Let the Good Times Roll

I am long in the tooth enough to have seen, Little Richard, Fats Domino and Chuck Berry live and in their prime. I was never the same again. These performers were Giants of entertainment. Supremely aware of their own talent, and full of a life and energy that isn't around in todays music scene. Although it's many years since I saw this film, the memory of it still excites me This film is more than entertainment. It is an historical document, and MUST be released on DVD. We should all be able to experience the lights going down, the silence, then Shirly & Lee with Let The Good Times Roll. Superb film. Now where's that leather jacket?

My wife and I saw Let The Good Times Roll when it first came out in the early 70's. We were dancing in the aisle. I hadn't seen it again for about 25 years. Then it was on American Movie Classics. I have 7 VCR's, and every one of them had a blank tape in, just to be sure I got a good copy. They all came out good. What I don't understand is why it's not available to buy.

I will keep it simple. Best parts: seeing Little Richard fighting for his piano to be closer to his audience(true showman right there), Chubby's face showing how intensely he was taking his moment of glory in, and the best: historical footage of two Big Icons together on the stage; Chuck and Bo, gives this movie an epic ending. Young people who will view this movie should know that many of these performers are still alive and some have left us (RIP Fred Parris and Bo). This movie shows us the originators in raw form, live, with no lip synch and with the audio equipment of the times and yet it still sounds like rock n roll heaven. I am not surprised that the big studios don't offer DVD's of movies like this: no money in it for them.

Let the Good Times Roll (1973)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Concert/documentary covering a Rock 'n Roll Revival, which toured the country and featured legendary acts like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets, Chubby Checker, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, The Five Satins and many other bands who probably hadn't been seen since the 1950's.

I'm not sure if this tour or the film was done due to the success of American GRAFFITI but they could have called this film a live version of the soundtrack to that film. The movie will certainly have your foot a shaking' throughout the running time as we get one classic song after another. If it was a hit in the 1950's then more than likely its being played here.

There's just so much wonderful energy in each and every performance that you can't help but love this thing. The film was shot 2.20:1 so there's a lot of wide shots to perfectly capture all the performances. Much like WOODSTOCK, this film uses split screens to capture a lot of the action and this works out nicely. We also get some archival clips from the 1950's with various people preaching about how rock music is evil.

It's always fun seeing these clips just to see how foolish those people still look. Also thrown in are clips from various films from that era including THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THE WILD ONE and I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. Fans of the classic rock 'n roll will certainly be doing themselves a favor by watching this great gem.

This movie begins with the opening lines to Shirley and Lee's "Let the Good Times Roll." I started singing along, and sang along to every single song until the very end. The punchline: I was there with two guys I worked with, who barely knew me, and there were only about fifty people in the theater. What a movie! It rocked from beginning to end... The stars in this movie were the Beatles of their day, the Stones of their day... Many of them have made major comebacks due to Public TV extravaganzas (So, where's the DVD?) The split screen is fun, giving the movie a pretentious look: "This is serious business, younsgters" on one side of the screen, and "We're having a whale of a time" on the other side of the screen. I have begun a campaign to get it re - released -- I kid you not! I want my DVD!