Pinetop Perkins Documentary DVD Released

It's been over a year since I edited "Born in the Honey: The Pinetop Perkins Story" and the DVD has finally been released commercially to great reviews. Pinetop Perkins is the legendary 93 year old, Grammy Award winning blues pianist (he turns 94 in July) who played with Muddy Waters, Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker and many other blues giants. I was proud to work on this documentary as the primary Editor and Script Writer, and also to have the privilege of meeting such a fine man as Pinetop. I also shot the cover photo for the DVD, taken on Pinetop's back porch in Austin, Texas in 2005.

Here's a brief review from BluesCritic.com:

How could you go wrong with a 60 minute DVD documentary on the 93-year old Blues legend with a bonus CD included? You can't when it's "Born In The Honey: The Pinetop Perkins Story". Friends and peers like Ike Turner, Taj Mahal, Bobby Rush, etc. help narrate this journey from the Honey Island Plantation in Belzoni, Mississippi through his 1983 "breakthrough" up to his present day doings. A few tidbits include Turner admitting Perkins taught him how to play, Perkins once playing a prank on a bandmate by letting him flirt with a "woman" before finding out "she" was a transvestite (as told by Rush), plus, most importantly, his trials as a black man in the pre-Civil Rights South and more. Sure, Ken Burns or Martin Scorcese could've done a better job (with their big budgets) but it's a fascinating life that of Perkins.

And another from AmericanRoots.com:

At age 93 blues pianist Pinetop Perkins is still rocking with the best of them. “Born in the Honey” provides a comprehensive look at Perkins life from growing up in the Mississippi Delta to migrating North and becoming a sideman for such legends as Sonny Boy Williamson, Earl Hooker and Muddy Waters. Starting his solo career at age 83 Perkins began to revel in the spotlight and continues to this day. Not only is this the story of Pinetop Perkins, it also serves as an overview of the migration north many African-Americans embarked on in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a fascinating story and one more than worthy of the DVD treatment. Also packaged with the DVD is a CD containing 9 live tracks and one rare studio track.

Here's a few more reviews of the DVD, you can order it directly from Amazon by clicking the box below:

Blog Critics Magazine
STL Blues Reviews
Jazz News
Dallas Observer
Austin Chronicle
Music City Blues Society