Below are the last two installments of the pioneering jazz/blues documentary “Music Of The South”, originally aired on CBS in 1956. I don’t have the exact airdate but an enterprising tv-head would have no problem figuring it out. Simply watch the “outro” at the end of the show (included here at the end of part six) and dig the promos for that nights shows. “I Love Lucy” and “Ed Sullivan” were both on (remember this film aired on a Sunday afternoon) and a little diligent digging around for when those guests who are announced appeared on Sullivan or when that specific Lucy episode was aired would solve this not very compelling mystery.
Next week I’ll be posting another long-lost, long-unseen documentary from the 1960’s. Titled “Mississippi: A Self-Portrait”, it’s a look at the changing attitudes, laws and social realities of the deep south in the mid-1960’s. Far from being a liberal sop at the old south and its tom-foolery, it presents a nuanced (and often painfully honest) look at how difficult it was for the old-line white south to accept the changes they were being asked to accept. And–in several devastating moments–how hard it was for black southerners to accept their new “status” as well. It’s a must see piece of Americana captured on film and it (like “Music Of The South”) was directed by my father, Frank De Felitta. Once again, this is the only print of the film extant and I’m proud to offer it up next week on this site.