The Blues Under the Skin

“Fresh, funny and original.” – Variety

“Roviros Manthoulis’ 1973 documentary has long been a lost piece of music history.” – IndieWire

In the early 1970s, during a resurgence of interest in the Delta blues,  music documentarian Roviros Manthoulis traveled to the Mississippi Delta to capture on film the remnants of the authentic American blues. Traveling throughout the deep South, Manthoulis filmed candid interviews and intimate performances by such legends B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Mance Lipscomb, Bukka White, and Roosevelt Sykes. His objective was to not only document the music but also penetrate the surface of the blues and explore the emotional and sociopolitical factors that make it such an expressive and haunting musical form.

Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, The Blues Under The Skin dramatizes the tumultuous relationship of a young couple (Onike Lee and Roland Sanchez) as they struggle to overcome the barriers of poverty and prejudice that keep them from finding happiness together.

Featured Songs (in order of performance):

“Let Your Hammer Ring” — Traditional, performed by Mack Maze, James Adams, Jr., Joseph Johnson, Robert Anderson, Roger Chambers, and John W. Allen

“We’ll Understand It Better By and By” — written by Donald T. Marsh, performed by gospel cast

“Old Gal On My Door” — written and performed by Robert Pete Williams

“All Night Long” — written and performed by Mance Lipscomb

“John Henry” — Traditional, performed by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee

“Someday Sweetheart” — by John C. Spikes and Ben Spikes, performed by Amelia Cortez

“Glory Glory (When I Lay My Burden Down)” Traditional, performed by Furry Lewis

“Runnin’ the Boogie” — written and performed by Roosevelt Sykes

“Ships on the Ocean” performed by Junior Wells and Buddy Guy

“Tell Me What’s Inside of You” written and performed Buddy Guy

“Down Now” — written and performed by B.B. King

“Jelly Roll Workin’ Man” — written and performed by Bukka White

“Just a Little Bit of Love” — written and performed B.B. King

“It’s a Low Down Dirty Shame” — by Big Bill Broonzy, performed by performed by Jimmy Streeter

“What Make Grandpa Love My Grandma So” — by Jimmy Lee Williams, performed by Jimmy Streeter

“My Baby Done Changed the Lock on That Door” — performed by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee