How They Got Over

As part of the American Essentials Film Festival, How They Got Over is a music documentary that pays homage to one of the most influential genres of all time – Afro-American gospel. Starting from the late 19^th century, this film tracks the progression of gospel and explores how it developed and evolved over the years.

If you don’t know much about the history of gospel and the way it’s shaped the music industry today, then this documentary is a great place to start. How They Got Over will give you a taste of just how influential and indisputably important Afro-American gospel was to the creation and evolution of so many celebrated genres such as soul, R&B, hip hop and, without a doubt, rock and roll.

If you’re already a proclaimed fan of Afro-American gospel and have spent some time exploring the origins of the music and its key figures, then don’t count on this documentary giving you much more than what you probably already know. However, it teems with rare archival footage of gospel performances that you almost definitely wouldn’t have seen before, and because of that, this film was a true pleasure to spend time with (with the volume up really, really loud!). It was something special to watch (and watch, and watch again) the raw performances of leading artists such as The Dixie Hummingbirds, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Soul Stirrers and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

One of the most engaging aspects of How They Got Over is the personal anecdotes and interviews from old gospel singers. Through their compelling tales, the film explores the disconcerting struggle of what it was like to be an Afro-American musician during the enforcement of the Jim Crow laws, and what it was like to perform for a white audience but continue to suffer the indignities and injustice of severe racism and segregation laws. The stark truth of this era of American history is revealed in these shared memories of gospel groups on the road, winding through the small towns of the south, performing every night for next to nothing, and then being unable to find a boarding house that would take them, a restaurant that would feed them, or even a gas station that would let them fill up their tank.

Since watching this documentary, I’ve fallen back in love with gospel and have been scouring record stores for old vinyl ever since (and clogged up my house’s shared Spotify account – oops). Watch this, and I’m sure you’ll do the same. At an easy 90 minutes (rare for a music documentary, these days you’ll be hard pressed to find one under three hours!), How They Got Over is linear, clean and simple. It’s nothing fancy, but it doesn’t need to be.

How They Got Over
American Essentials Film Festival 2018
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