New Documentary: Rock'n'Roll President
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/10/rock-roll-president-how-musicians-helped-jimmy-carter-film
"It's hard to think of a public figure with an image further removed from rocknroll than the former US president Jimmy Carter. With his cardigan sweaters and devout Christian faith, he doesnt come off as a particularly cool or hip guy, said Mary Wharton, director of a new film titled Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President, to the Guardian. He wasnt even a part of the rock generation. But he was curious about it.
Enough, in fact, to inspire him to take a deep dive into his son Chips Bob Dylan albums, absorbing both the honesty of the sound and the meanings behind the songs. It helped that Carter already had a significant knowledge of every genre that influenced stars of the rock generation, including blues, R&B, folk and most profoundly, gospel. His belief in both the beauty and the sociological impact of all those styles helped Carter forge an improbable bond with the biggest rock stars of the 70s, a connection that became central to his ascent to power.
The core of Whartons film argues that stars like the Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan and Crosby, Stills & Nash, as well as outlaw country artists like Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, played a crucial role in getting Carter into the White House in 1976. The Allmans took the lead, performing concerts to raise money for his run for the Democratic nomination when he had scant funds and no national name recognition. I was practically a non-entity, Carter says in the film. But everyone knew the Allman Brothers. When they endorsed me, all the young people said, Well, if the Allman Brothers like him, we can vote for him....(more)