Music Appreciation: St. Louis Blues and Eartha Kitt in Concert in Germany
Friday Feb 25 @ 1:30 PM Central Time
Loosely based on the life of the undisputed “father of the blues,” St. Louis Blues features Nat “King” Cole as W.C. Handy, growing up in Memphis with his censorious preacher father, who throws him out of the house after he finds him working as a piano player at a speakeasy and writing songs for Eartha Kitt, playing a singer based on Bessie Smith. Also featured are Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Ruby Dee and Pearl Bailey (1958, 90 minutes).  An additional treat for the day is Eartha Kitt in a Live Concert in Stuttgart (1989, 60 minutes). These two films have never been released commercially on either VHS or DVD, and was taped off TV by Paul Lim back in the day.