Wattstax

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Wattstax was a festival at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 20 1972 organized by Memphis's Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots. Wattstax was seen by some as "the Afro-American answer to Woodstock". There have been several CDs with the recordings from this festival and also a movie. The master of ceremonies was Jesse Jackson, and it contained several interviews with Richard Pryor.

In 1973, a documentary about the concert was released. The documentary was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Documentary Film in 1974.

In September of 2004, the PBS series "P.O.V." aired a documentary about the concert and the movie. That same month, the movie was released on DVD.

Artists performing (not comprehensive)

• The Staples Singers ("Oh La De Da", "I Like The Things About Me", "Respect Yourself")
• Eddie Floyd ("Knock on Wood", "Lay Your Loving On Me")
• The Emotions ("Peace Be Still")
• Carla Thomas ("Gee Whiz", "I Have A God Who Loves")
• Rufus Thomas ("The Breakdown", "The Funky Chicken")
• The Bar-Kays ("Son of Shaft/Feel It", "I Can't Turn You Loose")
• Albert King ("Killing Floor", "I'll Play The Blues For You", "Angel of Mercy")
• The Soul Children ("I Don't Know What This World Is Coming To", "Hearsay")
• Isaac Hayes ("Shaft", "Soulsville", "Ain't No Sunshine")
• Rance Allen Group ("Lying on the Truth")
• Johnnie Taylor ("Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone")
• Little Milton ("Walking the Backstreet and Crying")

Wattstax DVD Cover

External links

• [www.wattstax.com]
• [P.O.V. Wattstax companion Web site] (featuring streaming audio of performances and a podcast interview with director Mel Stuart)
• [MP3 audio interview] with Stax Records expert Rob Bowman on the radio program The Sound of Young America regarding Wattstax
• [MSNBC Article]
• [National Review article]

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