Over the last decade, the streaming revolution has triggered a documentary gold rush. Whatever your nonfiction area of interest happens to be — serial killers, cult leaders, athletes, con men or exotic animal enthusiasts — there’s probably several dozen documentaries available for viewing a few button-clicks away.
Thankfully, this is also true for those of us who enjoy a well-told saga about a more universal human interest: music. There’s been a renaissance recently in pop music documentaries on subjects ranging from Wham! to Jennifer Lopez. In the last few months alone, revealing feature-length films about Celine Dion and Elton John have landed on streaming, casting iconic figures in a vulnerable new light. Apple TV+ also announced plans for a film about Fleetwood Mac. The platforms have also made it easier for viewers to access great documentaries dating back to the early days of pop music.
For those who can’t get enough about music and musicians — whether tragically exploited, woefully misunderstood or just prodigiously talented — we’ve compiled a list of great documentaries currently available to stream, divided chronologically by subject between TV critic Robert Lloyd and reporter Meredith Blake. It is by no means comprehensive, but if you’re hankering for one great music doc or 10, it’s a place to start.
‘Jazz on a Summer’s Day’ (1959)
Would I call this memento of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival the best of all concert films? I would. Certainly it’s the most visually beautiful, co-directed by the American fashion photographer Bert Stern (best known for Marilyn Monroe’s last photo session) with editor Aram Avakian. Creamy and atmospheric, with a keen sense of color and light, it arranges performances from four days into a single, morning-to-night concert, beginning with Thelonious Monk and ending with Mahalia Jackson. Along the way are the likes of Sonny Stitt, Gerry Mulligan, Anita O’Day in her big feathered hat, Chuck Berry backed by jazz musicians (this must be the only version of “Sweet Little Sixteen” to include a clarinet solo), Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden doing their “Rocking Chair” double act, and much more. (Stream on Plex and Kanopy.)