Keep on Rockin'
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
D. A. Pennebaker
Bo Diddley
Jerry Lee Lewis
Chuck Berry
Little Richard
Barry Bergthorson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
For this documentary, director D. A. Pennebaker filmed the 1969 Toronto Rock and Roll Revival. The film opens as members of a motorcycle club ride down the highway on their way to the concert. Inside the stadium, revered rock and roll performers Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard perform the classic songs with which they have achieved fame and notoriety.
Director
D. A. Pennebaker
Crew
Barry Bergthorson
Chuck Berry
Richard Burns
Chris Dalrymple
David Dawkins
Jim Desmond
Alan Douglas
Alan Douglas
Thor Eaton
Randy Frankin
Deborah Ganlak
Peter Hansen
Wally Heider
Chris Heledus
J + D Labs
Ken Lauber
Richard Leacock
Robert Leacock
Richard Leiterman
Jerry Lieber
Ellas Mcdaniel
David Mcmullin
Molly, Michele + Tracy
Roger Murphy
Robert Neuwirth
D. A. Pennebaker
Frazer Pennebaker
Richard Penniman
Jim Saunders
Mike Stoller
Dominic Tanella
Kate Taylor
Bob Van Dyke
Kenneth C. Walker
George Weiser
Mark Woodcock
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
D. A. Pennebaker's documentary of the 1969 Toronto Rock and Roll Revival was released in August 1972 as Keep on Rockin', although it had a premiere screening in late 1971 under the title Sweet Toronto. That earlier version, which was shown at Carnegie Hall, ran 135 or 140 minutes, but, according to reviews, Keep on Rockin' was cut down to 90, 95 or 103 minutes by the time of its August 1972 release. The print viewed, which also bore the title Sweet Toronto, was a truncated version, and ran 56 minutes. Because no complete print of the released film was available for viewing, the summary and credits above were taken from reviews and from the 56-minute truncated version, which included fragments of the complete concert. Although reviews noted that Keep on Rockin' contained footage of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, neither Joplin nor Hendrix appeared in the print viewed. Keep on Rockin' was not registered for copyright at the time of its release, but Pennebaker, Inc. registered two videocassettes of it on August 21, 1986, at which time it was assigned the number PA-229-748. The Hollywood Reporter review listed Connaught Films Ltd. as one of the film's producers, but its exact role in the film's production is unclear.
According to the LAHExam review, the 1969 concert featured several contemporary rock stars, such as Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton and Alice Cooper, but Pennebaker chose to focus instead on Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, veteran performers and rock and roll pioneers. January and July 1972 articles in Variety added that Pennebaker intended his film, which was shot in super 16mm, to be a rock and roll revival.
In an August 1972 Variety news item, Pennebaker stated that John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, made a surprise appearance at the 1969 concert. A January 1972 Variety review of the Carnegie Hall premiere of Sweet Toronto noted that when Ono appeared onscreen and rendered her songs "Don't Worry Kyoto" and "John, John" in a barrage of guttural cries, the audience began to hiss and walk out of the film. According to the August 1972 Variety news item, Pennebaker decided to include their performances in the released film and, according to a July 1972 Daily Variety article, after the screening at Carnegie Hall, he began negotiations with Lennon's manager to include Lennon's performance in the documentary. However, when negotiations reached an impasse, Pennebaker excised the Lennon footage. Although the titles of the songs performed by Lennon were included in the onscreen credits of the print viewed, the songs were excluded from the August 1972 release of Keep on Rockin'. According to a July 1972 Daily Variety news item, Keep on Rockin' also was screened at the "music festival in Avignon, France" earlier that year.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1972
Released in United States on Video August 18, 1998
Re-edited version "Keep on Rockin'" was released in 1972.
Released in United States 1972
Released in United States on Video August 18, 1998
