Best movies & TV Shows like All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music . If you liked All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music then you may also like: Blur: No Distance Left to Run, Jamboree!, Jazz Heaven, Alexander's Ragtime Band, American Pop and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

A 17-part television documentary series on the history of modern pop music covering some of the many different genres that have fallen under the label of "popular music" between the mid-19th century and 1976, including folk, ragtime, Tin Pan Alley, vaudeville and music hall, musical theatre, country, swing, jazz, blues, R&B, rock 'n' roll and others.

All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music
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Blur: No Distance Left to Run

A documentary film about the British rock band Blur. Following the band during their 2009 reunion and tour, the film also includes unseen archive footage and interviews.

Jamboree!

Jamboree adheres to the usual formula of late-1950s rock&roll films: A plethora of musical numbers linked together by the wispiest of plotlines. Kay Medford heads the cast as manipulative showbiz agent Grace Shaw. Hoping to land pop singer Pete Porter (Paul Carr), Grace connives to break up Pete's romance with female vocalist Honey Wynn (Freda Holloway). But who cares? The audience came to see such musical faves as Fats Domino, Count Basie, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jodie Sands, Ron Coby, Slim Whitman, Carl Perkins, Frankie Avalon, Charlie Gracie and the Four Coins. As a promotional tie-in, Jamboree also features appearances by 21 of North America's top rock-and-roll deejays.

Alexander's Ragtime Band

Classical violinist, Roger Grant disappoints his family and teacher when he organizes a jazz band, but he and the band become successful. Roger falls in love with the band's singer, Stella, but his reluctance to lose her leads him to thwart her efforts to become a solo star. When the World War separates them in 1917, Stella marries Roger's best friend and, when Roger returns home after the war, an important concert at Carnegie Hall brings the corners of the romantic triangle together.

American Pop

The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.

Glitter

A young woman is catapulted into pop stardom, with her already-famous DJ boyfriend calling the shots.

Bob Dylan - Dont Look Back

In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.

Festival Express

The filmed account of a large Canadian rock festival train tour boasting major acts. In the summer of 1970, a chartered train crossed Canada carrying some of the world's greatest rock bands. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, and others lived (and partied) together for five days, stopping in major cities along the way to play live concerts. Their journey was filmed.

Is Everybody Happy?

It is the story of Ted Lewis, popular band leader and clarinettist. The music for the film was written by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke, except for "St. Louis Blues" by W. C. Handy and "Tiger Rag". The film's title comes from Lewis's catchphrase "Is everybody happy?" The film's soundtrack exists on Vitaphone discs preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, but the film itself is considered a lost film, according to the Vitaphone Project website. A five minute clip from the film can be found on YouTube.

It Happened in Brooklyn

Danny has been in the army for 4 years, yet all he thinks about is Brooklyn and how great it is. When he returns after the war, he soon finds that Brooklyn is not so nice after all. He is able to share a place with Nick, the janitor of his old High School, and get a job as a singer in a music store. He also meets Leo, a talented pianist and his teacher Anne, whose dream is to singing Opera. When Jamie arrives from England, Danny tries to show him the Brooklyn experience and help him compose modern swing music. Together, these four also try to help Leo get the Brooklyn Music scholarship.

It Might Get Loud

A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.

Leadbelly

The life of Blues and folk singer Huddie Leadbetter, nicknamed Leadbelly is recounted. Covering the good times and bad from his 20s to 40s. Much of that time was spent on chain gangs in the south. Even in prison he became well known for the songs he had composed and sung during and before the time he spent there.

A Mighty Wind

Director Christopher Guest reunites the team from "Best In Show" and "Waiting for Guffman" to tell the story of '60s-era folk musicians, who, inspired by the death of their former manager, get back on the stage for one concert in New York City's Town Hall.

Cadillac Records

The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.

Shine a Light

Martin Scorsese and the Rolling Stones unite in "Shine A Light," a look at The Rolling Stones." Scorsese filmed the Stones over a two-day period at the intimate Beacon Theater in New York City in fall 2006. Cinematographers capture the raw energy of the legendary band.

This Way Please

A famous singer and matinée idol helps a pretty young theater usher in her dreams of becoming a singer, but when her career begins to take off and she becomes engaged to a wealthy young man, he realizes he's fallen for her and plots to break up her impending marriage.

Absolute Beginners

A musical adaptation of Colin MacInnes' novel about life in late 1950s London. Nineteen-year-old photographer Colin is hopelessly in love with model Crepe Suzette, but her relationships are strictly connected with her progress in the fashion world. So Colin gets involved with a pop promoter and tries to crack the big time. Meanwhile, racial tension is brewing in Colin's Notting Hill housing estate...

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Hammersmith Odeon, London, July 3, 1973. British singer David Bowie performs his alter ego Ziggy Stardust for the very last time. A decadent show, a hallucinogenic collage of kitsch, pop irony and flamboyant excess: a musical symbiosis of feminine passion and masculine dominance that defines Bowie's art and the glam rock genre.

Dance Craze

Rocksteady to both a visual and musical documentary of the big shots of the English 2-Tone movement of the late 1970s that has the exhaustive, high-energy performances exploding onto stage. Jump, shout, twist and crawl and dance to the tunes of Ska and its anthems of its rough riders and three-minute heroes captivated in the moment of a generation of England's concrete jungles and razor blade alleys. No longer on your radio but now on stage, together, with the likes of Madness, The Specials and The Beat et al, this concert footage of an era is a must-see, rare and fascinating look into a once vibrant youth culture of working-class England and its musical dance craze.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps

Concert film covering Neil Young's October 22 1978 concert performance at the Cow Palace with nearly 20 songs (including two versions of "Hey Hey, My My," his nod to the punk movement), acoustic and electric (with long-time companions Crazy Horse), dating back to his Buffalo Springfield days ("I Am a Child") and continuing through popular solo numbers like "Cinnamon Girl" and the extended "Like a Hurricane."

I Want to Destroy America

A documentary film by Peter I. Chang which traces the life of the Japanese musician Hisao Shinagawa through his early years as a folk singer in Tokyo to his current occupation as a street performer in Los Angeles.

Soundies: A Musical History

Before MTV and the age of television, there were Soundies. First appearing in 1941, these three minute black-and-white films featured artists of the Big Band, Jazz and Swing era, like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa, The Mills Brothers, Les Paul, Cab Calloway, and Fats Waller. The Soundies helped launch the careers of Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Liberace, and Dorothy Dandridge, among others. Viewed for a dime through a special machine called a Panoram, a movie jukebox, these forerunners to the music video could be seen in nightclubs, roadhouses, restaurants and other public venues across the U.S. These classic films remain as glorious time capsules of music, social history, popular culture, and tell the story of a crossroads in our country, when the uncertainties of war, race relations, and emerging technologies combined to write one of the most influential chapters in our nation¹s history.

Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays

Documentary celebrating the triumph, tragedy and human comedy that was Manchester record company, Factory. Started by the late Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Peter Saville and Martin Hannett in the late 1970s, it became known as the home of Joy Divsion, New Order and Happy Mondays and for creating the Hacienda club. The label pioneered Britain's independent pop culture, creating a new Manchester and blowing a shed-load of money. Includes interviews with all the main players in the Factory story.

Prince: A Purple Reign

Part of BBC Four's Black Music Legends of the 1980s, this documentary explores how Prince - showman, artist, enigma - revolutionized the perception of black music in the 1980s with worldwide hits such as "1999," "Kiss," "Raspberry Beret" and "Alphabet Street." He became a global sensation with the release of the Oscar-winning, semi-autobiographical movie "Purple Rain" in 1984, embarking on an incredible journey of musical self-discovery that continues to this day.

When Albums Ruled the World

A BBC4 Documentary on the rise and fall and resurgence of the venerable LP record, and the dynamics of marketing and consumption of music as told through artists and musicians of the classic album eras of the 60s and 70s.

EMI: The Inside Story

One record company has been a constant presence in popular music throughout our lives. EMI brought The Beatles to the world and in every decade since has been instrumental in producing some of Britain's most celebrated and enduring music.

Rich Hall's Countrier Than You

Award-winning comedian Rich Hall takes a country music journey from Tennessee to Texas to look at the movements and artists that don't get as much notoriety but have helped shape the genre over the years. With the help of prominent performers and producers including Michael Martin Murphey, Robbie Fulks and Ray Benson, Rich explores the early origins of country music in Nashville and Austin. He visits the rustic studios where this much-loved sound was born and discovers how the genre has reinvented itself with influences from bluegrass, western swing and americana.

Rude Boy

Rude Boy is a semi-documentary, part character study, part 'rockumentary', featuring a British punk band, The Clash. The script includes the story of a fictional fan juxtposed with actual public events of the day, including political demonstrations and Clash concerts.

Never Too Young to Rock

In the late 1970s, rock 'n' roll was banned from television. One young man, our hero, led the battle against the TV ban. He searched the country for the biggest rock groups to perform at a concert in support of his cause. But the enemies of rock 'n' roll had other plans... The zany, madcap Never Too Young To Rock was made at the high point of glam rock in 1975. It offers a unique opportunity to experience the driving, feelgood sounds of the era’s top pop combos in their pomp. From the infectious choruses of Mud’s ‘Tiger Feet’ and ‘The Cat Crept In’, through the catchy doo-wop of The Rubettes, to percussive anthems like The Glitter Band’s ‘Angel Face’, this film provides aural nostalgia at its most intense.

Blast! An Explosive Musical Celebration

Produced by Cook Group Incorporated and Star of Indiana, BLAST! brings together 68 brass, percussion and visual performers in a unique explosion of music and theatre. Born on athletic fields across the nation, BLAST! is a novel art form evolved from the showmanship of outdoor pageantry. Ranging from classical to the blues, it is jazz, rock and roll, and techno-pop. With color, light, movement and music, BLAST! explores and explodes the genre with new artistry.

The Greatest Night in Pop

In 1985, 46 music icons, including Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder, came together for the most star-studded recording session in history. This is the untold story of the legendary global pop song “We Are the World” — which very nearly didn’t happen.

American Bandstand

American Bandstand was an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer. The show featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC—would usually appear in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon holds the record for most appearances at 110. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and Top of the Pops. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company.

Behind the Music

An intimate look into the personal lives of pop music's greatest and most influential artists.

Donny & Marie

Donny & Marie is an American variety show which aired on ABC from January 1976 to January 1979. The show stars brother and sister pop duo Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond. Donny had first become popular singing in a music group with his brothers, The Osmonds, and Marie was one of the youngest singers to reach #1 on the Billboard Country Music charts. The siblings were offered a weekly show by ABC-TV President Fred Silverman after he saw the duo co-host a week on The Mike Douglas Show which followed their series of popular remakes of oldies, such as "I'm Leaving It Up To You", "Morning Side Of The Mountain", "Deep Purple" and "Make The World Go Away". Donny and Marie were the youngest entertainers in TV history to host their own variety show. A year later, The Keane Brothers would break this record.

Sun Records

The untold story of nothing less than the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. Guided by Sam Phillips, young musicians like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis combined the styles of hillbilly country with the 1950s R&B sound created by artists like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Fats Domino and Ike Turner, and changed the course of music forever.

Classic Albums

A documentary series about pop and rock albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.

Austin City Limits

Now the longest-running music series in American television history, ACL showcases popular music legends and innovators from every genre.

The Old Grey Whistle Test

The Old Grey Whistle Test is an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers. According to presenter Bob Harris, the programme derived its name from a Tin Pan Alley phrase from years before. When they got the first pressing of a record they would play it to people they called the old greys—doormen in grey suits. The songs they could remember and whistle, having heard it just once or twice, had passed the old grey whistle test.

Legends

The story of the big names that have shaped the musical genres, plus an occasional stopgap for the new rock 'n' roll - comedy.

American Roots Music

Travel back through the 20th century to explore the roots of American music and discover the pioneers of the musical forms that combined on American soil to become the most pervasive music throughout the world.

The Top Ten Revealed

Spotlighting the most influential songs, bands, and musicians in the history of rock n' roll with a rotating panel of music icons and experts for an insightful discussion examining the music that has left an indelible mark on the rock n' roll scene.

Country Music

Explore the history of a uniquely American art form: country music. From its deep and tangled roots in ballads, blues and hymns performed in small settings, to its worldwide popularity, learn how country music evolved over the course of the 20th century, as it eventually emerged to become America’s music.

Laurel Canyon

Featuring all-new, original interviews with Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Michelle Phillips, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Roger McGuinn and more, this uniquely immersive and experiential two-part docuseries takes us back in time to a place where a rustic canyon in the heart of Los Angeles became a musical petri dish.

Music's Greatest Mysteries

An investigation of the most unique and enigmatic stories in the history of music covering topics that have altered or elevated the world of music, while highlighting the colorful characters that have indelibly changed the course of music history.

The Beatles: Get Back

The three-part documentary series, compiled from over 60 hours of unseen footage, captures the warmth, camaraderie, and creative genius that defined the legacy of music’s most iconic foursome. The series also includes – for the first time in its entirety – The Beatles’ final performance at London’s Savile Row.

Masters Of American Music

Masters of American Music is a multi-award-winning television series, as entertaining and memorable as it is educational, it is a must have for any true music fan. The series celebrates a pantheon of the greatest musical innovators with individual programmes tracing the lives and works of master musicians who defined the course of American’s musical history. From the birth of the blues in New Orleans to Swing, Big Band, Bebop, Free Jazz and beyond – all of this rich tapestry is explored with sensitivity and unique depth. The featured artists come to life through conversations with their contemporaries, exciting and rare live performances, period footage and vintage photographs, all of which have been meticulously produced.

Sometimes When We Touch

The untold story of soft rock, whose artists dominated pop music worldwide in the '70s, only to crash and burn in the '80s, eventually experiencing one of the most unlikely comebacks in music history.

Thalia's Mixtape: El Soundtrack de Mi Vida

Thalia takes audiences on a musical journey, uncovering the classics that inspired generations of artists and created the current Latin music landscape seen today. Through a combination of interviews, found footage and modern renditions of classic hits by today’s biggest stars, the series revisits the history of Latin music and uncovers the future of the genre in an intimate way not yet seen before.

The Beach Boys

A celebration of the legendary band that revolutionized pop music, and the iconic, harmonious sound they created that personified the California dream, captivating fans for generations and generations to come.

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