ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This film came together in a unique way.
Could you speak a little to that?
AHMIR “QUESTLOVE'” THOMPSON:Sure.
Gladys Knight and the Pips performing at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary ‘Summer of Soul.'.FOX SEARCHLIGHT
There was a question mark up in the air as far as the perception of civil unrest.
Everyone that was crucial for the Civil Rights movement was somehow, one by one, getting eradicated.
And this was subsequently happening at the same time [as] Woodstock about a hundred miles away.
Questlove of music group The Roots attends the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Even as these stars became household names like Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone and whatnot.
My current producers heard about this, digitized some of it, and came to me.
Without being super obvious that we’re literally living parallel lines for 50 years.
Mavis Staples of The Staples Singers duets with gospel icon Mahalia Jackson in ‘Summer of Soul,’ out now on Hulu.FOX SEARCHLIGHT
it’s possible for you to’t tell if you’re in 1969, 1970 or 2000 to 2020.
How’d you figure out how to balance the concert footage with the stories you wanted to tell?
I was trying to find my voice without necessarily inserting myself.
B.B. King performs at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, as seen in the documentary ‘Summer of Soul.'.FOX SEARCHLIGHT
I was acutely aware of making any rookie mistakes that a first timer would make in this process.
There’s a natural rhythm that I have with things.
The DJ in me was sort of thinking in mixtape mode.
So for me, I was curious about where we were as far as our political activity.
There was so much to unpack.
My first cut was at least three hours and 20 minutes.
It was the size of Woodstock, but it was way too much information.
But in the end I think we found the perfect rhythm.
Who are some performers you’re excited for people to see?
Instantly, I knew that Stevie’s drum solo was supposed to be starting the film.
Because, it was shocking and not many people knew Stevie Wonder as a drummer.
The hardest act to dissect was actuallyNina Simone.
Nina Simone is one of the rare artists on this bill in which we have to give her three.
I wanted to give her five songs, but three was just enough.
That show that she did was the beginning of her discovering her militant message powers.
He was trying to prove a point.
And the same thing for gospel hollering and all those things.
So, the whole idea of it being that catharsis and release.
I felt that was extremely important for people to get and understand and have a newfound respect for it.
And I wanted to include Sonny in there only because…
There’s a lot of backstories I could not include.
But, in addition to Sly and the Family Stone,Jimi Hendrixactually asked to be at that festival.
Sly used that festival as a rehearsal for Woodstock a week later.
After they did that performance they went to Woodstock.
That was like their sound check.
And Hendrix wanted to do the same thing.
But of course the organizers were like “Jimi Hendrix?
We don’t know if you’ll come across that well.”
He wanted to return to his Black roots too by doing more bluesy stuff.
He’d just broken up The Experience afterElectric Ladylandcame out a year before.
I really wish they would have included him.
I think it would have been a game changer for him.
In the audience as well.
Yeah the point camera was so important to me.
Watching the audience really engage themselves.
And the thing was, they were just so open.
Now, I don’t know.
But just to see people so open and accepting.
King, and you’re open to all those ideas.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
