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Robert Gordon, an Emmy and Grammy Award-winning filmmaker, has produced and directed eight feature documentaries and authored six books. His work centers on American popular culture, exploring contemporary narratives through the lenses of historical music, art, and politics.
Gordon's documentary Best of Enemies earned an Emmy in 2017 for Outstanding Historical Documentary. The film examines the 1968 nationally televised debates between William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal, highlighting their role in ushering in the era of spectacle television. Among his other projects as director and producer are William Eggleston's Stranded In Canton and Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story. His film Johnny Cash's America includes interviews with figures such as former Vice President Al Gore, US Senator Lamar Alexander, Snoop Dogg, and Ozzy Osbourne, delving into the unifying influences in Johnny Cash's life.
In 2018, Gordon released Memphis Rent Party, a collection of interconnected profiles and magazine pieces about artists carving out unconventional paths. This work serves as a kind of sequel to his 1995 debut book, It Came From Memphis, which journeys through the 1950s, '60s, and '70s alongside the eccentrics, drifters, and midget wrestlers who helped shape rock and roll. While Elvis was a peripheral figure in that book, Gordon later authored two works commissioned by Elvis' estate, Graceland: The King on the Road, the first project granted access to Colonel Parker's archives, and The Elvis Treasures. He also penned the definitive biography of blues legend Muddy Waters, Can't Be Satisfied. His acclaimed 2013 book Respect Yourself, chronicling Stax Records—the home of Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, and the Staple Singers—has garnered significant praise and has been optioned for Hollywood adaptation.
