VIA PRESS RELEASE | Sidemen: Long Road to Glory provides an intimate look into the incredible lives of three of the last Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf sidemen, piano player Pinetop Perkins, drummer Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, and guitarist Hubert Sumlin.
Premiering last year at SXSW, the film is complete. However, due to the cost of securing the music licensing for a full release, Sidemen may never reach a wider audience. In the final days of the Kickstarter campaign, filmmaker Scott Rosenbaum says “Their amazing story needs to be told. This is for them.” The average music fan might not recognize their names, but these legendary bluesmen, who performed and recorded into their 80s and 90s, played a significant role in shaping modern popular music. The film features some of the last interviews conducted with all three men as well as their final live performances together.
These memorable live performances, vividly capture these blues legends with the blues and rock stars they have inspired including, Robby Krieger of The Doors, Elvin Bishop (recent rock ‘n’ Roll Hall inductee with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band), and Tim Reynolds of The Dave Matthews Band. Personal insights from artists such as, Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Shemekia Copeland, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Perry, Joe Bonamassa, and Johnny Winter offer heartfelt accounts of how these three legendary sidemen helped shape their careers as well as rock ‘n’ roll.