A WHOLE LOTTA SOUL
‘Take Me to the River’ is a documentary look at Memphis music that spans generations
“Take Me to the River” director Martin Shore is a man burning with a sense of purpose. “If there’s one thing I want people to come out of the movie with it’s knowing where this music came from,” he says. “The idea of the movie is to spark your interest; to know intimately where all this great music came from, but to compel you to dive in and delve into it as well.”
Shore’s made-in-Memphis film — produced by Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, with music supervision by Royal Studios’ Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell — stars a collection of R&B veterans (Booker T. Jones, William Bell, Mavis Staples, Otis Clay, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Hi Rhythm) and latter day disciples from the worlds of rap, rock and hip-hop (Snoop Dogg, Yo Gotti, North Mississippi Allstars). The film captures a series of performances pairing these artists from different generations and genres, and tries to tell a bigger story — of Memphis, of the history of soul and R&B, and how popular music came to be defined by all of it.
After a long gestation period — work on “Take Me to the River” began four years ago — the film finally hits theaters this week, as does a companion soundtrack released by the Stax Records/Concord Music Group.
For many of the film’s key participants, such as rapper Snoop Dogg, the project was a chance to get closer to the artists and musicians who have long been a part of their lives.
“I always listen to old school records and player music like that in my dressing room and on the bus ’cause I like the vibe,” Snoop says. “I connect with those records. That the [expletive]! You hear me?”
Snoop’s enthusiasm mirrors director Shore, who says much of the motivation behind “Take Me to the River” was to highlight the work of “the foundation builders of modern popular music: people like Mavis and Booker and William Bell, or [Stax] session musicians like Lester Snell or Skip Pitts or certainly, Hi Rhythm. They’re the unsung heroes in a way. It’s nice to bring them into the spotlight where they belong, alongside the contemporary artists of today.”
“That’s why I wanted to get involved with ‘Take Me to the River’ as soon as I heard about it,” says Snoop. “There’s a lot of classic soul artists who don’t get enough attention and this project puts the spotlight back on ’em. When I heard about all the old school players from Stax being on there, I was in. I’ve spent a good amount of time in Memphis before. I have a lot of family down South. But it was great to get into the studio at Royal and put down some of that funk.”
Shore and his camera were at Royal to document the interactions
between the musicians, and the recording of the tracks. “We were making a serious stand-alone record, and a movie at the same time,” says Shore. “The fact that we were making new, fresh and yet incredibly familiar music was important. The film is really cinema verite, where we invite you into the room and you can experience the process in a way you don’t normally get.”
Part of the appeal of “Take Me to the River” is to see the interaction between generations and genres: the interplay between kid rapper Lil P-Nut and Hi veteran Otis Clay; gospel-soul grand dame Mavis Staples and bluesrockers North Mississippi Allstars; R&B king Bobby “Blue” Bland and rapper Yo Gotti.
“To see some of these older artists actually working with rap and hip-hop performers, who they might have been wary or suspicious of musically before, was really very special,” says Shore. “Hopefully, we’ve broken down some of those barriers so that it becomes more acceptable for everyone to mingle musically. It’s really about communication and collaboration, about passing culture down.”
Snoop Dogg, who duets with William Bell, has always seen the benefit of learning at the feet of his elders (his first album included a collaboration with Stax/Volt act the Dramatics) as well as teaming up with young bloods. “I definitely see a connection between us, working with different generations of artists,” says Snoop, who represents a kind of middle ground between the truly old and new schools. “I like working with the young talent because it keeps me fresh and competitive. But at the same time I love working with the guys who I grew up listening to. There’s a lot to learn from both of them.”
Given the number of performers and the schedules involved, recording and filming could sometimes be a harried process. “Almost every one of the sessions was one day long, and we had to get the most out of each day. A lot of times we wouldn’t know that a session would be coming together until just 24 or 36 hours beforehand,” says Shore, who shot some 4,000 hours of footage. “I knew what the story was, but the challenge was ‘How do you make the quintessential journey to America’s soul in 95 minutes?’ I wanted it to be less of a look back, and more a look at what Memphis is about. Not just what happened but what’s still happening. It’s never stopped happening.”
For the past few months, “Take Me to the River” has been playing the festival circuit, and also making the rounds at national Grammy chapters. This week it finally begins a limited theatrical run — opening in Memphis, as well as in New York, Los Angeles and Phoenix — before opening in more cities in the coming weeks.
“We hope we have a nice run in theaters like ‘20 Feet From Stardom’ did,” says Shore, referring to last year’s Academy Award winner for best documentary, and another film about overlooked artists. “We didn’t want this to be just for people who’re interested in music, although those people will love it. We wanted it to be for everyone … across all barriers. We want this to be that kind of movie.”