Satan and Adam - Swatch watch promo spot, late 1980s

Satan and Adam (Sterling Magee and Adam Gussow) in a Swatch watch promo spot intended for in-house use at Bloomingdales's, etc. The things blues guys do to pay the rent!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Satan
• and
• Adam
• Gussow
• Sterling
• Magee
• Swatch
• Harlem
• blues

[OmniphonProductions]

Okay, the music is incredible. Anybody familiar with Satan & Adam already expects that. What I love about this add is that it's so wholesome, just two men playing some great music. Certainly the camaraderie between an old black man and a young white boy enhances the imagery, but what many today fail to realize is that this was also potentially dangerous, particularly for the white boy who dared to show his face in Harlem and brandish the music he "stolen" from the Black Man. I LOVE THIS!

[KudzuRunner]

@OmniphonProductions: Your spirit is generous, but beware of the details! This wasn't filmed in Harlem. It was filmed in Chelsea, in downtown Manhattan. It was a chilly fall morning and we were underdressed, courtesy of the ad stylist. You can see our breath fogging the air.

[taxfree4]

I worked for New York Telephone, in Harlem, from 1990 to 2000 at 130th st. and for some time out of the building where Satan and Adam would play, which was one block south of the state building. Being a listener to the blues all my life, I was knocked out by these two the first time I heard them. Despite what may have looked, to the outsider, like a couple of guys fooling around they had knew exactly where they were taking the song and some real technical things were going on, they had swing.

[OmniphonProductions]

@KudzuRunner I actually wondered about the film location. I knew it wasn't 125th & Broadway. My main point was simply that in Harlem, where you and Mr. Satan USUALLY worked, you were taking a real chance. I know, for the most part, you didn't think about it; you were just there to share an incredible, ongoing musical experience, and the black/white thing wasn't an issue for either of you. However, some did take issue with it, and your fellowship in the face of that hate is truly comendable.

[axioma82]

I had a swatch watch!

[lvman101]

Finally, a corp. did something right and put you two in a T.V. spot. Love the tune.

[Yaanon]

At any moment I can easily see Mr. Satan breaking into the Folgers coffee song.

[superchucker77]

I notice that Mr.Gussow is not holding the harmonica as he usually does. Perhaps the company made him hold it that way to show off the watch better?

[darkdave25]

I love it.

My brother's an excellent guitarist but he hates the blues - I'm trying to persuade him to play some so I can jam along and improve my harp playing but he's having none of it!

Huh!

[harpmonkey]

Time to play.

sweet.