Movies: Music history

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McK...

Ye Xiang Lun, a talented piano player is a new student at the prestigious Tamkang School. On his first day, he meets Lu Xiao Yu, a pretty girl playing a mysterious piece of music....

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least o...

On the edge of the 30th anniversary of punk rock, Punk's Not Dead takes you into the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties, recording studios, shopping malls and stadiums where punk rock music and culture continue to thrive....

In the feature documentary, Summer 82 - When Zappa Came to Sicily, filmmaker and Zappa fan Salvo Cuccia tells the behind-the-scenes story of Frank Zappa's star-crossed concert in Palermo, Sicily, the wrap-up to a European tour that ended in public di...

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

It’s the hit musical that changed Broadway forever and brought the genius of Lin Manuel Miranda to the attention of legions of fans across the world. A story of how a group of mavericks made an unlikely marriage of hip-hop and history to create the b...

The Compleat Al (a title parody/homage of the 1982 documentary ‘The Compleat Beatles’) is a mockumentary about the life of "Weird Al" Yankovic, the Grammy® award-winning master of musical parody and rock-and-roll comedy, from his birth to 1985. Altho...

In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deaco...

This documentary chronicles the rise, fall, and rise again of the soft rock epitomized by artists such as Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, and Toto in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Retroactively dubbed "Yacht Rock," t...

The story of the American music dynasty, the Carters and Cashes, and their decades-long influence on popular music....

A documentary about the making of John Lennon's seminal solo debut album, "Plastic Ono Band," featuring historical analysis and playbacks of the original multi-track session tapes. Includes interviews with the musicians and personnel involved with th...

This made-for-TV documentary introduces the layperson to concepts and technologies that were emerging in computer interface design in the late 1980s and early 1990s: hypertext, multimedia, virtual assistants, interactive video, 3D animation, and virt...

Think of early electronic music and you’ll likely see men pushing buttons, knobs, and boundaries. While electronic music is often perceived as a boys' club, the truth is that from the very beginning women have been integral in inventing the devices, ...

A documentary that explores the challenges that a life in music can bring....

Class Acts is a feature-length documentary tracing the genesis of Singapore's creative scene in the '90s through intimate conversations with its pioneering personalities. These are the stories of individuals who started creating with nothing, who pu...

Well-known fans celebrate Stevie Wonder and his music by selecting some of his best-loved songs. Wonder is one of the dominant figures in American music, a multi-faceted genius whose music has permeated popular culture, and he is not short of celebri...

Equal parts punk and psychedelia, the Flaming Lips emerged from Oklahoma City as one of the most bracing bands of the late 1980s. The Fearless Freaks documents their rise from Butthole Surfers-imitating noisemakers to grand poobahs of orchestral pop ...

Documentary about the life and career of Elvis Presley produced for Sky Arts. Includes rarely seen clips and photos from throughout Elvis' career as well as comments from music historians and musicians, songwriters, producers, actors, etc. who worked...

A look back at the girl-group craze of the 60's through archival footage and interviews with those involved....