''American Epic'' is a documentary

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

based upon the first recordings of roots music in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the 1920s and their cultural, social and technological impact on

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and the world. The franchise comprises a three-part award-winning

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

series directed by Bernard MacMahon, a feature-length musical documentary film, a book, ten album releases and an educational program. ''American Epic'' is widely considered as the definitive portrait of the musical era, and one of the best music documentaries ever made''.'' The ''

American Epic ''American Epic'' is a documentary media franchise based upon the first recordings of roots music in the United States during the 1920s and their cultural, social and technological impact on North America and the world. The franchise comprises a t ...

'' documentary series was first broadcast May 16–30, 2017 on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The story is told through twelve ethnically and musically diverse musicians who auditioned for and participated in these pioneering

recording sessions The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance. Studio cast recordings In the case of Broadway musi ...

;

The Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

, the

Memphis Jug Band The Memphis Jug Band was an American band (music), musical group active from the mid-1920s to the late-1950s. The band featured harmonica, kazoo, fiddle and mandolin or banjolin, backed by guitar, piano, washboard (musical instrument), washboard, w ...

, Elder J.E. Burch,

The Williamson Brothers Arnold and Ervin Williamson (better known as The Williamson Brothers) were folk musicians based in Logan County, West Virginia, United States active in the 1920s and 30s. Arnold played the fiddle while Ervin played the guitar and did vocals. The ...

, Dick Justice,

Charley Patton Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American mus ...

, The Hopi Indian Chanters,

Joseph Kekuku Joseph Kekuku (1874–1932) is reportedly the inventor of the steel guitar. Biography Kekuku, also known as Joseph Kekuku’upenakana’iaupuniokamehameha Apuakehau, was born in Lāie, a village on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii. When Joseph was ...

Lydia Mendoza Lydia Mendoza (May 31, 1916December 20, 2007) was a Mexican-American guitarist and singer of Tejano and traditional Mexican-American music. Historian Michael Joseph Corcoran has stated that she was "The Mother of Tejano Music", an art form tha ...

, the Breaux Family,

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He wo ...

, and

Blind Willie Johnson Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "ch ...

. ''

The American Epic Sessions ''The American Epic Sessions'' is a documentary film in which an engineer restores the fabled long-lost first electrical sound recording system from 1925, and twenty contemporary artists pay tribute to the momentous machine by attempting to record ...

'' was first broadcast on June 6, 2017. It is a documentary film in which an engineer restores the fabled long-lost first electrical sound recording system from 1925, and twenty contemporary artists pay tribute to the momentous machine by attempting to record songs on it for the first time in 80 years. The film was directed and co-written by Bernard MacMahon and stars

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

Alabama Shakes Alabama Shakes were an American rock band formed in Athens, Alabama, in 2009. The band consists of lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, bassist Zac Cockrell, and drummer Steve Johnson. The band began its career touring ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

Ana Gabriel María Guadalupe Araujo Yong (born December 10, 1955), better known as Ana Gabriel, is a Mexican singer and songwriter from Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico. She first sang on the stage at age six, singing "Regalo A Dios" by José Alfredo Jiménez. S ...

Pokey LaFarge Pokey LaFarge (born Andrew Heissler, June 26, 1983) is an American musician, writer, and actor. Early life LaFarge was born Andrew Heissler in Bloomington, Illinois. The nickname "Pokey" was coined by his mother, who would scold him to hurry ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

Ashley Monroe Ashley Lauren Monroe (born September 10, 1986) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Monroe has released two solo singles, "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" (which featured Brooks & Dunn singer Ronnie Dunn), that reached the U.S. ''Bi ...

, and

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

. A book, '' American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself'' was published on May 2, 2017. It was collaborative

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

written by film director Bernard MacMahon, producer

Allison McGourty Allison McGourty is a British film producer and screenwriter. Early life Allison McGourty was born in Bristol, England. As a child she moved to Venice, Italy, then relocated to Gleniffer Braes, on the boundary of Barrhead in East Renfrewshi ...

, and music historian

Elijah Wald Elijah Wald (born 1959) is an American folk blues guitarist and music historian. He is a 2002 Grammy Award winner for his liner notes to ''The Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Box: The Journey of Chris Strachwitz''. Life Wald was born in 1959 ...

, chronicling the 10-year odyssey researching and making the ''

'' documentary series and ''

'' films. '' American Epic: The Collection'' was released on May 12, 2017 - a 5 CD

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

of 100 songs featuring one track by each of the hundred artists researched as potential subjects for the ''American Epic'' films. On the same day '' American Epic: The Soundtrack'' was released compiling 14 vintage and 1 contemporary performance featured in the ''

'' documentaries. On June 9, 2017, '' Music from The American Epic Sessions'' was released, featuring contemporary artists recording live on the restored first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s. The 2 CD, triple vinyl album contained 32 performances recorded for ''

'' film. On June 16, 2017 a series of compilations were released of artists featured in the ''American Epic'' documentary films. The albums were '' American Epic: The Best of Mississippi John Hurt'', '' American Epic: The Best of The Carter Family'', '' American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson'', '' American Epic: The Best of Memphis Jug Band'' along with '' American Epic: The Best of Lead Belly'' who was not featured in the film. These releases were accompanied by two genre compilations; '' American Epic: The Best of Blues'' and '' American Epic: The Best of Country''. The albums were released as digital downloads with truncated versions issued on vinyl. In the fall of 2017 an educational program based on the ''American Epic'' film series was launched at the

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (also known as Lab or Lab Schools and abbreviated as UCLS though the high school is nicknamed U-High) is a Private school, private, co-educational Day school, day Early childhood education, Pre-K and K� ...

Documentary series

''American Epic'' is a

series about the first recordings of roots music in the

during the 1920s and their cultural, social and technological impact on

and the world. Directed and co-written by Bernard MacMahon, the story is told through twelve ethnically and musically diverse musicians who auditioned for and participated in these pioneering

;

, the

, Elder J.E. Burch,

, Dick Justice,

, The Hopi Indian Chanters,

, the Breaux Family,

, and

. The film was the result of ten years of intensive field research and postulated a radically new take on American history, namely that America was democratized through the invention of electrical sound recording and the subsequent auditions the

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s held across North America in the late 1920s, which were open to every ethnic minority and genre of music. The films contained many previously untold stories, a vast amount of previously unseen and extremely rare archival footage and dramatically advanced audio restorations of the 1920s and 1930s recordings. MacMahon decided all the interviewees had to personally have known the long-deceased subjects of the films and these interviews were conducted on location where the musicians had lived American Epic#Bibliography Wald, McGourty, MacMahon 2017, pp. 3-5 accompanied by panoramic

tracking shot A tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. In cinematography, the term refers to a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly that is then placed on rails – ...

s of the geographical locations both present and vintage to give a sense of the wildly varied North American landscape and its influence on the music. During

pre-production Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content starts ...

, when MacMahon presented his vision for the films and the archival footage to

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

at their first meeting, Redford pronounced it "America's greatest untold story." The film series received a number of awards, including the

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

Audience Award at the 2016

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

, the Discovery Award at the 2016

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. The Festival's ...

, and was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

. On April 23, 2018, the Focal International Awards nominated ''American Epic'' for Best Use of Footage in a History Feature and Best Use of Footage in a Music Production. Many critics have cited the ''American Epic'' films as being one of the best music documentaries ever made. Air dates on PBS: * ''American Epic: The Big Bang'' - May 16, 2017: 9–10 p.m. * ''American Epic: Blood and Soil'' - May 23, 2017: 9–10 p.m. * ''American Epic: Out of the Many, The One'' - May 30, 2017: 9–10:30 p.m.

The American Epic Sessions

''The American Epic Sessions'' is a documentary film in which an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

restores the long-lost first electrical sound recording system on which the 1920s

field recording Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It also applies to sound recordings like electromagnetic fields or vibra ...

sessions were made, and twenty contemporary artists pay tribute to the momentous machine by attempting to record songs on it for the first time in 80 years. The film was directed and co-written by Bernard MacMahon and stars Nas, Alabama Shakes, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Jack White, Taj Mahal, Ana Gabriel, Pokey LaFarge, Beck, Ashley Monroe and Steve Martin. The film employed a diverse line-up of performers, both ethnically and musically, to represent the breadth of cultures that were first given a national platform through the invention of this recording machine. It also explored the extent to which the recordings made on it in the 1920s influenced and inspired contemporary music. The film involved a decade of work restoring the machine, which was pieced together from spare parts scattered across the globe, in order to better understand the origins of modern recording technology, Wald, McGourty, MacMahon 2017, p. 243 and the influence the machine had on world culture. The machine would go on to put sound on

talking pictures A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

. Prior to the release of ''The American Epic Sessions,'' the recording system was mysterious and had not been seen in almost 80 years. Engineer Nicholas Bergh who reassembled and restored the machine explained, "I had two mentors when I was getting into audio who started their careers in the late 1930s in America and both of them told me that even by the late '30s this system was basically mythical and they had never seen any components of it or even pictures. So even in ten years it had basically disappeared off the face of the earth." The recreation of a live 1920s-style

recording session The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance. Studio cast recordings In the case of Broadway musi ...

in the film explored the essence of what makes a great recorded performance. The film received widespread acclaim for its direction, musical performances, sound and cinematography. The film won the Discovery Award and the Audience Award at the

, was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, Bernard MacMahon and

were nominated as Breakthrough Talents by the

British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

and the film won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for the

performance of "Killer Diller Blues". Air date on PBS: * Tuesday, June 6, 2017: 8–11 p.m.

Book

''American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself'' is a collaborative

written by film director Bernard MacMahon, producer

, and music historian

. The book chronicles the 10-year odyssey researching and making the ''American Epic'' films. It features interviews with subjects of the films and contains supplementary information and photographs not featured in the documentary films or the music releases. The book and an

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

was released on May 2, 2017. The book was the winner of the 2017

Association for Recorded Sound Collections The Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings. Established in 1966, members include record collectors, discographers, and audio engineers, togeth ...

Award.

Soundtrack and albums

The American Epic films were accompanied by 10 music releases. These included '' American Epic: The Collection'' - a 5-CD box set of 100 songs featuring one track by each of the hundred artists researched as potential subjects for the ''American Epic'' films. '' American Epic: The Soundtrack'' which released featured performances from the ''American Epic'' documentaries. '' Music from The American Epic Sessions'' featured contemporary artists recording live on the restored first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s. The album contained 32 performances recorded for ''

'' film. A series of compilations were released of artists featured in the ''American Epic'' documentary films. The albums were: '' American Epic: The Best of Mississippi John Hurt'', '' American Epic: The Best of The Carter Family'', '' American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson'', '' American Epic: The Best of the Memphis Jug Band'' along with '' American Epic: The Best of Lead Belly'' who was not featured in the film series. These releases were accompanied by two genre compilations: '' American Epic: The Best of Blues'' and '' American Epic: The Best of Country''. The Best Of albums were released as digital downloads with truncated versions issued on vinyl. New sound restoration techniques developed for the American Epic film production were utilized to restore the songs on the albums. The 78rpm disc transfers were made by sound engineer Nicholas Bergh using

reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

techniques, garnered from working with the original 1920s recording equipment on ''

'', along with meticulous sound restoration undertaken by Peter Henderson and Joel Tefteller to reveal greater fidelity, presence, and clarity to these 1920s and 30s recordings than had ever been heard before. Nicholas Bergh commented, "the recordings in this set are special since they utilize the earliest and simplest type of electric recording equipment used for commercial studio work. As a result, they have an unrivaled immediacy to the sound." Some of the recordings were repressed from the original metal parts, which the production located whilst researching the films. Peter Henderson explained "in some cases we were lucky enough to get some metal parts – that's the originals where they were cut to wax and the metal was put into the grooves and the discs were printed from those back in the '20s. Some of those still exist –

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

had some of them in their vaults." The releases won particular acclaim for the song selection and the sound quality of the transfers of vintage 78rpm records.

Educational program

In September 2017 the

announced a nine-month

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

educational program based on the ''American Epic'' films beginning on October 6, 2017. The school, founded by American educator

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

in 1896, has over 2,015 students enrolled in 15 grades. Lab Board Chair David Kistenbroker stated "the program is designed to further Lab's mission by bringing practicing artists to campus, in various capacities, to work directly with Lab students." The program featured director of the film Bernard MacMahon and producer and co-writer Allison McGourty as

Artists-in-Residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

. "The artist in residence concept—successfully tested in other ways at Lab—has the potential to ignite creativity in entirely new and unexpected ways," said Mr. Kistenbroker. "By working side-by-side with leading artistic practitioners, our students and our faculty benefit. It is absolutely consistent with how John Dewey envisioned a community of learners."

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Wald, Elijah & McGourty, Allison & MacMahon, Bernard. '' American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself''. New York:

Touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...

, 2017. .

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2010s American documentary television series 2017 compilation albums 2017 documentary films 2017 films 2017 in American television 2017 television films American biographies American documentary films American memoirs Blues compilation albums Compilation albums by American artists Documentary television series about music English-language films Folk albums by American artists Folk compilation albums Music autobiographies Rockumentaries