About the Film
Bill Ferris writes…”This film was originally edited by Josette Ferris and me from super-8 and 16mm footage that I shot in 1967 and 1968 in Lorman, Leland,
and Clarksdale, Mississippi. It was later edited with the titles now featured in it by Judy Peiser. The filming was done during my field work for my PhD
dissertation in folklore at the University of Pennsylvania. The dissertation is entitled “Black Folklore From the Mississippi Delta”(1969). Interviews with
many of the musicians in this film are featured in my book
Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues ."
Musicians who perform in the film include Louis Dotson (Lorman, MS), Lovey Williams (Morning Star, MS), Jasper Love (Clarksdale, MS), Cleveland “Broom Man”
Jones (Leland, MS), James “Son Ford” Thomas (Leland, MS), “Little Son” Jefferson (Leland, MS), Joe Cooper (Leland, MS), “Poppa” Neal (Leland, MS), “Sonny
Boy” Watson (Leland, MS), Shelby “Poppa Jazz” Brown (Leland, MS), Wade Walton (Clarksdale, MS), Wallace “Pine Top” Johnson (Clarksdale, MS), Maudie Shirley
(Clarksdale, MS), and “Big Jack” Johnson (Clarksdale).
