20 FEET FROM STARDOM
Where to Watch: YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime
They are the voices behind the greatest Rock, Pop, and R&B hits of all time, but no one knows their names. Through this documentary, the spotlight finally shines on the untold stories of legendary background singers Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Claudia Lennear, and more. These are the triumphs and heartbreaks of music’s greatest unsung talents, featuring rare behind-the-scenes footage, vintage live performances, and interviews with superstars Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, and Bette Midler.
69: THE SAGA OF DANNY HERNANDEZ
Where to Watch: Hulu
Part investigative documentary, part real-life gangster movie, this film unpacks the life of polarizing rap sensation and internet troll Tekashi69, aka 69, while chronicling his meteoric rise and fall from fame.
AMERICAN DREAM/AMERICAN KNIGHTMARE
Where to Watch: Showtime, Showtime Anytime, Hulu, Sling TV, fuboTV, Amazon Prime
This documentary delves deep into the life and storied exploits of the infamous Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight, as well as the volatile and highly influential era in gangsta rap he presided over. Through a series of face-to-face interviews with director Antoine Fuqua, Knight reveals exactly how it all happened and why it all fell apart. Knight is currently serving 28 years in federal prison for voluntary manslaughter for the hit-and-run death of music industry rival Terry Carter. He was still being held in jail when this documentary was produced.
AMY
Where to Watch: Hulu, Sling TV, fuboTV, Amazon Prime, Showtime, Vudu
A documentary about the talented yet troubled Amy Winehouse—in her own words. A once-in-a-generation talent, Amy wrote and sang from the heart, using her musical gifts to analyze her own hardships. It was a combination of factors that led to her early death at the age of 27. Her massive success garnered relentlessly invasive media attention, while her troubled relationships, precarious lifestyle, and substance abuse all led to her life tragically unraveling.
BIGGIE: I GOT A STORY TO TELL
Where to Watch: Netflix
Featuring rare footage and in-depth interviews, this documentary celebrates the life of The Notorious B.I.G. on his journey from hustler to rap king.
BIGGIE & TUPAC
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
This documentary focuses on Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls’ deaths and the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop/rap rivalry that climaxed in late 1996 and early 1997. Biggie & Tupac is an inquisition into the unsolved murders of two of the biggest superstars rap has ever produced: Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur.
BILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD’S A LITTLE BLURRY
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Take a deeply personal look at music prodigy Billie Eilish and her journey on the road, onstage, and at home with her family. We watch as the writing and recording of her debut album changes the trajectory of her entire life.
KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK
Where to Watch: HBO Max, Hulu, Apple TV+
Montage of Heck is the only authorized journey through the life and career of iconic Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, as seen through his home movies, recordings, artwork, and interviews with family and friends.
DEMI LOVATO: DANCING WITH THE DEVIL
Where to Watch: YouTube
In this documentary series, Demi Lovato and her family and friends candidly open up for the first time about what led to her near-fatal overdose.
DOLLY PARTON: HERE I AM
Where to Watch: Netflix
Dolly Parton leads us through a musical journey in this documentary that reveals the people and places who have helped form her iconic career.
ECHO IN THE CANYON
Where to Watch: Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+
This documentary looks back at the mid-1960s when Hollywood’s Laurel Canyon was a creative nexus for young, innovative musicians. It celebrates the explosion of popular music that came out of LA’s Laurel Canyon in the mid-60s when The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas gave birth to the California Sound. It was a moment (1965 to 1967) when bands came to LA, and Laurel Canyon emerged as a hotbed of creativity and collaboration for a new generation of musicians who would soon put an indelible stamp on the history of American popular music.
ELVIS PRESLEY: THE SEARCHER
Where to Watch: HBO Max, Hulu, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime
Experience the personal and professional life of the King, Elvis Presley, in this two-part documentary.
ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS
Where to Watch: Showtime, Hulu, Sling TV, fuboTV, Amazon Prime, YouTube
This film contextualizes Clapton’s role in contemporary music and cultural history. It reflects on his traumatic childhood, his struggle with drugs and alcohol, the loss of his son, and how he found inner strength and healing in music.
FRAMING BRITNEY SPEARS
Where to Watch: Hulu, YouTube TV, fuboTV
“The New York Times Presents” is a series of standalone documentaries representing the journalism of The New York Times. In episode six of the series, The Times investigates Britney Spears’ legal battles with her father over who should have control of her life. She argued to the court that the conservatorship dominating her life should finally be withdrawn. This documentary highlights the prolonged and landmark court case that initiated the “Free Britney” movement.
GAGA: FIVE FOOT TWO
Where to Watch: Netflix
Follow pop provocateur Lady Gaga as she releases a new album, preps for her Super Bowl halftime show, and confronts physical and emotional struggles.
HOMECOMING
Where to Watch: Netflix
This intimate, in-depth look at Beyoncé’s celebrated 2018 Coachella performance reveals the emotional road from a creative concept to a cultural movement.
I’LL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD
Where to Watch: Netflix
JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV
Janis Joplin was one of the world’s most influential rock icons, but there was far more to her than that. This doc strips away her rock and roll persona to reveal the gentle, trusting, sensitive, and powerful woman behind the legend. Although she died at the age of 27, her legacy is still very much alive today.
LIL PEEP: EVERYBODY’S EVERYTHING
Where to Watch: Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV+, Vudu, Amazon Prime
This intimate portrait depicts the rise of artist Lil Peep, whose genre-bending music attracted a massive following and ultimately defined his life. Lil Peep was on the verge of mainstream success with an innovative mix of punk, emo, and trap music when he died of a drug overdose at 21 years old. This doc explores his meteoric rise from recording songs in his bedroom to gracing the stage of a worldwide tour.
MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE
Where to Watch: Apple TV+, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime
Join Madonna and experience an intimate backstage look at her “Blonde Ambition” tour. From her hotel room to her dressing room, from her stage show to her boudoir, here is Madonna–outrageous and uninhibited as always.
MARLEY
Where to Watch: Showtime, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, fuboTV, Sling TV
Born into poverty in rural Jamaica, Bob Marley became a prophet for the world’s oppressed, preaching peace, love, and understanding with a universal language – song. On what would have been Marley’s seventy-fifth birthday, Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald combines unheard tracks, unseen footage, and intimate interviews to paint a definitive portrait of the legendary artist.
MICHAEL JACKSON: THIS IS IT
Where to Watch: Apple TV+, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu
This doc is a rare behind-the-scenes look at the superstar Michael Jackson as he developed, created, and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts at London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April until his untimely death in June 2009, this film was produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson. It draws from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage featuring Jackson rehearsing for the show.
MISS AMERICANA
Where to Watch: Netflix
Pop singer Taylor Swift reveals intimate details of her life while showcasing backstage and onstage concert footage.
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP
Where to Watch: Pluto TV, Tubi, Peacock, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV
This performance documentary is about the runaway juggernaut that is Hip-Hop. This film is not about stardom, bling, or beef; it’s about the craft and skill – what goes on inside the minds and erupts from the lips of rap legends. Ice-T travels from coast to coast, engaging intimately with the likes of Eminem, Nas, Mos Def, Kanye West, Chuck D, KRS-ONE, Snoop Dogg, Run-DMC, and Ice Cube. What emerges is a robust tribute to the original American art form that brought poetry to a new generation.
SOUNDBREAKING
Where to Watch: YouTube TV, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu
The art and evolution of music recording is one of the 20th century’s great untold stories. This eight-part series combines more than 150 original interviews with rare archival studio footage—and an extensive soundtrack featuring almost 300 songs—to explore the extraordinary impact of recorded music on our lives. The series explores a century’s worth of innovation and experimentation, from the Beatles’ groundbreaking use of multitrack technology to the synthesized stylings of Stevie Wonder, from disco-era drum machines to the modern art of sampling. You’ll hear the songs you love in a whole new way.
SUPERVILLIAN: THE MAKING OF TEKASHI 6IX9INE
Where to Watch: Showtime, Showtime Anytime, Hulu, Sling TV, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video
This three-part documentary series profiles hip-hop artist Tekashi 6ix9ine’s epic rise to notoriety. Director Karam Gill examines the culture of manufactured celebrity through 6ix9ine’s mastery of social media and features an exclusive interview with the infamous rapper after his release from prison in 2020.
TINA
Where to Watch: HBO Max
An account of the life and career of the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, this intimate documentary examines the public and private life of the global phenomenon Tina Turner: her early fame, her personal life, and her professional struggles.
TRAVIS SCOTT: LOOK MOM I CAN FLY
Where to Watch: Netflix
THE BEE-GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART
Where to Watch: HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
Brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb found early fame in the 1960s and went on to write over 1,000 songs, including 20 No. 1 hits. This film follows the group’s meteoric rise as they navigate the complexities of working so intimately alongside family.
THE GO-GO’S
Where to Watch: Showtime, Hulu, Sling TV, fubo TV, Amazon Prime, YouTube
WELCOME TO DEATH ROW
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, Crackle, Vudu, Tubi
The true story of the rise and fall of Death Row Records. As told in the words of the people who lived it, this is the story of this enigmatic enterprise, its shadowy origins, and how it forever changed music (and the American music business). A cautionary tale about the greed and exploitation of the music industry that left a larger-than-life rap label bankrupt and its top artist dead.
WHITNEY
Where to Watch: Apple TV+, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu
An intimate, unflinching portrait of Whitney Houston and her family that probes beyond familiar tabloid headlines and sheds new light on the spellbinding trajectory of Houston’s life. This doc examines the mystery behind “The Voice,” who thrilled millions as she personally struggled to make peace with her own troubled past.