hubert, I guess
it's like you could just say,

was a, you know, in his stead.

? She went away ?

[Will]
There's a story
that's almost mythological

around Wolf wanting
to tell Hubert something.

? End up sitting
on top of the world ?

[Will]
What was it that he wanted
to tell him? I don't know.

I think we can only speculate
about what it was.

I think he wanted to tell him,
"I see you as a son."

And I think he,
he felt that connection

with, with Hubert,
and not to get that,

not to get that payoff
if you will,

um, I think it, uh,

it's just one of the many things
that I think haunted Hubert
throughout his life.

[blues music]

[Marc]
By 1983, both Howlin' Wolf

and Muddy Waters had died.

Their passing would mark the end

of two of the most influential
careers in music history

and serve as a reminder
that with or without the blues,

music was moving on.

? Blues ?

Disco, new wave and arena rock
were now the reigning kings.

And although these forms
owed a great debt to the blues,

not many seemed to care.

It was into this
inhospitable environment

that Hubert, Pinetop
and Willie were cast

forcing them to reinvent
themselves and their careers,

whether they were
ready for it or not.

[upbeat blues music]

[light acoustic guitar music]

[Will]
Wolf's death just
absolutely devastated Hubert.

If you didn't really
have a father figure

or didn't particularly
respect your father figure,

and then this musician came
in and taught you the ropes,

loved you, maybe
perhaps hated you at times.

But just showed
you everything about life,

the good, the bad, all,
all these things.

If that goes, I mean,
your support system goes.

Your foundation goes.

And I think that
that's what he needed.

I think that Hubert
needed that foundation

to give him a direction.

I think without him,
I think he was truly lost.

[Jim]
Hubert lost Howlin' Wolf.

He got divorced.

He lost his house.

So he had nothing.

He had no family, no friends,

no band and, um,
he was too famous

to be a sideman
and too shy to be a leader.

So he's in a real tough spot.

[Will]
It's his attitude towards
his own life and his career

and people's perception
of him as well, I think
that hurt him as well.

That just saw him as another
guitar player if you will.

[Will]
Popular music has just had,
moved on.

If you're looking at working,
blues musicians,

I think really
you got to look at the '70s

through the '80s, you know,
life was tough.

? You couldn't believe in me ?

? I did everything
you know I could ?

? You couldn't believe in me ?

? 'Cause I did everything
people, I could ?

? One day I'm going
to do something and ?

? Maybe someday
I do something good ?

? Yeah ?

[Jim]
It's very sad that
as Hubert peaked,

Howlin' Wolf faded.

And, and, you know,
those lost years,

those great, that was
when he was great, you know?

Howlin' Wolf left
and Hubert was there

with all of that talent.

[Hugh]
Hubert was probably 24/7 drunk
or as much as he could be.

I'm sure he was doing blow.

I mean, he was releasing
or performing so rarely,

I don't think people even
realized who he was at the time.

I think he had fallen so far
into the hole that he was gone.

[blues guitar music]

Pinetop Perkins
was living in a low-income

housing neighborhood in Chicago
with part of his family.

Most of the time that
we would send money to him,

it would get stolen
before it would get to him.

Because he would call us
back and tell us

that this was happening.

And he was also being
physically abused,

and, uh, just a lot
of horrible stuff going on.

He had been arrested
for drinking and driving

once at least,
and he was put into jail

and he was on work release
for a while.

I don't think people realized
because Pine was still playing,

and he was
still getting to gigs.

He wasn't doing well,
he was drinking and looking bad

on stage and stuff,
but he was getting there.

[piano music]

[laughing]

Couldn't believe
nobody else wanted these guys.

That just blew my mind that
they were sitting in poverty

and getting beat up
and treated like garbage

and nobody cared.

I mean, the moment
they called me,

I was like, "Yes."

[upbeat rock music]

? If I had to follow ?

? My second mind ?

[Marc]
Throughout the '90s
and into the new millennium,

a blues resurgence
would push the music

to the forefront
of popular culture.

? John the Revelator ?

? He's a smooth operator ?

? Time we got him down inside ?

Blues music would once again

serve as a prime
source of inspiration

for a whole new
generation of artists.

? It's true ?

? Baby I'm howlin' for you ?

[Hugh]
'78 to '90, that was a period
of bad, bad, bad music.

When that period died,

I think the people were
ready to hear good music.

So it was really good
timing for all of us

because when they were
ready to come back,

people were ready to hear them.

[upbeat blues music]

[Marc]
But it wasn't only musicians

that were drawn to the blues.

When Madison Avenue
needed just the right sound

to suggest raw passion
and gritty sexuality,

the song "Smokestack Lightning"
featuring Hubert's iconic,

guitar riff and Howlin'
Wolf's primordial wail

helped to sell a whole
new form of inspiration.

[announcer]
So why would you let something

like erectile dysfunction
get in your way?

Isn't it time you talked
to your doctor about Viagra?

[Marc]
This renewed appreciation

for genuine,
American roots music

brought with it
a renewed interest

in the few remaining,
authentic blues musicians.

[laughing]

[woman]
We'll just stay
for a couple hours

if you don't want to stay
through the whole thing, okay?

- [Pinetop] All right.
- [woman] I think you'll be fine.

Let me see, let me look at you.

[Pinetop]
All right.

- [woman] Look, look up.
- [Pinetop laughing]

- Hey, boy.
- Hey, boy, how are you doing?

Alright.

[laughing]

[woman]
We get to the red carpet
unless we get lost.

[man indistinct]
...L.A. live.

[announcer]
For best, traditional,
blues album,

the nominees are James Cotton,
Cyndi Lauper,

Charlie Musselwhite,
Pinetop Perkins

and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.

- [man] Yeah!
- [announcer] Jimmie Vaughan.

And the Grammy goes
to Joined At The Hip,

Pinetop Perkins
and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.

I think I was more
impatient than he was.

So when they did call
his name to, to come up,

he still was sitting there

and I'm jumping
all over the place,

jumping up and down,
jumping up saying,

"You won, you won."

And finally I shook him,

I said, "You won."

[upbeat blues music]

[crowd cheering]

Whoo! Whoo! Thank you,
thank you.

First of all... [chuckles]

...I'm a little nervous now,
I had so much to say
when I got up here

and I'm a little bit emotional,
I'm so glad,

I didn't ever thought
my heart would be this full.

But I'm, uh, I want to give,

first of all, all the thanks
go out to God Almighty.

That's who did this.

That's were the first
thanks go to.

The next thanks go to my wife,

that stood up with me,
stood behind me

through all these triumphs
and fails, we're here.

To win it with one
of his greatest friends

and one of the greatest,
top musicians.

So that made it even
more important to him.

Thanks to all of the people

that had something
to do with this.

I'm a little emotion--
Thank you.

[woman]
Whoo.

At this point, it must have had,

I hadn't, just to put it
in perspective,

about 53 years.

First one.

Well, what can I say?

It's better late than never.
[chuckles]

That's five decades, man.

That's a half of a
century that he put into it

and, to finally...

get the recognition, I guess.

And it was more of a...

I hate to use the word,
more of, uh...

a relief.

Like, "Yes,
now the world finally knows

what you've been through,
they know your story."

[crowd cheering]

[laughing]

[audience laughing]

[upbeat blues music]

? Got my mojo workin'?

? Got my mojo workin'?

[vocalizing]

[upbeat blues music]

[Pretty]
Being able to play
in the '70s and '80s,

you have very few folks

who make it that far

and who can stay
in the music business.

[upbeat blues music]

[audience applauding]

Legendary bluesman
and Austin resident

Pinetop Perkins has died.

Tributes for legendary,
blues pianist,

Pinetop Perkins,
following his death.

He's being fondly remembered
as one of the last,

great, Mississippi bluesman.

[reporter]
Just last month,
Joe Willie Perkins,

nicknamed Pinetop, became
the oldest, Grammy winner ever.

March 2011 to March 2012

was the biggest transition
my life will ever have.

[gentle music]

[Hugh]
The last time I saw Pinetop,
he was holding a Grammy

at the Grammy Awards.

It was, like, perfect.

He always talked to me
about that trophy,

and the trophy was the Grammy.

He got his trophy,

went back to Austin a hero.

Went to bed and died.

I mean, at 97,
that's not a bad way to go.

[Kenny]
He's one of the nicest,
most wonderful people

that you would ever meet
in your entire life.

He's the kind of guy
that I want to be, you know?

Both musically and personally.

He, he was just a,

an extraordinary example
of a human being.

When I feel sad, I, I try
to think about Willie's laugh.

I think about some of the silly
things that he did

and that push the sadness away.

[Marc]
In 2011, Pinetop,
Hubert and Willie

all passed away within eight
months of each other.

[Javik]
I was still coping
with the Pine thing,

and then Dad passed.

I tried to block that out.

Then Hubert passed,

which was literally just
a couple months after Willie.

It was just like
a domino effect, man.

It was just like, oh, man,
can I buy a break.

Those three guys, man.

It was a reason,
a lesson and a story

behind their passing, man.

That's just, that's just
how I had to keep

thinking and believing.

Still searching
for those answers, you know?

They're going
to let me know one day.

[chuckling] One day.

[Willie]
I woke up with the blues
and keeping the blues alive.

You know, so that's it,
that's all we can do,

is try to keep the blues alive.

As long as you can do that,
they'll never die.

You got to think about the
younger generations, you know?

That's what, that's, that's what
all those changes come from.

If, if it were left up
to you and me,

things would never change.

When I play music,

it's like nothing else matters.

It's, it's...

it's like an escape
from reality for a second,

you know, when you're solo,

and you're, like, in the moment.

It's just you,

and your guitar and your music,

and that's all that matters.

[crickets chirping]

[car humming]

[upbeat blues guitar music]

[Austin]
I never met Pinetop
or Hubert or Willie

but just listening
to those guys,

you almost feel
like you meet them,

through listening to them and,

and listening to their playing.

You almost get that connection
through their playing and,

I, I really don't know
what the blues world

or the music world, in general,

would be without those guys.

They were the sons of the blues,

and they were the fathers
of rock and roll.

[harmonica music]

That chord is
what keeps coolest.

[Gary]
It was Pinetop's vision
to perpetuate the music

to carry on the tradition
of the blues

in that location right there
in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Part of Pinetop's vision
was he wanted to keep

musicians like himself alive

playing music in,
into the future.

It displays the music

as a viable means
to make a livelihood.

I can't imagine
my life without the blues

and the guitar and, I would be,
I'd be just a normal kid.

I'd be that kid, you know, that
would want to stay in the house

and play video games all day.

That kid that just really
don't have nothing
going for themselves.

Um, I was in my dad's
truck one day

and he put on the blues station
and I liked it. So...
I started learning it.

[Joe]
Some of them are the next

generation, they're going to be

the ones that you hear,
you'll hear their names.

No doubt about it.

Yeah.

[upbeat blues guitar music]

[Willie]
And I would like to be
remembered for who I am.

To me, a musician, you know?
Not, not good and not bad.

I don't want to be remembered
for, "Oh, he was great."

Or "He was this."
No, I just want to be
remembered for who I am.

Plain, old, Willie Smith.

[laughs]

[upbeat blues guitar music]

You got it.

? How can you forget ?

? For long you've
been mistreated ?

? When you spend
your life working ?

? Your fingers to the bone ?

? On a Mississippi
cotton field ?

? Or in a Chicago speakeasy ?

? Behind a microphone ?

? Not everyone know your name ?

? A lot of joy
but still that crushing pain ?

? Well, everyone calls
on you to play the blues ?

? You're just another
shade of gray ?

? With very little to show
and a lot more to lose ?

? Long, long, long
long, long, long ?

? Long, long, long
long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

? Long road to glory ?

[upbeat piano music]

[footsteps receding]