Off the top of my head-

Goodbye Marianne-Leonard Cohen documentary

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song

Long Strange Trip-multi episode about the Grateful Dead

I Called Him Morgan-Lee Morgan documentary

Miles Davis: The Birth of the Cool

Be Here to Love Me and Heartworn Highways-Townes Van Zandt documentaries

No Direction Home and Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story-both by Martin Scorcese

The Story of Wish You Were Here is a 2012 documentary that delves into the creation of Pink Floyd’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here. Directed by John Edginton and produced by Eagle Rock Entertainment, the film offers an in-depth look at the album’s development, themes, and enduring legacy. Can’t get enough lately. 
 

john

I made a mistake in the title of a Leonard Cohen doc-

Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love, not Goodbye Marianne.

Thought of two more- Todd Haynes movie about The Velvet Underground

While this one isn't a music doc, it's still a must see-

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

On Prime..

"Now More Than Ever" The History Of Chicago

The Tragically Hip "No Dress Rehearsal" Season 1

Gordon Lightfoot "If You Could Read My Mind"

Tom Petty "Somewhat You Feel Free"

Elliot Smith "Heaven Adores You"

@slaw -

I watched the Chicago documentary. The amount of cocaine they consumed is astounding.

That's minor league compared to Fleetwood Mac 😮 

In my old age I am no longer a super big fan of The Eagles, but I really did enjoy the 2 part doc film about them, The History Of The Eagles. 

I watched the Chicago documentary. The amount of cocaine they consumed is astounding.

I am not a huge fan of Chicago either, but that sounds like an interesting doc.  

Be Here to Love Me and Heartworn Highways-Townes Van Zandt documentaries

Absolutely!

I watched the Chicago documentary. The amount of cocaine they consumed is astounding.

I didn't know much at all about Chicago, and although I only had a passing familiarity with them from the days listening to certain FM stations in the '70s/80s that was a great documentary I just watched.  It was so good I watched it twice today just trying to keep all the players straight in my mind.  

If I Leave Here Tomorrow was a pretty good doc film about Lynyrd Skynyrd.  Another band whose music I am not really crazy about, but their story fascinated me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVsQLlk-T0s

DeKay

@immatthewj -While not a film/doc, this is a fun read about the Eagles.

https://grantland.com/features/the-eagles-greatest-hit/

@slaw 

"That's minor league compared to Fleetwood Mac 😮 "

I'm old enough to remember when cocaine was described as a safe recreational drug. 

@curtisvill -

Great choice! I watched it and was deeply moved by the story behind Crazy Diamond. Syd Barrett's descent into mental illness is really sad. 

25x5 The Rolling Stones

"The Decline of Western Civilization", by Penelope Spheeris, on the circa-1980 LA punk scene, is imo a must watch.

I'm old enough to remember when cocaine was described as a safe recreational drug. 

What!?  You mean it is not!?

Gimme Shelter (1970) about the Rolling Stones Altamont free concert of which one of the mistakes made was having the Hells Angels in charge of security.

There is a cool video on Tom Scholtz and how he created the whole original Boston album by himself with custom gear he built. 

@immatthewj 

I'm old enough to remember when cocaine was described as a safe recreational drug. 

What!?  You mean it is not!?

:snort:

Driving that train
High on cocaine
Casey Jones you better
Watch your speed
Trouble ahead
Trouble behind
And you know that notion
Just crossed my mind

@devinplombier -

"The Decline of Western Civilization", by Penelope Spheeris, on the circa-1980 LA punk scene, is imo a must watch."

Yes! Seeing X upclose is pretty cool. Ray Manzarek produced their first album, Los Angeles.

Have you watched "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years"?

This old engine makes it on time
Leaves Central Station
'Bout a quarter to nine
Hits River Junction at seventeen to
At a quarter to ten
You know it's travelin' again

You gotta love it, @wharfy !  **snort**

@wharfy 

Yes I have, I knew folks on the crew

• The Song Remains the Same
• Help
• A Hard Day's Night
• Hungarian Rhapsody

- The Band. About the making of their 2nd (brown) album (Rhino Home Video)

- Ain’t In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm

- Rockpile: Born Fighters

- Muscle Shoals by Greg Camalier

- Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel

- Elvis ’56 (narrated by Levon Helm)

- Professional Drum Shop’s 50 Years

- The Wrecking Crew

- The Last Of The Blue Devils: The Kansas City Jazz Story

- Standing In The Shadows Of Motown

Steely Dan the making of the iconic album Aja.  Geniuses at work. 

https://www.amazon.com/Steely-Dan-Aja-Classic-Albums/dp/B07JQWS5F4

Ooh here is a great documentary I totally forgot about - Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003).

It's not about specific musicians but rather the life of rock impresario and longtime KROQ DJ extraordinaire Rodney Bingenheimer. It's also a great reflection on fame and success and time and the fleetness thereof.

Anyone who was in the music scene in LA around 1980 ought to watch this.

Ooh here is a great documentary I totally forgot about - Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003).

It's not about specific musicians but rather the life of rock impresario and longtime KROQ DJ extraordinaire Rodney Bingenheimer. It's also a great reflection on fame and success and time and the fleetness thereof.

Anyone who was in the music scene in LA around 1980 ought to watch this.

I cannot remember how long ago (sometime post summer of '15) I was surfing the streaming channels and as that piqued my interest I watched it.  I'd never heard of Bingenheimer and I was most definitely not in any music scene, let alone the LA scene in the '80s,  but I still found that interesting.

On an aside, wasn't that about the same time and area that the Wonderland murders happened?

In the 90’s I lived in Burbank, and one restaurant in the neighborhood that I occasionally ate at was located on the ground floor of the building in which was the KROQ studio (somewhere near the top floor). One Sunday night I was having a late dinner, and saw Rodney come in and sit down at a table. I had never seen or heard a word about his physical condition (though I had seen photos of him), and was kind of shocked by what I saw. He was extremely skinny, and walked in a way that suggested pretty severe disabilities. I gained a new level of respect for a guy who didn’t let that stop him from pursuing his Rock ’n’ Roll dreams.

Gimme Shelter (1970) about the Rolling Stones Altamont free concert of which one of the mistakes made was having the Hells Angels in charge of security.

@immatthewj The Grateful Dead’s “New Speedway Boogie” was written as a response to that concert. They helped organize it, were slated to play, but left without doing their set after things went south…

Add “20 Feet From Stardom” to the list.

This Everly Brothers documentary!

https://www.pbs.org/show/the-everly-brothers-harmonies-from-heaven/

Yacht Rock - a Dockumentary is a fantastic doc about the genre and the interconnection of so many of the bands of the era. 

"The Decline of Western Civilization", by Penelope Spheeris, on the circa-1980 LA punk scene, is imo a must watch.

Agreed. 

The Last Waltz

A new concept for general release in cinemas. A visionary director and recorded in stereo sound in the early days of FM broadcasting in the UK. The film aired on TV and BBC Radio Two simultaneously allowing for stereophonic sound.

l can remember setting my alarm clock for 2 O Clock in the morning to get up and set the Stereo Video and radio station to be able to record and mix onto video tape the concert film. Terrestrial TV was not broadcasting at that time in Stereo. Obviously the concert later was easily available in all formats but in the 80s “simulticasts” as they were called was then cutting edge technology in the UK.

The "Decline of Western Civilization," "20 Feet from Stardom," and "Heartworn Highway" are particularly good mentions.  I would add the following:

"Festival Express" (train tour across Canada by The Band, Grateful Dead and The Flying Burrito Bros.)

"American Hardcore" (about the early Hardcore music scene)

"This is Spinal Tap" (the best fake documentary on any subject)

We really enjoyed this:

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band  (2024)

Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party.  Paramount +.  Played on MTV one time in the early 80s.  Just updated and released.  The story of the band doing the album Long After Dark. RIP TP. 

Lots of good picks so far. If I had to only recommend one music related documentary, it would probably be "Muscle Shoals."

Here's a few that have not been mentioned yet: 

BADFINGER - Director's Cut

BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN - If you can see (and hear) this in an IMAX theater, it is well worth the time and effort.

HUNG UP ON A DREAM (The Zombies)

IMMEDIATE FAMILY - Directed by Damon Tedesco ("The Wrecking Crew") about the careers of studio musicians: Danny Kortchmar - Russ Kunkel - Lee Sklar & Waddy Wachtel.

SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN (Rodriguez)  

“The Velvet Underground”, a documentary about the legendary 60’s band that is currently available from the Criterion Collection. This one is in my Blu-Ray collection. 
 

https://www.criterion.com/films/33386-the-velvet-underground

@yogiboy: Thanks for the Everly Brothers tip. I love them, and was unaware of the documentary. Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe are big fans of theirs, and they included a 7" EP in the first pressing of the Rockpile album, in which they perform four of the brothers' songs.

For those who need prompting, here's the trailer for the Everly Brothers documentary nominated above by yogiboy:

https://youtu.be/QrADLcz_a-0?si=1whsKAhGkVmBqI36

Has anyone watched "Quincy", the documentary about Quincy Jones?

The list of accomplishments is too large to cover here. This is from wikipedia-The film epilogue details his career as follows: "Over 2,900 songs recorded; over 300 albums recorded; 51 film and television scores; over 1,000 original compositions; 79 Grammy nominations; 28 Grammy awards; 1 of 18 EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony); Thriller the best selling album of all time; We Are the World the best selling single of all time; $63 million raised for famine relief in Africa; and 7 children."

@wharfy 

The amount of cocaine they consumed is astounding.

That made me chuckle. I read Stevie Nicks autobiography and she stated she spent millions on the drug. A plastic surgeon told her that her nose could be irreparably damaged to the point of losing her voice which is why she finally checked herself into rehab in 1985.

When I read the book, I eagerly picked up Fleetwood Mac LIVE, which was recorded in 1980. Kind of the peak of when the band was putting bottle caps of coke all over the stage for one to partake while performing.

Stevie's singing on the LIVE album is horrific. More so when you know why. She sounds like she has a cold - all stuffed up! - and when you know the truth it is a hard listen. I jettisoned that album quickly after realizing that the band couldn't stop for one night to ensure they sounded as they should. In fact, they were not even aware that they sounded awful. 

Surprised no mention of The Who, either The Kids Are Alright or Amazing Journey. But the one to seek out is We Jam Econo; The Story of the Minutemen. D Boon like so many others, gone too soon.

@goodlistening64 -

I'm laughing too...we should start a thread, "Singers who destroyed their voices because of drugs."

Stevie Nicks

Jerry Garcia

Whitney Houston

@lmnop -Good catch!  The Kids Are Alright is fantastic.

@bdp24 Do you have this LP? It is my favorite Everly Brothers recording!

And this great tribute LP!

@yogiboy: I got myself two copies of the Songs Our Daddy Taught Us LP back in the 80’s, but they were reissues on Ace Records (a great UK label) and Rhino. The original is hard to find in good condition, and for years has been in my "Look for" notebook I take with me when I’m out hunting down records. I’m a patient kind of guy, so one day I’ll find a copy.

I buy every good condition original pressing Everly Brothers LP I find, and currently have 29 in my collection (5 on CD). That includes the pair of albums they did in the 80’s with Dave Edmunds producing. Lately I’ve found a few of the brothers solo albums on LP as well. Love The Everly Brothers to death! By far my favorite of the original 1950’s Rock ’n’ Roll acts. Speaking of Edmunds, posted below is a video of "Here Comes The Weekend", a song co-written by Dave and Nick Lowe and found on Dave's "perfect" album Get It. The song is obviously modeled on the EV Brothers, with Dave singing both vocal parts.

I like Norah Jones, and don’t mind Green Day, but I’ve not been terribly motivated to give Foreverly a listen. How is it?

Has everyone heard the story about Scorsese electronically removing the clump of white powder that was clearly visible in Neil Young’s nostril in The Last Waltz? In an interview with one of the performers, the artist said there was a table behind the Winterland stage, on top of which was a giant mountain of cocaine. Robbie Robertson looks kinda wired throughout the film.

https://youtu.be/nlbdmR0HETk?si=rWQIYGGjJ9jfJUry