How They Got Over

Released Oct 29, 2021

1 hr. 27 min.

Documentary

Music

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100%

11 Reviews

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How They Got Over tells the story of how Black gospel quartet music became a primary source of what would be known as rock and roll, and in the process helped to break down racial walls in mid-twentieth century America. Beginning in the 1920s, Black singers across the country took to the highways as the new technology of radio and records made it possible to reach a wider audience. Intense competition brought new ways to entertain, first with guitars, later with full bands, then with a performance style that would inspire Mick Jagger and a host of other rock and rollers. Their music was infectious, wrecking many a house on the chittlin' circuit, then graduating in the 40s and 50s to the Apollo and other major auditoriums across the country. The success of gospel quartets inspired record labels to form "doo-wop" groups that enticed gospel singers like Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls and Wilson Pickett to cross over to greater fame. How They Got Over features classic performance footage of the Soul Stirrers, Dixie Hummingbirds, Blind Boys of Alabama and Mississippi, Sensational Nightingales, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Highway QCs, Davis Sisters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and many more. Some of the greatest names in quartet music are interviewed, giving vivid accounts of how they "got over" in their performances: shouting, bending over backwards, dancing, jumping off the stage -- what came to be known as "gospel drama." In capturing their story, the film celebrates the spirit of gospel performers and how they helped usher in a musical revolution that changed the world forever.

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evan g

How They Got Over- Gospel Quartets and the Road to Rock & Roll (Documentary 2021)- What a great, spectacular, inspiring gem of a music doc this is. Finally, a documentary that lets the music speak for itself, playing entire amazing songs by such gospel giants as The Dixie Hummingbirds, the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and The Mighty Clouds of Joys. They also talk with the actual men who made this music that so heavily influenced Doo Wop, R&B and yes, Rock and Roll. And how utterly inspiring that so many of these talents simply didn't care or want to cross over, that the money wasn't what this was about for them. They would live their lives singing this music and die singing it. And while many on the road just made enough for gas, food and cleaning their clothes, there was no envy for those, like Sam Cooke of the Soul Stirrers, who took that secular path. That R&B singers who I love, like the late Dennis Edwards and Otis Clay, are here to talk about their gospel roots makes it that much more of an attractive package. Whether you are religious or not, young people today could learn a lot from this film- that no, money isn't the be-all and end all- live the life you were meant to live, do what you love and bring joy to your heart and others. And this film makes a joyful noise. At 87 minutes, I wish it were twice as long. I can't begin to rave about this enough. It comes with my highest recommendation. One of the best and most moving music documentaries I've ever seen.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Robert Clem

Director

Ira Tucker

Self

Isaac Freeman

Self

Clarence Fountain

Self

JoJo Wallace

Self

Willie Rogers

Self

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Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List

The film offers great history and greater music.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 29, 2021

Full Review

Lisa Kennedy

New York Times

With a trove of archival performance footage, much of it from the television show TV Gospel Time, and the wisdom to let those images breathe, the film leans into the maxim about showing not telling.

Oct 28, 2021

Full Review

Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

[A] lively, no-frills documentary.

Apr 8, 2020

Full Review

Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

A great opportunity to view archival footage and listen to the originators of commercial gospel, but also a treatise on and example of what tends to happen in America at the crossroads of spirituality and commerce.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 27, 2022

Full Review

Armond White

National Review

The self-motivated perseverance -- and artistry and creativity -- preserved in these images is stunning.

May 18, 2022

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Martha K. Baker

KDHX (St. Louis)

Everything has a history even if it's been hidden or discounted. The history of the music movement known as Rock and Roll harks back to gospel quartets, back to the Hummingbirds and the Fairfield Four and the Davis Sisters.

May 11, 2022

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Synopsis

How They Got Over tells the story of how Black gospel quartet music became a primary source of what would be known as rock and roll, and in the process helped to break down racial walls in mid-twentieth century America. Beginning in the 1920s, Black singers across the country took to the highways as the new technology of radio and records made it possible to reach a wider audience. Intense competition brought new ways to entertain, first with guitars, later with full bands, then with a performance style that would inspire Mick Jagger and a host of other rock and rollers. Their music was infectious, wrecking many a house on the chittlin' circuit, then graduating in the 40s and 50s to the Apollo and other major auditoriums across the country. The success of gospel quartets inspired record labels to form "doo-wop" groups that enticed gospel singers like Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls and Wilson Pickett to cross over to greater fame. How They Got Over features classic performance footage of the Soul Stirrers, Dixie Hummingbirds, Blind Boys of Alabama and Mississippi, Sensational Nightingales, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Highway QCs, Davis Sisters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and many more. Some of the greatest names in quartet music are interviewed, giving vivid accounts of how they "got over" in their performances: shouting, bending over backwards, dancing, jumping off the stage -- what came to be known as "gospel drama." In capturing their story, the film celebrates the spirit of gospel performers and how they helped usher in a musical revolution that changed the world forever.

Director: Robert Clem
Executive Producer: JR DiAndrea, Jim Lenard Thompson
Distributor: First Run Features
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 29, 2021, Limited