American Epic

2017 - 2017

The Big Bang

Episode 1

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.

Blood and Soil

Episode 2

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.

Out of the Many, the One

Episode 3

Discover how America's diverse cultures contribute to its musical styles: from the Hopi tribe to Hawaii's Joseph Kekuku to Mexican-American Lydia Mendoza and the Cajun Breaux Family. Mississippi John Hurt's blues inspires a generation of musicians.

Top Cast

Robert Redford•Taj Mahal

Director

Bernard MacMahon

Writer

Duke Erikson

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.

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Production Companies

Full Cast

Robert Redford Image

Robert Redford

Narrator (voice)

Taj Mahal Image

Taj Mahal

Self

Full Crew

Robert Redford Image

Robert Redford

Executive Producer

T Bone Burnett Image

T Bone Burnett

Executive Producer

Jack White Image

Jack White

Executive Producer

Nicholas Bergh

Sound Engineer

Bernard MacMahon Image

Bernard MacMahon

Producer

Duke Erikson Image

Duke Erikson

Producer

Carin Bortz

Associate Producer

Bill Holderman Image

Bill Holderman

Producer

Allison McGourty

Producer

Bernard MacMahon Image

Bernard MacMahon

Director

Duke Erikson Image

Duke Erikson

Writer

Bernard MacMahon Image

Bernard MacMahon

Writer

Allison McGourty

Writer

Dan Gitlin

Editor

Jack McLean

Co-Producer

Richard Henkels

Director of Photography

Vern Moen

Director of Photography

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