The making of a rock and roll president

As a child, Jimmy Carter absorbed the sound of gospel from local singers in Plains, Georgia, and country music from stations he could pick up on a battery radio, he says in the documentary, "Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President." That early love of music grew into a lifelong passion for the art form; here, Carter is pictured with one of his best friends, Bob Dylan, in the Georgia governor's mansion in 1974.

Carter's son Chip recalls in the film that his father never played a musical instrument -- unless you count the stereo. "When we had no money at all, dad spent $600 on the best stereo in Plains ... and he would let us children play our music on it," Chip said. "And he would stay in there and learn the songs ... It's one of the ways that he stayed in touch with his children." Both father and sons enjoyed the 1974 visit from Dylan, who's pictured here with Chip, left, Jimmy, and Chip's younger brother, Jeff Carter.

Carter met Capricorn Records co-founder Phil Walden, center, in 1971 when Carter was on a listening tour as governor of Georgia. The rising politician got to know the Southern rock impresario, and when Carter made his run for the presidency, Walden and artists from his label threw their support behind him. "I think he's just a real fan of the arts," Walden said in an interview at the time. "He came here one night to a recording session ... he befriended these performers and his interest was genuine and they could see that."

When Carter began his presidential campaign, Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers Band "helped put me in the White House by raising money when I didn't have any money," Carter says in the film. "I was practically a nonentity, but everybody knew the Allman Brothers, particularly the ones that came to their concerts. And, when the Allman Brothers endorsed me all the young people there said, 'Well, if the Allman Brothers like Jimmy Carter we can vote for him.'"

Godfather of Soul James Brown, seen here in 1972, is another music legend who supported Carter's run for presidential office.

Carter's White House was a popular stop for musicians as they cruised through the Beltway on tour. "Various entertainers would come to the White House and sometimes unannounced," Tom Beard, former deputy assistant to the president, says in the film. The band Crosby, Stills & Nash made their visit in 1977.

The incomparable Aretha Franklin performed at the festivities for three incoming presidents, including Carter's 1977 inaugural gala. "Paul Simon and Aretha Franklin were two of my favorite performers, so when I got ready for the inaugural performers to be chosen, they were at the top of my list," Carter says in the documentary.