Sound Opinions at the Movies: Wattstax

Chicago Public Media’s Sound Opinions, the world’s only rock n roll talk show, is co-hosted by acclaimed pop music critics Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune and Jim DeRogatis of WBEZ.org. Here, they present the classic documentary Wattstax.

In the summer of 1972, Stax Records put on a music festival to rival Woodstock and coincide with the 7th anniversary of the Watts Riots. Wattstax the concert and Wattstax the film were unprecedented events for the Los Angeles African-American community and a source of great pride. In the weeks surrounding the filming of the concert, the predominately African-American film crews took to the streets, recording candid interviews with local African-Americans and capturing a unique, unvarnished view of the Watts community.

http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/wattstax-2013-05-01-730-pm