More of the Greatest Blues Performances of All Time Discovered! Performances by Eighteen Blues Legends Released for the First Time on DVD on August 31, 2004

THE AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1969 VOLUME THREE

'Voices - echoing down the years, the voices that changed my life, Son House, Bukka White, John Estes, Howlin' Wolf and so many more. I was at these shows in shabby provincial England in the mid-60s. Those eerie voices from another world lit up my life leaving me breathless, spooked and inspired for a lifetime. The performances from this series helped to illustrate the evolution of rock and roll from the Mississippi Delta to Lollapalooza.' - Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)

'Things would have been a whole lot different in Britain without the American Folk Blues Festivals; they proved to be a rich legacy for musicians throughout Europe.' - Bill Wyman (The Rolling Stones)

LOS ANGELES, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The long-awaited third installment of the GRAMMY-nominated American Folk Blues 1962-1969 DVD series is about to arrive. Reelin' In The Years Productions and Experience Hendrix in partnership with Hip-O Records are proud to announce the August 31st release of THE AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1969 VOLUME THREE on DVD and a companion CD of 16 audio highlights compiled from all three volumes in the DVD series. The American Folk Blues Festival was an annual event that featured the cream of American blues musicians barnstorming their way across Western Europe every fall from 1962 through 1969.

THE AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1969 VOLUME THREE on DVD features 18 previously unreleased live in-studio performances by such blues legends as Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Big Joe Turner, Earl Hooker, Son House and Little Walter, T-Bone Walker, Willie Dixon, Otis Rush, Big Mama Thornton and many others.

Last year's AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1966 VOLUMES ONE and TWO DVDs proved for many to be the highlights of "The Year of the Blues." The DVDs garnered almost universal rave reviews and earned a GRAMMY nomination in the category of "Best Long Form Music Video" and were awarded a Blues Foundation's prestigious Keeping The Blues Alive (KBA) award. The two volumes were nominated for THE MOJO VISION AWARD presented by Mojo Magazine to the best music DVD package of the year in recognition of sales, creativity and visual flare. Joel Selvin wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle that the AFBF DVDs " ... (tell) you everything you ever needed to know, everything you ever could know, about the blues." Living Blues magazine called the first two volumes " ... quite simply, the holy grail of blues video ... " while The London Times gushed that " ... these are national treasures." The OC Weekly raved that the DVDs featured " ... the sort of footage that quite literally makes one's hair stand on end and may even create unpleasant dampness in one's shorts."

Compiled from the same goldmine of performances, THE AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1969 VOLUME THREE maintains the lofty standards set by the first two volumes.

Recorded live in small TV studios in Europe, these historic and unseen performances have been lost for nearly 40 years. Filmed with superb camera work and pristine sound (remastered by famed producer/engineer Eddie Kramer -- The Beatles/The Rolling Stones/Jimi Hendrix), THE AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1969 VOLUME THREE is truly one of the most unique and precious visual documents of the blues.

A handful of festivals have had a profound impact on the history of popular music. While not as well known, the American Folk Blues Festival belongs side-by-side with such august company. Young undiscovered musicians such as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Jimmy Page were all in attendance, learning at the feet of their idols. In addition, the tours directly helped launch the career of 18-year-old Eric Clapton's group, The Yardbirds. The American Folk Blues Festivals featured a dazzling array of talent -- the most significant group of blues artists ever assembled -- and miraculously it was captured on tape. The package also features extensive liner notes by Grammy Award winning author Rob Bowman and never before seen photographs from the television tapings.

Highlights include --

*  The only known performance footage with audio of Little Walter(jamming with Hound Dog Taylor and Koko Taylor on one track each.)

*  Legendary guitarist Buddy Guy's sizzling version of "Out Of Sight"  from 1965.

*  Koko Taylor the queen of Chicago blues, belting out the definitive version of "Wang Dang Doodle" from the 1967 festival.

*  1962 grand finale featuring T-Bone Walker, Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim and three other blues greats trading vocals on "Blues Ain't Nothin' But A Woman."

*  The legendary Muddy Waters' powerhouse performance of "Long Distance Call" from 1968 (included in the bonus section).

THE AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1969 VOLUME THREE (DVD)

  THE AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1969 VOLUME TWO (CD)

  BIG MAMA THORNTON                                     Hound Dog
  SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGHEE          Stranger Blues
  SKIP JAMES                                                         All Night Long
  SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON                               Keep It To Yourself
  SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON                               Your Funeral and My Trial
  BIG JOE TURNER                                              Flip, Flop And Fly
  HOWLIN' WOLF                                                  I'll Be Back Someday
  WILLIE DIXON                                                     Nervous
  BUKKA WHITE                                                     Got Sick And Tired
  SON HOUSE                                                        Death Letter Blues
  HOUND DOG TAYLOR & LITTLE WALTER    Wild About You
  KOKO TAYLOR & HOUND DOG TAYLOR       Wang Dang Doodle
  MUDDY WATERS                                                 Long Distance Call
  EARL HOOKER                                                   Off The Hook
  MAGIC SAM                                                           All Your Love
  FINALE/ENTIRE CAST                                        Bye Bye Blues

Source: Hip-O Records

CONTACT: Press, Susan Clary of Big Monkey, +1-323-653-4987,
; or Cathy Williams, +1-818-981-0973,
; or Radio, Elliot Kendall of Universal Music
Enterprises, +1-310-865-9852

NOTE TO EDITORS: David Peck, President of Reelin' In The Years Productions who discovered the footage, is available for interviews.