BB King: The Life of Riley (2014), Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got (1985), If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd (2018), Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2004), The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010), Jimi Hendrix (1973), Chuck Berry (2019), Lightning in a Bottle (2004) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best American Music movies.
Storyline: The life and music of BB King.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, musician's life, american music, music history, musical influence, musical innovation, biographical film ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Biography of clarinetist and bandleader Artie Shaw, one of the principal figures of the big band/jazz era of the late 1930s and 1940s. He discusses his constant need to seek new challenges, which led to numerous retirements and career changes including his foray into writing, which had long been his primary intention. He speaks about his difficulty in reconciling his fans' popular expectations with his personal, more esoteric musical ambitions. His many years of retreat from public life are also discussed, as well as his notorious series of unsuccessful marriages.—scgary66
Plot Keywords: documentary, music, biography, jazz, 20th century, musician, composer ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: This authorized documentary will explore the music and backstory of the legendary American band. With the songs from the first six Skynyrd albums driving the narration, the film focuses on the story of frontman Ronnie Van Zant - his upbringing, his roots, his work ethic and his contradictory persona as both as a mythic Southern rock poet and notorious boozed-up brawler, as well as the relationships between his friends and fellow founding members Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, along with later bandmates Ed King and Artimus Pyle.—CMT
Plot Keywords: music documentary, rock music, band history, biography, music legend, classic rock, music interviews ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Be Here to Love Me - Chronicles the fascinating and often turbulent life of musician Townes van Zandt.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, biography, country music, singer, american music, musician, art ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Bruce Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town," released in 1978, was three years in the making, 10 songs chosen from 70 written and rehearsed during that period. Using archival footage from the studio and contemporary interviews with Springsteen, the E Street Band, and those who were in the control room, the film presents a portrait of an artist driving himself to capture working-class life with a rough and raw sound that felt more like a live performance than a studio recording.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords: music documentary, rock music, behind the scenes, songwriting, american music, music history, musician biography ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: This documentary was made three years after Jimi Hendrix's untimely death. At the time it was an example of how a visual biography should be done, but some of the information in it needs revising in the light of new information uncovered over the years. The film contains concert footage spanning the Marquee in 1967 to his last UK performance at the third Isle of Wight festival in 1970; along the way we see classic performances at Monterey (1967), Woodstock (1969), Fillmore East (1969/70), and Berkeley (1970). A double album was released to tie-in with the film, containing the complete performances in the film, along with interviews with people in the film (not necessarily the same interviews). The film is worth seeing for Jimi's performances, and to hear what his contemporaries have to say about him (Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, Lou Reed, Mick Jagger, Pete Townsend, and others).—Martin <martin.o_brien@which.net>
Plot Keywords: documentary, rock music, concert film, 1970s, guitarist, classic rock, live performance ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Filmmaker Jon Brewer examines the fascinating life and career of legendary rock 'n' roll pioneer Chuck Berry.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, biography, musician, guitarist, american music, concert, classic rock ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Beginning with a stirring African folk song (Zélié performed by Angélique Kidjo) the roots are established and rapidly swell into a trunk thickened by the hardships of the Great Depression (Gamblin' Man performed by David 'Honeyboy' Edwards) and the oppression of segregation (Jim Crow Blues performed by Odetta). Finally, this Blues family tree shows off vibrant new growth as it reveals the Blues' influence on our modern wealth of talented musicians (Midnight Special performed by John Fogerty and Hound Dog done by Macy Gray). Ruth Brown gives Blll Cosby a full-throttle serenade (and a playful smoldering gaze), along with Mavis Staples and Natalie Cole. Angélique Kidjo persuades Buddy Guy to an unforgettable rendition of 'Voodoo Child,' shortly before Bonnie Raitt and Robert Cray accompany B.B. King and Lucille for the final number, 'Paying the Cost to be the Boss.' This documentary presents to the audience, with authority and candor, an authentic history of this musical form. The highly esteemed elders of this musical family are exemplary in their humbleness toward one another, rich with decades of shared memories; and their performances are of a quality rarely seen in modern times. These men and women are true artisans, yet they continue to generously pass their legacy down to select members of each musical generation. Those who grew up on this music find themselves performing on the stage with the very heroes who served as their earliest inspiration. Legends, such as Ruth Brown, Honeyboy Edwards, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, B.B. King, Howling Wolf, and Buddy Guy, gave the world a double helping of their genius-first with song and secondly as the spirit which supplies the continuation of their art: in such artists as Natalie Cole, Jimmie Vaughan, John Fogerty, Macy Gray, Alison Krause, and Bonnie Raitt.—Annie Campos
Plot Keywords: music documentary, music history, american music, music culture, improvisation, music legends, musical performance ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A documentary film about the life of pianist and jazz great Thelonious Sphere Monk. Features live performances by Monk and his band, and interviews with friends and family about the offbeat genius.
Plot Keywords: jazz, documentary, musician, pianist, improvisation, biography, concert ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Live concert performance of Bruce Springsteen singing songs from his album 'Western Stars'.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, concert film, american music, live performance, personal stories, nostalgia, musician's life ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: First time director Sam Jones documents the making of Wilco's fourth studio Album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Named after the Wilco song that is featured on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, an album that strays from the Alt-country that made them famous. Jones' desire was to document the creative work of YHF's production, he seems to have found a bit more, including band members departing and a conflict with Reprise record company. This is a true documentry of art versus money-driven media conglomerates.—J. Robert Putzer <hoplite59@yahoo.com>
Plot Keywords: documentary, music, band, rock, chicago, music industry, creative process ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Meet David Crosby in this portrait of a man with everything but an easy retirement on his mind.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, musician's life, music history, music industry, artistic creation, behind the scenes, musical influence ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: This is a documentary about the musical artists who performed the songs in the Coen Brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Plot Keywords: concert, documentary, live performance, musicians, american music, country music, music festival ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A stunning exploration of fading juke joint traditions at the heart of Mississippi blues culture, with Morgan Freeman.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, jazz, live performance, music history, american music, music exploration, music scene ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In the 1890s, Sgt. Major John Philip Sousa, leader of the Marine Corps Band, meets Private Willie Little, inventor of an instrument he calls the Sousaphone...and Little's girlfriend, shapely showgirl Lily. To support his growing family, Sousa leaves the Marines and forms his own band; Willie and Lily go along. Though he'd rather write ballads, Sousa's marches bring him increasing fame; from their debut in 1892 the band is a great success. But Sousa's 'no wives' rule threatens the romance of Willie and Lily...as does the Spanish-American War.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: musical, biography, history, american, composer, patriotic, 20th century ...
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