About the Author

Robert Mugge has produced, directed, written, and edited more than three-dozen films and TV series examining various aspects of American and world culture. This is his first book.

Reviews

"Filmmaker Robert Mugge has . . . established himself as the cinema's foremost music documentarian, with a career that includes . . . chronicling individual performers (Al Green, Sun Ra, Rubén Blades) and various music styles (blues, reggae, bluegrass, etc.)." -Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter "To describe the recent films of the documentarian Robert Mugge as cultural reference books doesn't mean to imply that these explorations of the musical byways of Southern rural America are lacking in pungent musical sap. Documents of a flourishing below-the-radar culture, they are archival records as well as entertainments." -Stephen Holden, The New York Times "The prevalence of documentaries about musicians is a curse, because most of these films do a terrible job of showcasing music. One rare exception is the work of the director Robert Mugge, whose film Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise . . . is one of the most satisfying portraits I've ever seen."-Richard Brody, The New Yorker "Years from now, when . . . filmmaker Robert Mugge leaves behind his remarkable legacy of priceless documentation . . . musicologists, cultural historians and just plain folks are going to hail Mugge as a national treasure. Retrospectives of his work will stretch into the future, providing a timeless record of artistic expression and pure entertainment." -Jeff Shannon, The Seattle Times