Music Documentaries

Interviews and performance footage are used to provide an overview of the women's music scene.

A charismatic leader founds a commune in Los Angeles in the early '70s based on natural food, spiritual practices and psychedelic rock. This short-lived era is recreated with archival material and the memories of participants.

A documentary that celebrates Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and the signature sound he developed in songs such as "I'll Take You There", "Brown Sugar", and "When a Man Loves a Woman".

Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.

A documentary on the 1970s punk trio Death, and their new-found popularity decades after they disbanded.

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.

An intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones. A unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America.

An in-depth look at the life and music of Whitney Houston.

Tells the story of Whitney Houston's extraordinary life and tragic death.

The story of the creation of modern Country music.

A compilation of found footage featuring music, interviews, and stories of The Beatles' 250 concerts from 1963 to 1966.

The life and times of music manager and publicist Danny Fields, who worked with some of the biggest acts of the '60s and '70s, including the Doors, Cream, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins, the Stooges and the Ramones.

The history of New York City's Apollo Theater in Harlem is given the full treatment.

Funk Queen Betty Davis changed the landscape for female artists in America. She "was the first..." as former husband Miles Davis said. "Madonna before Madonna, Prince before Prince". An aspiring songwriter from a small steel town, Betty arrived on the 70's scene to break boundaries for women with her daring personality, iconic fashion and outrageous funk music. She befriended Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, wrote songs for the Chambers Brothers and the Commodores, and married Miles - startlingly turning him from jazz to funk on the album she named "Bitches Brew". She then, despite being banned and boycotted, went on to become the first black woman to perform, write and manage herself. Betty was a feminist pioneer, inspiring and intimidating in a manner like no woman before. Then suddenly - she just vanished. Betty Mabry Davis is a global icon whose mysterious life story has until now, never been told. Creatively blending documentary, animation and nonfiction techniques, this movie traces the path of Betty's life, how she grew from humble upbringings to become a fully self-realized black female pioneer the world failed to understand or appreciate, revealing the mystery of her 35-year disappearance and her battle with mental illness and poverty. After years of trying, the elusive Betty, forever the free-spirited Black Power Goddess, finally allowed the filmmakers to creatively tell her story based on their conversations.

Follows the life of Clarence Avant, the ultimate, uncensored mentor and behind-the-scenes rainmaker in music, film, TV and politics.

A look at the life and work of music producer, Clive Davis.

After a lifetime of hiding, Chely Wright becomes the first commercial country music singer to come out as gay, shattering cultural stereotypes within Nashville, her conservative heartland family and, most importantly, within herself. With unprecedented access over a two-year period, including her private video diaries, the film layers Chely's rise to fame while hiding in the late 90's with the execution of her coming out plan, culminating in the exciting moment when she steps into the media glare to reveal she is gay. The film shows both the devastation of internalized homophobia and the transformational power of living an authentic life. The film also documents the conflicting responses from Nashville, the heartland and the LGBT community as Chely Wright prepares for an unknown future.

If you could combine the onstage magnetism of Mick Jagger, the lyrical brilliance of Bob Dylan and the personal fragility of Brian Wilson, you would only have begun to scratch of the surface of Larry Norman. FALLEN ANGEL: The OUTLAW LARRY NORMAN recounts the rise of the father of Christian rock music as the rock 'n' roll Billy Graham' of the 1970s through to the height of success as the visionary behind Solid Rock Records before a personal meltdown and subsequent fall from grace exiled him to the margins of the Christian subculture he helped create. A study in polar contrasts, Larry Norman's story presents the viewer with a complex character grappling with the price of genius, the struggle made all the more difficult because Norman chose to make his mark within a religious subculture struggling to define its place within the world. Too religious for the rock 'n' rollers but too rock 'n' roll for the religious crowd, Larry Norman is the perpetual outsider, ultimately imploding under the weight of trying to fuse his position as the musical voice of the Jesus movement with his desire for '70s rock superstar status. Is he the misunderstood musical prophet of the Christian world? Is he an outlaw conning the faithful? Larry Norman is a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction. Told mainly from the perspective of those who worked with him and loved him during the height of his success, feel the power of the music he created as refracted through the inconsistencies of the life he led. Experience the forgiveness offered by those most hurt and witness a glimmer of grace against the backdrop of moral failure. Fallen Angel is a rock n' roll epic of biblical proportions.

This documentary goes behind the scenes with pop provocateur Lady Gaga as she releases a bold new album and prepares for her Super Bowl halftime show.

A documentary revisiting the career of a feisty activist musician, who never quite achieved the same recognition as her similar contemporaries Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell.

Musician Cat Power narrates this documentary on Janis Joplin's evolution into a star from letters that Joplin wrote over the years to her friends, family, and collaborators.

Called "The American Bowie," "The True Fairy of Rock & Roll" and "Hype of the Year," Jobriath's reign as the first openly gay rock star was brief and over by 1975. Now, 35 years later, "Jobriath A.D." spotlights his life, music, groundbreaking influence and the new generations of fans slowly re-discovering him.

At the height of his stardom, the world's biggest pop star, Michael Jackson, began long-running relationships with two young boys, aged between seven and ten, along their families. They now allege that he sexually abused them.

Maestro, tells the story of how a group of people found refuge and a call for life outside the mainstream. What evolved was a scene that set the ground work for what was to come in dance music culture worldwide, a rare insight into the secret underground world. It's the first time this story is told in a motion Picture, included in the film are pioneer dance music DJs and producers, "founding fathers", its center being Larry Levan, as well as high-profile DJs of today. Opting for a more personal and candid approach, MAESTRO shows the true history of the people through a realistic creative aesthetic. Tracing the underground's dance origin, MAESTRO brings out a real understanding of this intense lifestyle, and the lives they lived and died for.

Her family group, the Staple Singers, inspired millions and helped propel the civil rights movement with their music. After 60 years of performing, legendary singer Mavis Staples' message of love and equality is needed now more than ever.