The OpenLens Festival is please to screen Welcome to the Club - The Women of Rockabilly a film by this year's filmmaker in residence and festival host, Beth Harrington. The film will open the festival on Friday evening. Sure, Elvis was King. But who was the Queen? Welcome to the Club - The Women of Rockabilly is a documentary search for the "female Elvis," as we meet the women of rockabilly music and explore the "what-ifs?" and "what nows?" of their careers. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Brenda Lee, Wanda Jackson and a sassy cast of lesser known but no less colorful pretenders to the throne describe their trailblazing days when they were the embodiment of exuberance, sexuality and defiance in a world that wasn't quite ready for them. A Grammy-nominated documentary by Beth Harrington. Synopsis
Uniquely American artists, yet loved by enclaves of dedicated fans the world over, these were the women of rockabilly music, rock and roll's country cousin. For a few brief moments, they burst onto a predominantly male scene with an unprecedented musical message of female assertiveness. They not only bucked the staid notion of what was appropriate to sing as a country star, but they also rejected the models of post-war femininity that were being marketed in the wider culture, models of suburban wedded bliss and a return to "traditional" motherhood. Some of these women were part of a natural evolution in country music, others were the product of calculating music producers looking for a Rockabilly Queen to Elvis Presley's King. Although their day in the sun was short-lived, many of these women perform today and speak with pride of a time when were genuine trailblazers, personifying an exuberance, sexuality and defiance that was burgeoning in the music of 1950s America. Welcome to the Club - The Women of Rockabilly is their story. A presentation of the Independent Television Society. Background I first got the idea for Welcome to the Club - The Women of Rockabilly over 20 years ago when I came across an anthology of women rockabilly artists and I realized, with just a few exceptions, that these gals were completely unknown to me. The songs were great, the performances were killer, the recordings were the equal of anything of the period. So, why hadn't I heard of them? It really begged the question: "Who writes history?" I thought that question and this topic would make an interesting film someday. Two decades later I finally got around to it. Reviews "More than just an example of the 'Female Elvis,' Welcome to the Club showcases a sense of American history...Only a filmmaker as skilled as Harrington could properly tell such an important story and she does it very well." "Most thumbnail sketches of '50s rockabilly make it look like an exclusive club of young, wild men...But filmmaker Beth Harrington knows better...Harrington clearly states her argument: These and other rockabilly women made raw, powerful music deserving of more recognition, both now and then." "Packed with tales of oppression, born-again Christianity, romance, divorce, second chances, and foot-stomping, barn-burning rock 'n' roll, the documentary Welcome to the Club - The Women of Rockabilly is as captivating as any episode of Behind the Music." "Welcome to the Club demonstrates the overwhelming talent of these women and skips the preformulated, shoved-down-your-throat argument altogether. Just don't be surprised when it gets you talking." "Former Boston singer and filmmaker Beth Harrington... travels the lost highway of American music history and comes back with a gem: the story of the fire-breathing, foot-stomping, fringe-shaking, rule-breaking, trailblazing women of 1950s rockabilly." "...[a] subtle exploration of all the forces working against female renegades of rock." "...the film recounts the challenges and joys of these unique and unsung heroines of rock...[an] inspiring tribute." "......a rockabilly girls' Mount Rushmore come to life..." Awards Grammy™ Nomination Credits Release: 2001 SOURCE: Beth Harrington Web Site |
Their stage antics were sassy, bordering on aggressive. Their vocal styles featured distinctly "unladylike" growls, hiccups and moans. Their lyrics spoke of parties and hot rods, flirtations and teen angst. To say that women such as Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, Janis Martin and Lorrie Collins were ahead of their time is a gross understatement.