[2017-04-21] The Nighthawks "On The Blue Highway" DVD (Ellersoul)

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:47 pm

Description
Nighthawks on the Blue Highway is the first documentary film about the hardest working band in America, the result of two years of production, countless days on the road with the band and interviews with those who know the members and their music best. Directed by Johnny Cash biographer and DC native Michael Streissguth, the 73 minute film stars George Thorogood, John Hammond, Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson, and band co-founder Mark Wenner. Includes bonus material, NTSC all region.

Born in early-1970s Washington DC where blues, soul, country, folk and rock filtered through the hearts of musicians in every neighborhood, The Nighthawks churned out a blues-and-rock style that honored the city’s dynamic influences and set the stage for the rise of modern blues acts such as George Thorogood, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan. “I was really knocked out by them,” says Thorogood in the film. “They were just so sure of themselves. And they did this dynamite version of ‘Little Sister’ by Elvis Presley. Which I thought, ‘Wow! A blues band doing Elvis Presley!’ ‘Cause I’m a blues band and I do Johnny Cash! These guys were beyond the perimeter of what music is.”

The film tracks the band from a dream in founder Mark Wenner’s Bethesda basement to international stardom. Along the way, they shared the stage with blues legends Muddy Waters, B.B. King, J.B. Hutto, and John Lee Hooker and attracted southern-rock god Gregg Allman who joined the band for a golden stretch in late 1970s. In the film, Wenner revived the vision of The Nighthawks. With bass player Johnny Castle, drummer Mark Stutso, and guitarist Paul Bell, the band collected its first national blues award in 2011, appeared on the national album charts and hit the road with renewed vigor.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WGT3DHV/?tag=imwan-20

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:50 pm

Rick A · 23 Jul 2006

I remember seeing these guys in a Harrisburg, PA club back in the 80's. The crowd loved them.

Rick A.

NoPhoneNoPoolNoPets · 17 Jul 2007

Oh man, these guys put on some of the best shows that I ever saw in clubs, back in the mid-80's. IIRC, I think that Steve Simels at Stereo Review magazine even dubbed them the "Best Bar Band in America" in a review of one of their albums, and boy did they earn that. Great tunes, some choice covers, excellent playing, and they always kept the crowd engaged.

I'll be getting this disc in hopes that there will be some vintage performance footage of the original lineup, but my guess is that not much exists.

Little known fact: When George Thorogood performed at Live Aid in 1985, his regular bass player in The Destroyers was unable to make it, so The Nighthawks' bassist Jan Zukowski filled in at the last minute, and never missed a beat. If you watch the Live Aid DVD, you even see Jan wearing a "Nighthawks" t-shirt while onstage with Thorogood

[2017-04-21] The Nighthawks "On The Blue Highway" DVD (Ellersoul)

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