- Directed by
- Lomax, Alan, American, 1915 - 2002
- Written by
- Lomax, Alan, American, 1915 - 2002
- Subject of
- Brooks, Johnny
- Brown, Walter
- Southerland, Belton
- Pitchford, Lonnie
- Strickland, Napolean
- Maxwell, Clyde
- Smith, Lucius
- Owens, Jack
- Spires, Bud
- Chatmon, Sam
- Eugene Powel
- Puckett, Wilbert
- Tucker, J.T.
- Savage, Joe
- Hall, James
- Maxwell, Beatrice
- Johnson, George
- Hart, William S.
- Owned by
- D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
- Date
- 1979
- Medium
- acetate film
- Dimensions
- Duration (Reel 1): 26 Minutes
- Length (Film): 950 Feet
- Duration (Reel 2): 29 Minutes
- Length (Film): 1075 Feet
- Caption
- This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
- Description
- A documentary film with the title Land Where the Blues Began. It consists of two reels of color 16mm acetate film with optical sound.
- The documentary is narrated by filmmaker Alan Lomax and, through a series of interviews with Mississippi residents, it explores the origins of Blues music. In addition to these residents engaging in short musical performances, the narrator also discusses the history of Blues by comparing the musical instruments used by people in the Mississippi delta to the musical instruments that Africans played. There are also demonstrations of how some of the musical instruments are made.
- Place used
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Place filmed
- Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- DC Public Library Film Collection
- Classification
- Time-based Media - Moving Images
- Topic
- Africa
- African diaspora
- American South
- Blues (Music)
- Documentary films
- Film
- Folklife
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2017.55.61.1ab
- Restrictions & Rights
- Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




