Adam Gussow and Sterling Magee in Satan & Adam (Cargo Film & Releasing)

The story of the odd duo of Sterling Magee and Adam Gussow looks instantly like the kind of source material that could inspire a sweetened Hollywood movie about an interracial and intergenerational friendship bonded by the power of music. It won’t be surprising if this hypothetical film one day exists considering the astonishing story of the creative partnership between a black man and a white guy that began on the streets of Harlem. Luckily, the documentary Satan & Adam, shot over 20 years, scratches below the surface.

From a storytelling perspective, both musicians are extremely compelling. Adam was from a small-town who went to Princeton and Columbia and began playing harmonica on the streets. Magee was a prodigious guitar player who experienced early success playing alongside other great artists, like Ray Charles, James Brown, and George Benson. Disappointed by the music industry, life, and Christianity, Magee changed his name to Satan and became a one-man band playing for free on Harlem streets. The sudden cancer death of Magee’s first love had a shocking impact for him, and he chose the name of Satan as a way of cutting himself off from the past and his religious education. In 1986, Satan and Adam met almost accidentally. They started improvising together when Adam decided to play the harmonica while Magee was performing at his usual spot, and they became an indivisible duo.

In the heat of their street performances, music was the only thing that mattered, and such was the passion that one day it captured the attention of an Irish band filming their own documentary. The band was U2, and their film Rattle and Hum was the beginning of something big for the street duo. “Freedom for My People” was performed by Satan and Adam in that documentary and also included on the soundtrack.

As a result, a second chance in the music industry knocked at Magee’s doors once again. Despite his resentment, he agreed to record an album. What comes later wasn’t exactly a meteoric rise to the fame. Yes, they got recording contracts, they charted some songs, they performed to a broader audience, and they achieved that without selling out. Their modest success was irregular because they were outsiders not exactly searching for glory. But in 1998, after 12 years of performing together, Satan disappeared without a trace.

Satan & Adam is a bittersweet film that fulfills its two main purposes: to introduce brilliant performers to a new audience and reaffirm why they matters for those who are already in the know.