Alabama’s Musical and Civil Rights legacy takes centre stage in a brand new documentary film entitled I’ll Take You There: Discovering the Sound of Alabama, which premieres today at 8 pm GMT on YouTube. The cast includes Alabama native and soul icon Candi Staton, acclaimed UK artists Lady Nade, Michele Stodart, Robert Vincent and Lauren Housley. Audiences are invited to join the filmmakers and artists for the live global premiere and participate in a real-time conversation via YouTube Live Chat. Watch and set a reminder here.
In the studios of Muscle Shoals, artists such as Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, The Rolling Stones and Paul Simon recorded era-defining albums that reshaped global popular music. The sound forged in Alabama’s segregated South travelled across the Atlantic, profoundly influencing British artists and embedding itself in the DNA of UK soul, rock and americana and the documentary traces the powerful story of the state’s world-shaping music scene and its pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement – not only through archive and location, but through the voices of the people who continue to protect and carry that story forward.
Filmed on location at some of America’s most storied musical and historic sites, including FAME Recording Studios, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, and the Birmingham Civil Rights District, the film delves into the remarkable intersection of Alabama’s influential music scene and its critical role in the Civil Rights movement. Featuring local custodians of Alabama’s cultural memory: studio owners, museum directors, faith leaders, historians and community voices, who reveal how one American state helped shape the global soundscape – and the freedom movement that transformed it forever.
At its heart, the documentary centres on a powerhouse of award-winning female voices from Alabama native and soul icon Candi Staton, acclaimed UK artists Lady Nade, Michele Stodart and Lauren Housley on a pilgrimage through the state, to the women leading the businesses and cultural institutions that keep Alabama’s legacy alive. Through intimate performances and candid reflection, they explore how Alabama’s history, forged in both oppression and extraordinary creativity, continues to shape contemporary songwriting, independent labels and live music culture on both sides of the Atlantic.
Romano Sidoli, Executive Producer, comments, “This film would not exist without the generosity of the people of Alabama. From the families and staff who run the iconic studios, to venue owners and life-affirming choirs that quite literally sang the soundtrack to the civil rights movement, we were welcomed into spaces carrying profound history. That trust is something we have never taken lightly. I am incredibly proud of what the team has achieved, not just in bringing together extraordinary artists from both sides of the Atlantic, but in making sure the story stays rooted in the communities who live it and protect it every day. For me, this project has always been about honouring legacy while creating something contemporary, honest and culturally meaningful. If the film encourages even a handful of people to listen more closely to the music and to the history behind it, or better yet to experience it for themselves, then we’ve done something worthwhile.”
Here’s the trailer:
