Many music documentaries explore unsung artists, niche sounds, heavy themes. In a world full of worthy projects competing to grab the attention of would be viewers, and funders, some require a bit of explanation, a bit of patience, a connecting of dots. And some don’t. For example. Here are the first two paragraphs of the Kickstarter pitch for the music film All We Need Is Another Chance:
The car door opens. Reginald Prophet Haynes, the founder of the Legendary Escorts, twists himself out of the car to plant two feet solidly on the ground. This was where it all started. An armed robbery on this very spot sent Reggie to serve his first seven-year prison sentence in 1968. In the midst of deplorable conditions and never-ending days, Reggie’s true self persevered and broke through – he began to sing in the yard and caught the attention of other inmates that wanted to harmonize.
Reggie waits as a garage door opens and reveals a cozy den with two men stand playing pool. Billy, an ex-Marine, and LaGrant, a retired police officer, partnered with Reggie in 1986 to keep the group alive. The three remaining members of the Legendary Escorts dive into shooting the breeze. While it’s clear both Billy and LaGrant have heard Reggie’s history countless times, they sit absorbing his narration, learning new details with each retelling. The conversation inevitably returns back to the beginnings of the Legendary Escorts, and how Reggie was transferred to the infamous Rahway Prison. It was here at an inmate variety show that the Escorts sound caught the attention of prolific record producer George Kerr. …
Now, if you can read that and not be dying to know the rest of the story, you’re made of stronger stuff than me. Haynes and the Escorts did indeed record two albums of sweet, smooth jams with Kerr at Rahway (the infamous New Jersey prison that terrified me and lots of other kids in the 1978 doc Scared Straight!) – “the kind of albums that if they came on at a party, you could count on them playing the whole side and the lights would go out,” according to the black music database Soul-Patrol.com.
The records sold respectably, Haynes was released, and … well, there’s a lot more to this tale of faith, race, justice, injustice, perseverance, rebirth, and the power of music to shine a light into the darkest places. For now, suffice to say that Haynes is still singing with the now Legendary Escorts, and director Corbett Jones – who traces his interest in the project to a 2009 prison visit while working on an unrelated doc – and his team are looking to raise at least $30,000 to tell the rest of the story (deadline October 9). For our part, we’re hooked. Check out this preview and click on the widget below to contribute or learn more.
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