# Great Documentaries About Music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057 "2019-01-19T16:36:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/21 "2019-01-20T18:52:53Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Maybe not exactly what you’re looking for, but you could try Sound City. Also, 20 Feet From Stardom was very good. Another one similar to “20 Feet” is “Standing in the Shadow of Motown”, a documentary about The Funk Brothers and their often uncredited contribution to soul music. Agree with “Sonic Highways”. Grohl did a good job with that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/22 "2019-01-21T03:05:51Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > While not exactly what you describe, you might enjoy the 2016 documentary series [Soundbreaking](http://soundbreaking.com/). It’s about the history and evolution of recorded music, so it’s focused on the past 100+ years, and it’s about the innovation and experimentation that went into modern music. (Also, it was produced by Sir George Martin.) > > Because of its subject matter, it doesn’t focus on particular artists (though there are definitely a ton of musicians featured in it). Wow, missed this one completely. It’s on Hulu now, and I just finished watching the first episode. Fascinating stuff. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/23 "2019-01-21T05:43:17Z")
In _Beware of Mr. Baker_, Ginger talks about how African drumming heavily influenced his style, which in turn became the template for many drummers styles after Cream. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/24 "2019-01-21T22:56:57Z")
If radio documentaries are your thing BBC 6 Music has a lot of them online (though not all of them are online at any given time), and they can be very in depth (which I am a fan of personally, lack of content is the main sin of a lot modern documentaries IMO)… Mento to Lover’s Rock, history Jamaican Music by Linton Kwesi Johnson. 10 episodes: > **[BBC Radio 6 Music - From Mento to Lovers' Rock, Episode 1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sf8sb)** > > Documentary series about Jamaican popular music with Linton Kwesi Johnson. A-Z of Psychedelia in 26 (obviously) 10 minute episodes: > **[BBC Radio 6 Music - The Look of Love: The Story of the New Romantics](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b015gnhg)** > > Martin Fry presents a series looking back at the New Romantic era of the early 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/25 "2019-01-22T00:44:21Z")
I’m not into their music, but thoroughly enjoyed _A Band Called Death_. They were a hard rock band from Detroit. They were offered a record company contract - provided they change their name. And of course the industry had a difficult time wrapping their heads around the idea of of Black brothers playing hard rock. They were completely forgotten except for a single that wound up being discovered by a collector. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/26 "2019-01-22T01:18:24Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’m not into their music, but thoroughly enjoyed _A Band Called Death_. They were a hard rock band from Detroit. They were offered a record company contract - provided they change their name. And of course the industry had a difficult time wrapping their heads around the idea of of Black brothers playing hard rock. They were completely forgotten except for a single that wound up being discovered by a collector. Damn. I don’t know anything about this band, but just looked up “For the Whole World to See” album on Youtube, and, shit, WHY haven’t I heard of this band? This is incredible stuff. Will check out the documentary. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/27 "2019-01-22T12:21:05Z")
If you have access, the BBC are currently showing a 3-part series called [Guitar Drum and Bass](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00024k9/episodes/guide), each part presented by a well known player. I thought the Tina Weymouth one on bass guitar was very good, the Stewart Copeland drum one had some very good stuff, but a bit too much of Copeland waving his arms around, and I haven’t seen the Lenny Kaye one yet. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/28 "2019-01-22T22:00:59Z")
_It Might Get Loud_ with Jack White, Jimmy Page, and The Edge. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/29 "2019-01-23T01:26:14Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I really loved Leonard Bernstein’s **Omnibus** and **Young People’s Concerts**. Seconding this. Turner Classic Movies TCM showed a number of them last summer (on his 100th birthday). There’s a DVD set on Amazon with these episodes: [ul] [li]Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (1954)[/li][li]The World of Jazz (1955)[/li][li]The Art of Conducting (1955)[/li][li]American Musical Comedy (1956)[/li][li]Introduction to Modern Music (1957)[/li][li]The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1957)[/li][li]What Makes Opera Grand? (1958).[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/30 "2019-01-23T04:59:14Z")
I enjoyed **The Future Is Unwritten** about Joe Strummer. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/31 "2019-01-23T14:00:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > _It Might Get Loud_ with Jack White, Jimmy Page, and The Edge. Best. Music documentary. Ever. Watching Jack White construct then play that “guitar” was mesmerizing. Seeing the joy on Jimmy Page’s face while playing some of his favorite records after all these years…just magic. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/32 "2019-01-23T15:59:16Z")
The Most Feared Song in Jazz, Explained: Making sense of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/62tIvfP9A2w/maxresdefault.jpg "The most feared song in jazz, explained") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62tIvfP9A2w) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/33 "2019-01-23T17:12:33Z")
How about the “Muscle Shoals” documentary? I really liked it. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/34 "2019-01-23T21:29:37Z")
Lots and lots of great suggestions so far. Given the fact that the blues is the basic for almost everything in popular music that came after, I strongly recommend the 7 pieces series [Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls070338017/). It’s essential. And for a different perspective, two great documentaries about kinda cult acts that were essentially doomed from the beginning, produced some of the most staggering recordings in their respective fields but never had the chance to hit it big in their times, the reasons laid out in those documentaries: [Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2290151/?ref_=nv_sr_1)about Big Star. [Be Here To Love Me](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0423853/?ref_=nv_sr_3)- about the late great Townes Van Zandt ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/35 "2019-01-24T00:44:12Z")
[Festival Express](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372279/) is good, especially if you like early 70’s Rock and Roll. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/36 "2019-01-24T01:12:00Z")
A little hard to find now, but I really enjoyed this history of rock & roll called, [Rock & Roll](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0291656/). It didn’t go chronologically, but rather by sub-genre. They had episodes about glam rock, funk, Motown, the British invasion, punk, rap, etc. The funk episode was particularly great. I found a lot of new favorites the first time I watched it, which I still listen to today. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/37 "2019-01-24T23:36:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Damn. I don’t know anything about this band, but just looked up “For the Whole World to See” album on Youtube, and, shit, WHY haven’t I heard of this band? This is incredible stuff. Will check out the documentary. Thanks. Glad you dug it! Do check out the documentary as well. I learned about them when the Oak Park School of Rock did a proto-Punk show and the kids loved their music. I Tweeted [their performance](https://youtu.be/2nKus_pHtOk) and one of the members of the band replied and was just so great about it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/38 "2019-01-24T23:44:41Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Glad you dug it! Do check out the documentary as well. I learned about them when the Oak Park School of Rock did a proto-Punk show and the kids loved their music. I Tweeted [their performance](https://youtu.be/2nKus_pHtOk) and one of the members of the band replied and was just so great about it. Love the energy of the kids, especially the guitarists and drummer. How did they end up playing this out of all the songs out there? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/39 "2019-01-25T01:19:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Love the energy of the kids, especially the guitarists and drummer. How did they end up playing this out of all the songs out there? Every show has a director who has the job of making a playlist and guiding the weekly three hour rehearsals - and all of them are working musicians, generally from local/regional bands (it’s a good job for a working musician - you don’t have to get up before noon.) The rest of the show were the usual suspects - Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, the Damned, the Ramones - with a few lesser-knowns like Alternative TV, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band and Death. The kids also have weekly one-on-one lessons on their song. This goes on for 12-16 weeks, then they have a pair of shows in a real venue. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057/40 "2019-01-25T01:35:30Z")
Sound city. I’m too lazy to find a link. But it was made by Dave Grohl about the Sound City music studio in van nuys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-about-music/828057.md?page=1)