On Feb. 28, 1971, a group consisting mostly of black American musicians traveled to Ghana for a 14-hour music festival. The event is the center of a 95-minute film, "Soul to Soul," now available on DVD.
As stated on the DVD cover, the film captures the soul of America in the heart of Africa. Artists including the Staple Singers, Ike and Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, Santana, Voices of East Harlem and jazz greats Les McCann and Eddie Harris made their way to Ghana, the first African nation to declare its independence after WWII, to bring their version of soul to the continent that had given it to them in the first place.
The film's opening shows Tina, Ike and the Ikettes on stage at their kinetic best singing a song Ike and Tina wrote just for the occasion called "Soul to Soul." The film then jumps to the plane ride over, with some of the musicians expressing their expectations of Africa. It's a sadly telling comment when 12-year-old Kevin Griffin, a lead singer of Voices of East Harlem, is asked if he thinks there will be good music in Africa. He says simply, "no."
But he and those viewing the film are in for a cultural awakening.
The performances of the Accra Ga Royal Drummers and dancers sponsored by the Ghana Arts Council reveal just how much black Americans owe their African brothers and sisters.
Ghanaians seemed far more hip to what was going on in the states than their American counterparts. Wilson Pickett, second in the soul brotherhood only to James Brown, was mobbed at the airport. It's fitting that the film ends with his performance of "Land of a Thousand Dances" and enraptured Ghanaians dancing on the stage.
The concert footage is intercut with scenes of the musicians interacting with the people of their host country. They eat at a local restaurant called The Black Pot, view a libation ceremony and witness a ceremony welcoming a newborn akin to the one in the film "Roots."
The most stirring moment away from the stage is their visit to the slave dungeons. Viewers don't see the musicians actually in the dungeons but hear their impressions in voiceover during footage of these sorrowful gateways.
Griffin, his soulful voice in league with the young Michael Jackson, wows the audience as the Voices of East Harlem tackle Richie Havens' "Run Shaker Life." Ike and Tina do "River Deep Mountain High," and The Staple Singers, with the marvelous Mavis on lead, ask the musical question "When Will We Be Paid." Santana subdues the crowd with "Jungle Strut" and "Black Magic Woman."
The DVD's special features include a 24-page booklet with an essay by Grammy-winning author Rob Bowman on how the concert came about. For example, Roberta Flack was on the bill, but she did not consent to her performance being included in the DVD, so it's left out.
There is also a photo gallery and commentary tracks by Mavis Staples, Les McCann, Ike Turner and original producer Tom Mosk, among others, and an accompanying 60-minute CD of the original soundtrack.
An added bonus is an "outtake" of Ike & Tina performing a scorching rendition of the Otis Redding classic "I've Been Loving You Too Long." Their sexy interplay belies their now well-known domestic problems. After this version even I needed a cigarette, and I don't smoke.
Perhaps Pickett sums up the experience best in the accompanying booklet: "There's a lot of talk at home in the States about developing a sense of black pride, but you'll never really know it until you've gone back to your roots and see what a beautiful country Ghana is and how beautiful your African brothers and sisters are."
First Published: September 24, 2004, 4:00 a.m.