1 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:08,960 HUGH LAURIE: As a child, I had a few heroes who weren't musicians: 2 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:14,480 Winston Churchill, PG Wodehouse, Muhammad Ali, Judi Dench, 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,280 but, look, that's only one hand and I've still got a thumb left over. 4 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:21,840 My musical heroes on the other hand, 5 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:24,720 well, they just don't fit on the other hand. 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,160 They slip through my fingers, like wet sardines.' 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:30,240 (CHEERING) 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:35,360 'But the thumb, the thumb was always taken and it's still pointing west. 9 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:39,680 'Where are we going?' you may be wondering. 10 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,280 Well, we're going to the Queen Mary. 11 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,960 The Queen, as a lot of you may know, 12 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,480 is moored on the west coast of the United States, 13 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:49,400 Long Beach, California. 14 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:54,320 The Queen Mary was the site of a recording. 15 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,240 The record was called Professor Longhair Live On The Queen Mary. 16 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,160 It was an absolutely seminal record. 17 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,960 We're going to...not recreate the night of that recording, 18 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:08,360 but offer a kind of tribute to a musician 19 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,720 who just changed everything for me. 20 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,040 'Now, in every television documentary, 21 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:28,920 you must have a journey. 22 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,480 Nobody knows why, it's just a given. 23 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:33,440 It's like tomato garnish. 24 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,720 Well, this is a film about my tomato garnish 25 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,240 and the culmination of a dream that I've had 26 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:43,600 since I looked adorably like this. 27 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,120 Growing up on the frontline in Berkshire, 28 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,520 I had no idea where blues music came from. 29 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,480 I just knew that I didn't want to live without it.' 30 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,120 # PROFESSOR LONGHAIR: Every Day I Have The Blues 31 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:01,400 # Every day 32 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,080 # Every day I have the blues 33 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,800 When I first heard that - that sort of wailing, blue note... 34 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,400 # Every day... 35 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,720 ..it was like, it was like a door opening into this magical kingdom. 36 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:25,800 I hear it as music of great joy and passion and love, 37 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,280 and it's funny, a lot of the time. 38 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:33,920 You know, of course, it has pain and heartbreak in it too. 39 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,440 In fact, I think that all human life - all human life is in it. 40 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,280 # Every day, every day 41 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,240 # Every day, every day... # 42 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:46,960 # THE INK SPOTS: Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall 43 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,120 'Being a young blues fan in England back then 44 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:57,440 was a fairly isolating experience. 45 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:03,120 To escape the pop orthodoxy, the call to prayer at the local disco, 46 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:08,680 we hid in basements and bedrooms, record shops and opium dens. 47 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:13,920 We'd fantasise about being in opium dens, whatever the hell they were. 48 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,320 We spent our pocket money on the latest US imports 49 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,360 and tried to learn every note. 50 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,440 We were few, but we were organised. 51 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,480 We recognised each other. 52 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:26,600 We had a code.' 53 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,600 The hamster is on the wheel. 54 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,120 (BUZZER) 55 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,120 Ah. How lovely to see you. Jools Holland. Come in. How are you? 56 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,280 So this is our studio, where we do everything. 57 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,080 This is where it all happens. 58 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,640 A couple of decades ago, I asked you if you would teach me the piano. 59 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,360 Yes. 60 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,840 You said, 'I won't teach you, unless you teach me how to act.' 61 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,280 Well, I didn't mean on the stage, I meant act generally, in life. 62 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:57,120 Oh, behave. How to behave? Yes. You've been such a role model. 63 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,200 Like, for example, how to hold a...? 64 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,840 Yes and not to put it down. Don't put it down. (LAUGHS) 65 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,360 I think there's a lot of music in acting, I personally believe. 66 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,400 When people make a song, they've got to become the... 67 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,200 They've got to become the song, or nobody'll believe them. 68 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,280 It is very similar to acting. 69 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,640 So this is the same as the piano in some studios... 70 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:21,360 ..which has this jangly sound. 71 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,440 They all have their own voice as well. 72 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:25,480 That's erm... 73 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:27,440 (BLUES MUSIC) 74 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,160 In the logging camps, where the music was supposed to have first evolved - 75 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,480 in the 19th century, not the 20th century - 76 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,680 there was a famous pianist who was very fat, called Turk. 77 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,640 What he used to do, he was so big, was Mr Turk, that he... 78 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,400 At the time, it was very popular, doing the stride piano, 79 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,440 which was all of this sort of... 80 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,400 (STRIDE-STYLE MUSIC) 81 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,800 ..but he was so big, his hand couldn't stride like this - 82 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,160 Across his stomach. ..across this vastness that was most of him. 83 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,920 And so he developed... 84 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,280 ..sort of a left hand that was a repetitive left hand. 85 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:11,480 That wouldn't have to go anywhere. They say he was one of the first. 86 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:13,880 A lot of it was attributed to his weight. 87 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:18,960 # Oh, I'm the winin' boy 88 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,000 # Don't deny my name 89 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,360 # Oh, Mama, Mama 90 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,880 # Won't you look at sis? 91 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:38,160 # Down on the levee 92 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,560 # Doin' the double twist? 93 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,120 # Oh, I'm the winin' boy 94 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,440 # Don't deny my name # 95 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,320 On would go the record, and they were like companions, 96 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,000 you know, that I was learning from all the time 97 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:58,920 so, they became my friends, you know. 98 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,400 It was actually quite a solitary thing for me. 99 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,080 I was rather a solitary child. 100 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,200 The piano was a place I sort of got lost in. 101 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,200 And I would just play this, hours and hours and hours. 102 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,080 I just couldn't believe how wonderful it was, 103 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,120 and how wonderful it made me feel. 104 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,040 There's no question about it. 105 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,600 The greatest invention wasn't the skyscrapers, it's that music. 106 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:22,880 Without a doubt. Nobody had done that before. 107 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:25,680 People had written symphonies, and carved sculptures, 108 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,360 and painted the odd picture hither and thither, 109 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,440 and Americans did that very well. 110 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,400 But the music - nobody had ever done anything like that before. 111 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,040 That was amazing. Greatest gift to the world, yeah. Mm. 112 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,000 (BOTH PLAY BLUES MUSIC) 113 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,480 You may say, 'It's enough to hear the singers, 114 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:49,480 why do you want to go and become one?' 115 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,560 Good question. 116 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,240 Don't really have an answer for that... 117 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:56,200 (TAPS RHYTHMICALLY) 118 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:01,160 'I do have an answer, actually.' 119 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:03,240 It's the same beat. 120 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:05,640 It's the same beat that you put in there, 121 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:07,880 and it's the same beat you beat with your feet. 122 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:09,960 'This man is the answer. 123 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,960 Henry Roeland Byrd, better known as Professor Longhair. 124 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:18,880 Professor because of his unique mastery of rumba-boogie-style piano. 125 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:26,080 But, like many blues artists, he fell into obscurity, 126 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,040 with the rise of '60s pop.' 127 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:31,880 You notice I'm beating straight. 128 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,560 'Living out the story of a blues song, 129 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,080 Longhair looked set to end his days working as a janitor, 130 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,040 lost to the music world... 131 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,360 ..but, then, something remarkable happened.' 132 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:46,400 # Wa-oo, wa-ah-ha! 133 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,440 # Ti-ni, no, no 134 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,600 # Tipitana 135 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:52,240 # Tra-la-la # 136 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,680 'A group of fanatical followers 137 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:58,480 rolled away the stone and the Professor was born again. 138 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,720 After a gig on the Queen Mary in 1975, 139 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,600 Longhair was rightly enthroned as a legend. 140 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:18,160 My view of life, in fact my life, 141 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,440 was shaped by the sounds and stories of Professor Longhair. 142 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,200 Without him, I'd have taken up golf, 143 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,680 or lying down in front of trains. 144 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,480 With him, the world was - and is - a fine, fine place.' 145 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,760 # We fired our guns and the British kept a-coming... 146 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:44,240 'Now, in a humble yet weirdly arrogant act of devotion, 147 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:46,600 I'm going to play some shows across the US, 148 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,280 starting here in New York and ending in California, 149 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,840 where I'll be paying homage to the Professor aboard the Queen Mary. 150 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:55,400 # We looked down the river and we see the British come 151 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,040 # And there must've been a hundred of 'em, beating on the drum... # 152 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,080 I realise now, being in New York, 153 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:06,680 that it is an act of straightforward madness for an Englishman to come here 154 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:12,080 and try and enchant audiences with American music. 155 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,160 It's madness, but mad things are good. 156 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:22,600 'New York has always loved the blues. 157 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:25,760 At the start of the 20th century, 158 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,520 with so many people crammed on top of each other, 159 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,680 dance halls and jazz clubs broke the taboos of the day, 160 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,160 allowing black and white audiences to mix for the first time. 161 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,000 Those audiences couldn't get enough. 162 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,320 These days, they'll even allow Englishmen back in, 163 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,840 but only if accompanied by musical adults. 164 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,240 In may case, it's the Copper Bottom Band. 165 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,720 A gleaming, popping, burbling V8 of an outfit. 166 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,080 All they need is a hat. 167 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,320 Jay Bellerose on drums has played with everyone 168 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,040 from BB King and Bob Dylan to Elton John. 169 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:05,880 I have down for a homburg.' 170 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,000 If anyone's gonna pull it off, it's you. 171 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,200 'Jay doesn't just play rhythms, 172 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,800 he plays skins, hides, woods, living matter, 173 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:19,000 and forces you to hear the texture and pulse of things. 174 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,040 He is the heart. 175 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:24,160 David Piltch is blood - type A. 176 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,120 His basslines course around a song, 177 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,760 feeding muscles, tendons, organs. 178 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,720 Patrick Warren plays organs, which is confusing. 179 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:37,760 Patrick is the liver.' 180 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:39,440 Woo! 181 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,760 'Sister Jean McClain is a former disco diva 182 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:45,240 who's worked with legends like Tina Turner. 183 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,200 She is the soul. 184 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:59,080 Kevin Breit plays guitars, banjos, mandolins, ukuleles - 185 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,160 anything with strings attached. 186 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,640 Probably puppets and hire purchase agreements too (!) 187 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:09,280 Vincent Henry plays anything you can blow into, 188 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,360 at least that's what he shows us. 189 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:14,720 My suspicion is that he can play all the instruments in the band 190 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:18,320 better than any of us, he's just polite to do it when we're there.' 191 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,280 (PERCUSSIVE RHYTHM) 192 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:25,600 'Me, I am the digestive tract of the band.' 193 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:28,360 # I've got a song 194 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,720 # Ain't got no melody 195 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,240 # I'm a-gonna sing it to my friends 196 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:39,960 # Will it go round in circles? 197 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:47,080 # Will it fly high, like a bird up in the sky? 198 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,680 # Will it go round in circles? 199 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,680 # Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? 200 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:01,600 # Bird up in the sky... 201 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,080 My passion is music - always has been. 202 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,480 Acting is a thing that... 203 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:08,520 I find it very difficult. 204 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,600 I actually find it very difficult. 205 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,800 Not to say I don't find music difficult. 206 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:15,280 I sweat and curse over the music too 207 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:20,000 but it is a much freer and more passionate experience. 208 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,320 # Will it go round in circles? 209 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:30,400 # Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? 210 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,360 # Bird up in the sky # 211 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:37,640 Woo! 212 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,600 I've never been confident of anything. 213 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:45,960 I predict disaster... 214 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:49,920 ..almost every day. 215 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:55,800 And, for that reason, I am almost always delighted and relieved 216 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:57,760 by the way the day turns out. 217 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,040 'Ha! Watch your head. 218 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,120 It's almost like a sign. 219 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,520 New Yorkers have, of course, seen it all before. 220 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:08,240 A famously tough crowd 221 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,840 and, although few of the blues legends came from here, 222 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,800 this is the city where they have to prove themselves. 223 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,480 It's our first night and this is the lion's mouth.' 224 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:23,160 # Way down upon the Suwannee River 225 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,400 # Far, far away... # 226 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,440 It's a very exposing thing to do, 227 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,160 to put yourself into music. 228 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:39,560 It's a way in which people reveal themselves, you can't help it. 229 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:43,400 Simply by choosing a song - the very act of choosing a song... 230 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,560 Never mind writing one, just choosing an existing one, 231 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:49,600 you are exposing something of yourself and your taste 232 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,960 and your likes and dislikes. 233 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:53,920 (BOOGIE WOOGIE-STYLE MUSIC) 234 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,760 (CHEERING) 235 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:20,840 (WHISTLING) 236 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:23,880 (CHEERING) 237 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:29,920 (INDISTINCT CHATTER) 238 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:32,240 Hey, everybody. Ready for some moonshine? 239 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:35,760 'Before we say farewell to the Big Apple, 240 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,560 the band and I visit an old-fashioned speakeasy.' 241 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,640 Cos this stuff is rough. 242 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,880 Well, speaking as a professional tea drinker, well... 243 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,680 'At the height of Prohibition in the 1920s, 244 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,840 the biggest popular singers in America were women 245 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,200 and none was bigger than Bessie Smith. 246 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,720 Sister Jean takes the torch and runs with it.' 247 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:01,720 # Judge, Judge, please, Mr Judge 248 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:07,520 # Send me to the 'lectric chair # Bum, oh-oh! 249 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,080 # I wanna see the Devil 250 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,040 # Devil down below 251 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,800 # And I'll kill my man 252 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,960 # I've got to reap what I sow 253 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,320 # Judge, Judge 254 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,200 # Please, lordy, Judge 255 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:31,360 # Send me to the 'lectric chair # Bum, bum, oh-oh! 256 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:39,800 # Send me to the 'lectric chair # 257 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:41,840 (CHEERING) 258 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:43,800 (LAUGHS) 259 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:56,520 # All my life, I've been a travelling man... # 260 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:00,560 'Till a couple of years ago, 261 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,560 playing music was my own private escape. 262 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,600 But now it's given me the chance to see America 263 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:08,680 in a way I never have before. 264 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:12,600 To visit some of the places that inspired this wonderful music.' 265 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:18,840 To be perfectly honest, this whole experience 266 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,120 has been for me a little bit like shoplifting. 267 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:23,480 Not that I'm experienced, you understand 268 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:30,320 but, from the moment that I first embarked upon this musical journey, 269 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:33,840 set out with the band, made a record, started going on tour, 270 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:39,120 I kept expecting somebody to shout, 'Stop that man!' 271 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,880 For whatever reason, mysteriously, it hasn't happened yet 272 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,920 and I've taken whatever it is that I've stolen from the shop 273 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,080 and put them down the front of my trousers. 274 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,720 I've made for the exit and I seem to now have got into the car park 275 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:57,800 and I'm still going. 276 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,960 I feel like they're gonna set the dogs on me at any moment, 277 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,480 but it hasn't happened yet and it's an absolutely amazing experience. 278 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,000 'A thousand miles south to New Orleans, 279 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,120 where the young student Longhair scraped a living 280 00:17:18,120 --> 00:17:20,200 as a tap-dancing street hustler.' 281 00:17:22,360 --> 00:17:24,400 # Thought I heard 282 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,760 # Buddy Bolden say... # 283 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,960 'I'm here to meet one man who's proved beyond a doubt 284 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,800 you can play the blues no matter where you're from. 285 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:39,000 He's a singer, songwriter, and a piano playing genius. 286 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,480 The locals consider him one of their own, 287 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,040 but he is in fact John Cleary from Kent.' 288 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:47,080 Oh, my God, now, this is just er... 289 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:52,120 A bit messy? No. This is... This is treasure. 290 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:55,960 'Over 30 years ago, John moved here as a teenager, 291 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,320 with a couple of hundred quid in his pocket 292 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,720 which he spent on records the day he arrived. 293 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,360 He dreamed of playing with the blues greats. 294 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:05,320 Along the way, he also became one.' 295 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:08,440 It was kind of a surprise when I got here, 296 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,360 because there weren't many people playing New Orleans piano. 297 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:13,280 By default I ended up kind of being 298 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,040 a guy that got called to play with the old cats. 299 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,800 All the gigs, I got to play with all my... 300 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,560 ..hero idols who'd just been names on backs of records in those days. 301 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:28,240 'John has built a recording studio from an old Creole grocery store. 302 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:32,080 This is where I plan to kill him and steal his identity (!)' 303 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:36,120 Oh, and this! Yes, like a funky, old broken piano showroom. 304 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:38,200 (LAUGHS) 305 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:40,160 (LIVELY JAZZ) 306 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:09,920 Oh! Oh, my word. 307 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,280 That's kind of what New Orleans music is. 308 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,760 The tension is so gorgeous, that. 309 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,720 I mean, I'm fascinated by Professor Longhair and what he... 310 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,680 the sound he managed to create with a piano. 311 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,040 And where those particular rhythmic things came from. 312 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:28,880 There's a basic pulse that goes through a lot of New Orleans music 313 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,240 and you hear it even now at Mardi Gras time. 314 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,480 Then it goes back to Africa via Cuba. 315 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:35,400 It's called a habanera rhythm. 316 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,760 So if you have four beats of a bar, going like this... 317 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,760 You have the synco... 318 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,560 So it's the way you place all the accents against the four. 319 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:49,080 Right. Syncopation and funk. So that groove... 320 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,000 (HUMS) 321 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,040 You also hear it in... 322 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,920 ..rumba - what we call rumba, anyway. Right. 323 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,200 It's not Spanish rumba, it's a different thing. 324 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,240 Then you hear it in, you know... 325 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,200 (JAZZ-TINGED BLUES) 326 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,360 ..so you hear that rhythm going through the funk, 327 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:34,560 into a lot of the old R'n'B stuff. Right. 328 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:36,520 (SLOW BLUES) 329 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,840 'John's first gig was filling in for James Booker, 330 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,880 when the genius failed to show. 331 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,160 He also played with Dr John, BB King and now - 332 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,880 you can tell how excited he is - he gets to play with me.' 333 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:08,280 (CHUCKLES) 334 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,720 Wow! To me, it sounds just as fresh. Yeah. 335 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,560 If you play it with some energy and soul, it still sounds fresh. Yeah. 336 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,920 New Orleans comes into fashion, it goes out of fashion. 337 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:23,280 They don't stop playing here, just cos no-one's looking. 338 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,000 (LAUGHS) Yeah. See what I mean? Exactly. 339 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,200 They've always been doing it here. Yeah. 340 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:32,320 # Down a road 341 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:35,520 # Down a road 342 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,760 # Well, came a junco partner, right now # 343 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,000 So the Queen Mary is getting closer. 344 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:50,360 Well, actually, the Queen Mary is staying where she is, 345 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:52,320 moored in Long Beach. 346 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:54,400 I am getting closer to the Queen Mary, 347 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,600 and the day of reckoning. 348 00:21:56,600 --> 00:22:00,520 It will be, I suppose, a combination of many things. 349 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,560 Exciting, thrilling, awe-inspiring, terrifying, 350 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,120 or just a flat-out disaster. 351 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:08,080 There's no way of knowing. 352 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,880 'While the south may be the birthplace of the blues, 353 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,200 Chicago is where it came when it left home 354 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,280 and got its first job. 355 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:24,520 100 years ago, when black Americans moved north in large numbers, 356 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:26,760 the railway line ended here. 357 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,600 Chicago's most famous southern migrant was McKinley Morganfield, 358 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:33,680 also known as Muddy Waters - 359 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:35,880 the father of Chicago blues. 360 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,240 He was also the father of Mud Morganfield, 361 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,680 an internationally-celebrated musician in his own right.' 362 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,600 You're not gonna get dressed fancier than that, are you? No. 363 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,760 You're gonna show us up. Just a traditional Chicago blues thing. 364 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,440 (CHUCKLES) 365 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,720 'He's agreed to play with me while I'm in town. 366 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,680 For the life of me, I don't know why.' 367 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,040 Just talk us through it. Yeah. 368 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:00,040 (INTRODUCTION ON HARMONICA) 369 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:08,760 'In the 1940s, Muddy Waters surfed the wave of a new-fangled invention. 370 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:12,520 The electric guitar - 371 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,680 which could be amplified to huge crowds for the first time. 372 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,480 Blues music was never the same again.' 373 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:21,960 # I'm going out walking 374 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:23,920 # Walking down to the park 375 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:27,120 # Yeah 376 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:28,800 # I'm going out walking 377 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:31,840 # Walking down to the park 378 00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:36,080 # I'm gonna walk in the moonlight 379 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,160 # Walk till the night gets dark # 380 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:42,560 Are you hearing enough up there? 381 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,600 (HARMONICA) 382 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,680 I could barely hear you. 383 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,960 You know, that's probably best that way. 384 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:50,920 (LAUGHTER) 385 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:52,840 I'm serious... (CHUCKLES) 386 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,000 This is what they all asked for, you see. 387 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:57,720 'Can you take the piano out of it (?)' 388 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,160 'Chicago is a holy place for musicians 389 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:09,600 and one of the temples at which they worship 390 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,960 is the Chicago Music Exchange, 391 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,400 where they have the biggest vintage collection in the world. 392 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,280 I've never been much of a collector. 393 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:21,320 If I was ever going to start...' 394 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,560 Just such a gorgeous looking thing. 395 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,360 This part is the least gorgeous part of it. 396 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,280 Oh, I think I should probably leave my wallet in the car. 397 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:39,200 I think we have a day off to come here, and drop... 398 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:41,920 ..the ransom (!) 399 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,000 (LAUGHS) 400 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,080 Well, we can help with that. Can you? 401 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,360 Every guitar has a story, has a sound and feels different. 402 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:55,560 So that's why you've gotta play every one 403 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,320 until you connect with an instrument, 404 00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:59,480 until you're inspired by it. 405 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:04,080 That's what we do here, we inspire musicians and put the right instruments in their hand, 406 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,240 to continue on with the history, you know. 407 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:10,760 If you want to apply pressure, sales pressure, that's the place to go. 408 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,720 He's our weak spot. 409 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:19,720 To be in America is fantastic, 410 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,520 to be playing to an audience back where all these songs came from. 411 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,400 Especially in Chicago, people'll appreciate it - Yeah. 412 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,400 ..which is great. 413 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:31,360 'There are guitars here 414 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:34,080 that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. 415 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,240 Luckily, they do have a budget option.' 416 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:39,640 Let's get a professional opinion on this. 417 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:47,400 Yeah, but I never wanna do that though. 418 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,400 (LAUGHS) OK. 419 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:51,480 How's that? 420 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,440 That's more like it. 421 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:01,000 See, kids, what's possible if you really apply yourself. 422 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:11,320 I love it. 423 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,440 Wow! It's beautiful. 424 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,000 It smells nice. (LAUGHTER) No, it does. 425 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,520 That's - that's why I wanted it, is the smell. 426 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,280 I wasn't asking you to play it, I was asking you to smell it. 427 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:32,240 # Oh, Death 428 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:37,880 # O-o-o-o-oh 429 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,280 # Death 430 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:46,040 # Won't you spare me over 431 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:50,360 # Till another year? 432 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:55,240 # What is this that I...? 433 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:56,920 There's an idea people have 434 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:02,160 that blues music is a very sort of male form, 435 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,560 it's a man and a guitar telling hard-luck stories. 436 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:07,640 And there is an element of that 437 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,000 but, to my mind, the blues really began with women. 438 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,400 My own theory is that it really comes from lullabies. 439 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,200 # Oh 440 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,600 # O-o-o-o-oh 441 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:21,720 And, to me, it's always been... 442 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:26,960 there's been a strong element of the mother singing her baby to sleep. 443 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:30,960 # Oh, Death 444 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:34,800 # Won't you spare me over 445 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:40,560 # Till another year? # 446 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,120 # Love 447 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:48,160 # Oh, love 448 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,200 # Oh, careless love # 449 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:59,240 I think of, er... 450 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:04,200 ..Britain and America differing by about 5%... 451 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,160 ..in most aspects of human behaviour. 452 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,920 They like their hair 5% neater than we do. 453 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:17,960 They like 5% more melted cheese on their food. 454 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:20,720 It's all about 5%. 455 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:24,160 Until it comes to religion, and then it's 3,000%. 456 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:27,520 They believe in angels. 457 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,440 The majority of the country believes in angels. 458 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,040 As you all know, in Britain, you've got to work quite hard 459 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,360 to find somebody who believes in angels. 460 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,840 It probably won't be anyone in your street. 461 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:48,360 Here, you've got to look quite hard 462 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:50,760 to find someone who doesn't believe in them. 463 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:56,640 'Yes, God is very busy in America, with offices everywhere 464 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,560 but, if anything was gonna make me believe in angels, 465 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,040 it would be this gin mill turned blues bar in Milwaukee. 466 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,120 80 miles north of Chicago. 467 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:08,480 Locals comes from miles around to dance the polka 468 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:12,120 and to hear music at least 5% better than anywhere else.' 469 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,480 If there'd been a bar like this in...in er... 470 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:24,560 the town where I grew up, 471 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,000 I can't imagine that I ever would have left it. 472 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,080 I was an underground worshipper. 473 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,520 When I was a boy, this was a lonely trail to follow. 474 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,080 All my school friends were listening to er... 475 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,200 David Bowie slash Bough-ee, slash Bow-ey. 476 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:57,400 You see even that reveals how little I know about pop music. 477 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,160 What I did know about was Sonny Boy Williamson 478 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:06,080 and James Cotton and Little Walter. 479 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:12,000 I had nowhere to go and there was no temple where we could all gather. 480 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:28,960 (WHISTLING) 481 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:30,840 (CHEERING) 482 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:32,520 (WHISTLES) 483 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,640 But the main thing is - it's still here. 484 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:39,520 You know, whether there are five people in the bar, or 50, or 500, 485 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:42,320 it still keeps going because the people who play it 486 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:44,360 love it more than life itself. 487 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:46,440 That's how it sounds to me. 488 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:51,120 And I find that just...endlessly moving and inspiring. 489 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,080 (WHISTLING) 490 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,200 (INDISTINCT CHATTER) 491 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:58,240 'Well, now it's time to go to work. 492 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,320 This queue isn't for us, by the way. 493 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,720 There's actually a shoe sale on the corner.' 494 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:10,720 It has become our habit to drink a toast before we do a show. 495 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:16,160 It's partly superstition and it's partly thirst for alcohol, really. 496 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,440 Alcoholics come up with similar fictions about why they drink. 497 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:22,600 We are no different. 498 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:24,640 Bottoms up. Bottoms up. 499 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,840 Bottoms up. Bottoms up. 500 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:31,400 I get very nervous, so just a little shot of the good stuff helps. 501 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:36,800 I know I will look back and say, 'What an amazing opportunity.' 502 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:39,760 When you're in the middle of an amazing opportunity, 503 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:43,000 you don't really have the time to fully appreciate it. 504 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,600 It's usually, I think, about 10 years later, 505 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,920 you look back and go, 'That wasn't bad, that thing that I did.' 506 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:54,400 (CHEERING) 507 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:57,040 'That really was lucky, the way that turned out.' 508 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:00,480 Good evening. 509 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,440 (CHEERING) 510 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:05,760 (WHISTLING) 511 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:12,320 (CHEERING) 512 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:21,800 (RHYTHMIC APPLAUSE) 513 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,040 # You gotta jump, jump here 514 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,840 # You gotta jump, jump there 515 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,760 # You gotta jump, jump, jump 516 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,120 # Everywhere 517 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,920 # Mellow down easy 518 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:47,960 # Mellow down easy 519 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:53,680 # Mellow down easy, if you really wanna blow your top # 520 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:55,720 (CHEERING) 521 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:57,960 I do love music. 522 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,440 I do love these songs and I love the people I'm playing them with. 523 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:06,920 It strikes me as completely communal. 524 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:10,000 I feel if the band plays it right, I sing it right, 525 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:14,800 and the audience responds right, then we're all in it together. 526 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:17,480 The song is living amongst everybody in the room. 527 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:21,120 # ..nicer when you're feeling good # Oh, Daddy... 528 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:24,760 It just so happens that we're in the brightly lit bit, playing it, 529 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:27,280 and they're in the dark bit, listening to it, 530 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:31,240 but we're all one group of people experiencing the life of a song. 531 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,280 # Come on, baby 532 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:38,920 # Let the good times roll # 533 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:40,960 (CHEERING) 534 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:43,240 Thank you. Woo! 535 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,320 (CHEERING) 536 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:48,440 These are great shows and I see you dance now. 537 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,920 That is just the best. You're dancing now. 538 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,760 I don't know what happened, tonight. I went a bit... 539 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:56,640 Yeah. You had fun. 540 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:58,720 That's why I'm over there yelling. 541 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,000 There was a little bit of amyl nitrate in the air, or something, 542 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,720 but I went a bit...I went a bit strange. (GIGGLES) 543 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:06,680 (CHEERING) 544 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:14,240 You get into a tower of power thing and here we go. (LAUGHS) 545 00:34:14,240 --> 00:34:16,960 He ain't got no horn, but he rolling (!) 546 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:19,640 He rolling! Oh, my God. 547 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:22,960 (GIGGLES) 548 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:26,480 (CHEERING) 549 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:28,440 (WHISTLING) 550 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,040 'We could have used the traditional red line on a map 551 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:40,240 to show our progress across the continent. 552 00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:42,280 Instead, we use my beard.' 553 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:44,240 (INSTRUMENTAL BLUES MUSIC) 554 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:59,640 'We're in California now 555 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,720 but, before my gig on the Queen Mary in honour of Professor Longhair, 556 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:05,680 I have one last stop to make.' 557 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:10,760 # I know you told me 558 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:14,520 # Such a long time ago 559 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,640 'For a final burst of inspiration, 560 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,960 I'm visiting the studio of one of the greatest musicians of all time, 561 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,000 if not THE greatest. 562 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,240 This here is Mount Olympus, 563 00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:29,920 from where Ray Charles dispatched his musical thunderbolts 564 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:31,880 across the world.' 565 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:36,880 # Oh, what it makes me be... 566 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:40,840 'Since his death in 2004, his studio has been kept as a memorial. 567 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:43,160 President of the Ray Charles Foundation, 568 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,200 Valerie Ervin shows me around.' 569 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:47,160 # I'm a fool for you # 570 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:51,280 There was something about Ray Charles that was, er... 571 00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:54,200 ..really above and beyond. 572 00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:57,040 I think it was Sinatra who described Ray Charles as 573 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:59,360 'The only real genius in show business.' 574 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:04,000 And, to come here...into the room that he actually designed, 575 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:08,360 and sit at his piano and actually brush against 576 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:11,960 the marks that his fingernails have left... 577 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:13,920 Because he played a lot of black keys, 578 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:15,960 so he got right into the keyboard. 579 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,040 You can see his... 580 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:21,480 It's slightly unnerving. I feel as if I've broken into a cathedral 581 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:25,600 and I'm somehow slightly desecrating it just by breathing the air. 582 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:28,880 # Sweet Sixteen Bars 583 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,200 OK, who taught you how to play like that? 584 00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,280 (LAUGHTER) 585 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:04,520 Sweet Sixteen Bars, which I always thought was such a great title. 586 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:08,280 He plays that for the 16 bars and he goes round it however many times. 587 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,400 I would never - five hours, two days... 588 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:14,640 I would never, ever, ever, ever want him to stop. 589 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:18,800 You took me somewhere, the first time you hit the first bar, 590 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:20,480 I was like, 'Beautiful!' 591 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:22,680 It was kind of a touch of him back in here. 592 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:24,880 You know, so many people come in and play, 593 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:26,920 but no-one stops in and plays Ray. 594 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,000 No-one. 595 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:31,600 I should've asked permission. No! (GIGGLES) 596 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:35,360 I should have played some... I don't know, just er... 597 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:37,720 When you kind of first hit, I was like, 'Wow!' 598 00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:39,760 That was incredible. 599 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:41,840 # Georgia # 600 00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:44,760 'Coming from Valerie, that means a lot. 601 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,200 She worked closely with Ray for the last decade of his life. 602 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:50,600 Now she's in charge of his legacy.' 603 00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:53,800 Is it possible to sit in the chair? Absolutely. Have at it. 604 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:58,400 He just loved music. Yeah. 605 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,160 When he wasn't on the road, he was in that studio. 606 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,560 We would leave him here. He would lock the building. Wow! 607 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:06,640 He spent 90% of his time here. 608 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:11,120 He never rehearsed any show prior, for any show - What? 609 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:12,800 He didn't believe in rehearsing. 610 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,600 He said, 'If you're musicians, you should know how to play.' 611 00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:18,920 Ray would stop a show, literally in the middle of it and say, 612 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,880 'Third horn from the left, that was the wrong note.' 613 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:23,960 I've watched him do it. Wow! Live. 614 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:27,640 And he'll say, 'So sorry, audience. Excuse me, but he didn't get it. 615 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:29,720 Now let's try that again.' 616 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:31,760 We don't do this any more. (LAUGHS) 617 00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:33,800 It's like cars without seat belts. 618 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,000 Dangerous. It's out, is it? Is it? 619 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,200 Be careful. 620 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:43,080 No, who am I gonna be correcting? I'm gonna be correcting myself. 621 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:44,360 Yeah. 622 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:46,360 # Hit The Road, Jack 623 00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,200 'At the risk of looking like Spinal Tap at Graceland, 624 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:53,760 I decided that we just had to try a Ray Charles classic...' 625 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,080 # No woman who can treat me so mean 626 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:57,880 # You're the meanest old woman... 627 00:38:57,880 --> 00:39:00,960 'Sung by new recruit to the band, Lionel Messi. 628 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:03,560 I'm sorry - Gaby Moreno.' 629 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:06,200 # That's right! Hit the road, Jack 630 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:10,400 # Don't you come back no more, No more, no more, no more 631 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:14,440 # Hit the road, Jack, Don't you come back no more 632 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:19,360 # Well, baby, listen, baby, to what I say 633 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,320 # I'll be back on my feet some day 634 00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:25,320 # Don't care if you do, cos it's understood 635 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:28,280 # You ain't got no money, you ain't no good 636 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:30,000 # Hit the road, Jack 637 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:34,320 # Don't you come back no more, No more, no more, no more 638 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:36,120 # Hit the road, Jack 639 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:38,400 # Don't you come back no more... 640 00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:41,560 When he told me...the songs that I was gonna be singing, 641 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:43,240 I couldn't believe it. 642 00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:44,960 These are some of my favourite songs, 643 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,040 that I've been singing since I was little. 644 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:49,920 Really, they've been a huge influence on my singing, 645 00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:52,120 on my music, on my writing, everything. 646 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:56,640 # Don't you come back no more, Don't you come back no more 647 00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:58,880 # Don't you come back no more 648 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:02,760 # Don't you come back, # Don't you come back 649 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:05,160 # Don't you come back no more 650 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,360 # Oo-oo-ooh! # 651 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:14,600 Sweet. 652 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,480 'The Queen Mary has been moored in Long Beach 653 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:26,560 since her last transatlantic journey in the late-1960s. 654 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:31,560 I can still remember the horror that greeted her sale to the Yanks 655 00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:35,360 but, the truth is, they've looked after the old girl a treat. 656 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:37,360 You can see your face in her.' 657 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:48,600 'Professor Longhair's performance here in 1975 658 00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:50,680 virtually defined his career, 659 00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,600 catapulting him once again into the limelight. 660 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:57,680 And, since I heard a recording of that gig, my life changed too. 661 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:01,640 It's the first time I've ever been on this ship 662 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:03,560 and, finally arriving here, 663 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:07,200 suddenly makes the whole endeavour become that much more real.' 664 00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:10,680 This feels like a very holy place, and a holy undertaking. 665 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:14,400 And, er... 666 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:17,560 ..I'm crapping myself. 667 00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:21,480 'And, if things weren't bad enough, 668 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:25,400 the poet, philanthropist and ex-Millwall central defender 669 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:28,160 Stephen Fry has dropped in to watch us rehearse.' 670 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:31,480 # Lord have mercy, if you please # 671 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:33,520 Professor Shiny-Scalp. 672 00:41:33,520 --> 00:41:35,640 (LAUGHTER) 673 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:40,160 I've only lately discovered that Professor Longhair wasn't the only professor. 674 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:43,160 There were four professors. There was Professor Longhair, 675 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:45,880 Professor Some-Hair, Professor Losing-His-Hair and... 676 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:48,560 (LAUGHTER) ..Professor Never-Had-Any-Hair. 677 00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:52,760 The BBC asked Hugh and me if we would do a TV series together. 678 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:54,800 We called it A Bit Of Fry And Laurie. 679 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:58,880 One of the things we puzzled over was the opening music. 680 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:01,760 And Hugh said, 'You know Professor Longhair...' 681 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:04,280 And I thought, 'Is that a cartoon character? 682 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:06,600 I've never heard of Professor Longhair.' 683 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:09,040 I said, 'No, I don't know Professor Longhair.' 684 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:11,520 He said, 'He played this live on the Queen Mary.' 685 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:14,680 It was this extraordinary... I think it's called Mardi Gras. 686 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:17,240 It's a very New Orleans kind of name, with a... 687 00:42:17,240 --> 00:42:20,160 (WHISTLES) ..kind of whistle in it. 688 00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:25,000 It just was a perfect introduction to a comedy show. 689 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:28,040 (WHISTLES) 690 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:39,040 So I'm certainly proud of him but, at the same time, 691 00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:41,360 I'm fully aware of the amount of work he puts in. 692 00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:43,480 I've known Hugh for over 30 years. 693 00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:46,280 There hasn't been - almost hasn't been a day - 694 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:49,280 he might have been on a ship where he hasn't played the piano, 695 00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:53,600 where he hasn't practised, he hasn't got better and better. 696 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:57,000 'Well, there goes the carefree amateur facade.' 697 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:09,200 Moment of truth approaches. 698 00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:12,360 Tense times. Tense times. 699 00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:19,160 Getting very close will be the pitter-patter of feet 700 00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:21,120 as the audience goes in. 701 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:25,720 Whatever happens, good or bad, 702 00:43:25,720 --> 00:43:28,160 it's...it's been quite an adventure. 703 00:43:33,400 --> 00:43:36,680 'For tonight's show, the drummer's hat is being worn by 704 00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:40,360 the mighty Herman Matthews - seven-and-five-eighths.' 705 00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:51,440 'If you'd told me 40 years ago that, one day, 706 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:56,400 I would be standing in the ballroom of the Queen Mary wearing a Richard Chamberlain shirt, 707 00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:58,960 paying my respects to Professor Longhair... 708 00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:01,240 Well, I wouldn't have believed you then 709 00:44:01,240 --> 00:44:03,520 and I'm not completely sure I believe it now.' 710 00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:11,280 (CHEERING) 711 00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:12,960 (LAUGHTER) 712 00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:15,000 So far, so good. Thank you all for coming. 713 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:17,080 Welcome on board the Queen Mary. 714 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:19,480 Current show business advice is 715 00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:22,680 that you should not burst into tears in the first 30 seconds. 716 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:26,600 (LAUGHTER) But my presence here - our presence on board the ship - 717 00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:31,200 your presence here, is a very powerful and emotional one for me, 718 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:34,360 which I will get to later. 719 00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:36,320 (CHEERING) 720 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:53,400 'This is Junco Partner, a New Orleans staple. 721 00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:56,480 It's a happy song about heroin and hard time.' 722 00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:58,920 # Way down the road 723 00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:02,160 # Came a junco partner 724 00:45:03,440 --> 00:45:07,120 # He was loaded as can be 725 00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:10,920 # He was knocked out 726 00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:13,200 # Knocked out and loaded 727 00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:16,360 # But he was singing 728 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:18,200 # This song to me 729 00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:21,280 # Well, he said, 'Six months? 730 00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:24,080 # That ain't no sentence!' 731 00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:29,360 # He said, 'One year? That ain't no time!' 732 00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:32,920 # I've known boys 733 00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:35,160 # Boys in Angola 734 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:40,200 # They went one year out of 99 # 735 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,000 (CHEERING) 736 00:45:46,720 --> 00:45:49,400 It's just incredible 737 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:54,080 that I have been given a chance to play with these amazing musicians. 738 00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:56,160 Thanks to them, I am loving this, 739 00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:59,520 and thank you for coming and being a part of what is, to me, 740 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:02,560 an incredibly important and special evening. 741 00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:04,560 I thank you very much. 742 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:07,960 'It seems only fitting, after all of this, 743 00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:10,160 to play a song by Professor Longhair - 744 00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:12,880 maybe his most famous song: Tipitina.' 745 00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:38,160 # Why don't you hurry 746 00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:41,640 # Little Loberta? # Little Loberta! 747 00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:43,680 # You got company 748 00:46:43,680 --> 00:46:47,040 # Waiting at home # Waiting at home 749 00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:49,640 # Why don't you hurry, Little Loberta? 750 00:46:50,760 --> 00:46:53,560 # Don't you leave that boy alone 751 00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:56,160 # Don't you leave that boy alone 752 00:46:57,240 --> 00:47:00,320 # Yeah, Tipitina # Tipitina 753 00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:03,200 # Tee-nay-mama! # Tee-nay-mama! 754 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:05,760 # Tipitina # Tipitina 755 00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:08,160 # Tee-nah-nah! # Tee-nah-nah! 756 00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:11,840 # Tipitina, Oom, walla, walla, dolla 757 00:47:11,840 --> 00:47:15,000 # Tipitina, tee-nah-nah! 758 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:17,480 # Tipitina, tee-nah-nah! 759 00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:20,400 # Tipitina, tee-nah-nah! 760 00:47:20,400 --> 00:47:23,120 # Tipitina, tee-nah-nah! 761 00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:32,120 # Oh 762 00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:37,920 # Ooooh # Oh! # 763 00:47:42,240 --> 00:47:44,160 (CHEERING) Thank you. 764 00:47:46,560 --> 00:47:48,560 Thank you. 765 00:47:48,560 --> 00:47:50,560 (CHEERING) 766 00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:55,440 Thank you very much. Thank you. 767 00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:04,840 'The truth is, this hasn't been a journey. 768 00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:07,360 I mean, I've physically moved, 769 00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:10,000 but my heart has always been here. 770 00:48:12,800 --> 00:48:16,960 This is the music I've always loved and the music I always will love.' 771 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:23,840 # Everyone is facing changes 772 00:48:26,120 --> 00:48:30,240 # No-one knows what's going on... 773 00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:35,080 'I don't believe in angels, not one bit, 774 00:48:35,080 --> 00:48:39,400 but I do believe in the power of this music to connect people 775 00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:42,720 to each other, to the world, to the heavens. 776 00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:44,520 # Still the world keeps moving on # 777 00:48:44,520 --> 00:48:47,760 This is my religion and I hope to see you in church.' 778 00:48:49,800 --> 00:48:52,680 Subtitles by Deluxe