Recommended Documentaries

 

Pre-Rock

 

Devil at the Crossroads (2019) (Robert Johnson; Netflix)

 

Les Paul: Chasing Sound (2007) (PBS American Masters)

 

The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (2014) (PBS American Masters)

 

Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues (2004) (PBS American Masters)

 

The Winding Stream (The Carter Family, 2015) (Amazon)

 

Ken Burns Country Music (2019) (PBS)

 

Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied (2003) (PBS American Masters)

 

B.B. King: The Life of Riley (2016) (PBS American Masters)

 

1950s

 

Sun Records (2001) (PBS American Masters)

 

Chuck Berry: The Original King of Rock 'n' Roll (2019)

 

Early 1960s

 

Sam Cooke: Crossing Over (2010) (PBS American Masters)


ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke (2019) (Netflix)


The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)


Podcast on Motown's Lamont Dozier 2020 (WDET radio)


What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A. (1964)


Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002) (Amazon)


Muscle Shoals (2013) (Amazon)


The Wrecking Crew (2008) (Amazon)

 

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (2016)

(Hulu)

 

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1966) (Amazon)


Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built (2007) (PBS American Masters)

 

Later 1960s

 

Soul Train — The Hippest Trip in America (2010)


Don't Look Back (Dylan; 1967) (Amazon)


When You're Strange: A Film about The Doors (2010) (PBS American Masters)


Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul (2006) (PBS American Masters)


Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin' (2013) (PBS American Masters)


Jimi Hendrix (1973) (Amazon) (Netflix)

 

Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child (2010) (Amazon)

 

Janis Joplin: Little Girl Blue (2016) (PBS American Masters)

 

McCartney 3, 2, 1 (2021) (Hulu)


Echo in the Canyon (2019) (Amazon)


Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) (Amazon)

 

Elvis Unleashed (2019)


The Beatles Anthology (1995–1996)


Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown (2014) (Amazon)


Monterey Pop (1968) (various)


Gimme Shelter (1970; Iggy Pop and the Stooges) (Amazon)


Woodstock (1970) (Amazon)

 

Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation (2019) (Netflix)


Creating Woodstock (2019) (Amazon)


Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (1997) (Amazon)

 

Singer-Songwriters

 

David Crosby: Remember My Name (2019) (Amazon)


Paul Simon: Born at The Right Time (2001) (American Masters)


Troubadours: Carole King / James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter (2011) (American Masters)


Carole King: Natural Woman (2016) (PBS American Masters)


Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind (2003) (PBS American Masters)


Neil Young: Don't Be Denied (2009) (American Masters)


Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (2005 Scorcese, American Masters)


Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (2019) (Netflix)


Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart (1998) (PBS American Masters)


Classic Rock

 

The Kids Are Alright (The Who; 1979) (Amazon)

 

The Song Remains the Same (Led Zep; 1976) (Amazon)


Long Strange Trip (Grateful Dead, 2017) (Amazon)

 

20 Feet From Stardom (2013) (Amazon and Netflix)

 

Soul

 

Amazing Grace (Aretha; 1972/2018)

 

Wattstax (1973) (Amazon)


Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (2008) (American Masters)


Summer of Soul (2021) (Hulu)


Glam & Early Prog Rock

 

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1973) (Amazon)


Cracked Actor (Bowie; 1974) (Amazon)


Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (1972) (youtube)