American Epic

★ 7.2•2017•1 Seasons•ANIME

Documentary

Travel the country in search of unknown 1920s artists, when the music of ordinary Americans was recorded for the first time, transforming music forever, in a three-part film narrated by Robert Redford, featuring Jack White, Nas, Taj Mahal and others.

Top Cast

Robert Redford

Narrator (voice)

Taj Mahal

Self

Episodes

Season:

1. The Big Bang

57m

Travel to 1920s Tennessee as the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and the Memphis Jug Band make their first records with producer Ralph Peer on a revolutionary portable recording machine, creating the first recordings of R&B and country songs.

Aired: 5/16/2017

2. Blood and Soil

57m

Travel to the rural South as Elder Burch, Charley Patton and others record early Delta blues, gospel and protest songs. The Great Flood of 1927 devastates Mississippi River communities, leading to northern migration and Chicago Blues by Howlin' Wolf.