A September full of music documentaries

Netflix has a good catalog of music documentaries. I watched the ones on Nina Simone, The Eagles & Quincy Jones. Here are a few thoughts.

1) What happened, Miss Simone?

An academy award nominated film, this was almost heartbreaking to watch. It takes you through an honest journey of how a wonderfully talented Nina Simone went from being the darling of the music industry to being an outcast! Her fall from grace as the industry dealt with her fight against racism and discrimination during civil rights movement, and her personal battle against domestic abuse and bipolar disorder. One of the most celebrated and storied singers of her time, she won several awards but the same industry that put her on a pedestal refused to hold her hand when she rebelled against a discriminatory culture. It makes you wonder what would have happened to her had the world been a perfect place to live? Would she has soared into newer heights?

(Image credit: https://www.amazon.com/What-Happened-Miss-Simone-Blu-ray/dp/B01I1P8GWE)

2) History of the Eagles

This emmy award winning documentary showcases personal accounts of each Eagle on the band’s birth, evolution and sustained success. It makes you feel intensely! You feel Glen Frey's burning ego from his frank thoughts. (I am not saying his ego was bad. On the contrary, I think it was justified given his talent! ) You feel Don Henley's charisma through his years as the Eagles’ drummer and lead vocalist. you feel bad for Don Felder and feel excited for Joe Welsh's come-back after personal battle with drug abuse. This documentary opened my eyes and ears to their comprehensive work! I have to admit, until I saw this, the only song I knew of the Eagles’ was “Hotel California”!

(Image credit: https://can.newonnetflix.info/info/70267553/s)

3) Quincy

I was let down heavily by this documentary. Having been introduced to Quincy Jones through several books and a documentary on MJ, I wanted to see more on how Quincy came to be one of the biggest, most successful music producers in the world. Since it is a show directed by his daugher, Rashida Jones, you can see that it is a very carefully crafted show and is a little bit on the emotional side. I have no problem with that, but the fact that it could have been more! Life of a legendary producer like Quincy cannot be all detailed in just 2.5 hrs. It should have been lengthier and more nuanced in my opinion.

(Image credit: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7440432/)