Off the Charts
A Screening of OFF THE CHARTS: THE SONG-POEM STORY with
Musical Performance by The Chuckleberries plus Song Contest!
Co-Presented by Amoeba Music
Join filmmakers Jamie Meltzer and Henry S.Rosenthal and legendary song-poem artist David Fox as they celebrate more than a hundred years of song-poem history and the 20 year anniversary of the cult documentary Off The Charts: The Song-Poem Story.
Off The Charts is a fascinating and often hilarious documentary that exposes the strange underworld of the song-poem industry. In this little known subculture, “ordinary people” respond to come-on ads on the back pages of magazines (“Send in Your Lyrics and Make $50,000 in royalties!”), mailing in their heartfelt but often bizarre poems to “music industry” companies that, for a fee, turn those poems into real recordings. Through encounters with several song-poem writers, the jaded producers and musicians who set their words to music, and a few of the growing number of zealous song-poem connoisseurs, Off The Charts explores a truly unique, never-before-seen slice of Gothic Americana. Shocking, funny, and heart-wrenching all at once, Off The Charts is a fascinating look at one of the strangest subcultures in our American landscape.
Bay Area favorites The Chuckleberries will be performing a selection of song-poem favorites live onstage, including the winners of the song-poem contest. To enter your poem or lyrics (no music, just words) to the song-poem contest, email your submission to: offthechartscontest@gmail.com.
