MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES AND CONCERTS

Documentary on Otis Redding's performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.

First ever TV documentary about the legendary soul singer Otis Redding, following him from childhood and marriage to the Memphis studios and segregated Southern clubs where he honed his unique stage act and voice. Through unseen home movies, the film reveals how Otis's 1967 tour of Britain dramatically changed his life and music. After bringing soul to Europe, he returned to conquer America, first with the 'love crowd' at the Monterey Festival and then with Dock of the Bay, which topped the charts only after his death at just 26. Includes rare and unseen performances, intimate interviews with Otis's wife and daughter and with original band members Steve Cropper and Booker T Jones. Also featured are British fans whose lives were changed by seeing him, among them Rod Stewart, Tom Jones and Bryan Ferry.

An investigation into the circumstances and controversy surrounding Sam Cooke's murder.

A portrait of soul legend Bill Withers.

A look at the music career of musician James Brown beginning with his first hit song, "Please, Please, Please," in 1956.

The film documents that remarkable concert and the politics around it. Boston Mayor Kevin White and his colleagues almost by accident realized that by televising the James Brown concert they could keep people indoors that night prevent widespread rioting. The film is almost testimony to the power of music in general and the power of James Brown's music in particular. The film is a tribute to the Godfather of Soul and the role he would come to play in working for civil rights.

In 1974, music producers, Hugh Masekela and Stewart Levine worked with the boxing promoter, Don King, to create a music festival in Africa to run concurrently with his championship boxing match he arranged with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, aka "The Rumble in the Jungle," in Kinshasa, Zaire. However, due to an unforeseen delay due to Foreman injuring himself in training, it was decided that the music festival must still go on as scheduled. This film covers the preparation of that festival with both stage construction and the arrival of the participating musicians. When all is ready, the people of Zaire got to experience a musical event that Africa had never seen before with great African-American and local artists performing with verve and purpose, with the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, just the biggest star of this musical extravaganza.

James Brown: The Man, The Music & The Message is an inspiring program focusing on the remarkable life story of James Brown and how he influenced the world through his music and civic accomplishments. The film specifically explores James Brown's transition from an at-risk youth who faces life's difficult circumstances and challenges to a cultural icon. It also features private interviews and appearances from various entertainment celebrities including Michael Jackson. This entertainment special will send a positive message to the nation by paying homage to the man, the music, and the message of James Brown.

Dubbed 'the black Beatles' by the British tabloids, the 'other' four lads from Liverpool recount their incredible story from the tough streets of Toxteth to the bright lights of New York - a journey of international stardom as Britain's pioneering million-selling soul and funk band. Against a backdrop of prejudice and political turmoil in the 1970s, The Real Thing were the first all-black British band to hit #1 in the UK pop charts, with the universally-loved 'You To Me Are Everything'. Other hits like 'Can't Get By Without You', 'You'll Never Know What You're Missing' and 'Can You Feel the Force' set dance-floors alight, but their proudest moment was composing the rousing 'Children of the Ghetto' - the first ever protest song to address the plight of black immigrants in Britain. The group's massive success has been tempered with racism, drug addiction and suicide but, for the very first time, original band members Eddy Amoo, Chris Amoo and Dave Smith reveal the brutally honest truth behind their trailblazing 50-year career. After five decades together, they remain the godfathers of black British music.

A biographical look at The Temptations, the Motown soul vocal quintet who first came to fame in the 1960s, as seen from the viewpoint of the last surviving original member, Otis Williams. Beginning from their humble origins in the late 1950s and continuing through the 1990s and the deaths of the other original members.

The story of R&B singer Al Green, who gave up a successful singing career to become a gospel minister.

Celebrating the men whose vocal stylings have carried the torch for soul across six decades. It showcases the rarely-seen but infectious Brenton Wood's Gimme Little Sign and offers the velvet voice of Curtis Mayfield singing Keep On Keeping On. There are groundbreaking artists from the '60s to the noughties, with performances from Billy Preston, Bill Withers, Billy Ocean, Alexander O'Neal, Barry White, Bobby Womack and many more.

A documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.

A vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, who has become a symbol of freedom and power for all African American women.