The first time I had heard about Van Duren was when I walked into a local record store and saw an LP reissue of his first album "Are You Serious?" in the bins. I was intriguied by it, and looked up more information about it. It didn't take too long for me to find out that there was a documentary made about it. "Waiting - The Van Duren Story" had it's own website talking about the film, and a trailer. Unfortunately at that point in time, it was not available for viewing because they were still in the process of getting that ready.
In the meantime, I started to delve into Van Duren's material that was reissued by Omnivore Recordings. They were so great that I bought both of the reissued albums, and that is no small feat to get me to do! While looking through my music library again today, I saw "Are You Serious?" again. That made me think of the film again, as the last time I had checked on it was back in 2021. And there the film was, after all this time!
The documentary did not dissapoint! They took all the steps that I like to see in a documentary film about music. Interviewing the original people invovled, showcasing archival material and (of course) the music. It details the interesting story of Van Duren, and the journey of two fans from Australia who ended up helping him in a major way.
And by major, I mean they helped him get the rights back to his music! After Van split from Trod Nossel studios, he literally had to start all over again back in Memphis. He didn't own his publishing or his masters, and as showcased in the film, they proved to be difficult to work with. The filmmakers used their connections in the music industry to get in contact with some lawyers, and they managed to pull of getting both the rights and the master tapes back into the hands of Van Duren. It's sadly a far too common story for artists to never gain ownership of their works, and it's marvelous to see it finally happen after decades.
"Waiting" is a great documentary, and makes me feel inspired and hopeful that what was done for Van Duren can be done for other artists as well. I reccomend you watch it, and you can watch it for free on Tubi.
In the meantime, I started to delve into Van Duren's material that was reissued by Omnivore Recordings. They were so great that I bought both of the reissued albums, and that is no small feat to get me to do! While looking through my music library again today, I saw "Are You Serious?" again. That made me think of the film again, as the last time I had checked on it was back in 2021. And there the film was, after all this time!
The documentary did not dissapoint! They took all the steps that I like to see in a documentary film about music. Interviewing the original people invovled, showcasing archival material and (of course) the music. It details the interesting story of Van Duren, and the journey of two fans from Australia who ended up helping him in a major way.
And by major, I mean they helped him get the rights back to his music! After Van split from Trod Nossel studios, he literally had to start all over again back in Memphis. He didn't own his publishing or his masters, and as showcased in the film, they proved to be difficult to work with. The filmmakers used their connections in the music industry to get in contact with some lawyers, and they managed to pull of getting both the rights and the master tapes back into the hands of Van Duren. It's sadly a far too common story for artists to never gain ownership of their works, and it's marvelous to see it finally happen after decades.
"Waiting" is a great documentary, and makes me feel inspired and hopeful that what was done for Van Duren can be done for other artists as well. I reccomend you watch it, and you can watch it for free on Tubi.
