Skip to content

Get News & Updates

Subscribe

News RSS

‘Summer Of Soul’ Wins Academy Award For Best Documentary Feature

220328_sly_summerofsoul

The magical 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival finally received a global stage with Questlove’s Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised). The documentary, which includes Sly & The Family Stone and other legendary artists, received the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards last night!

‘Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)’ Soundtrack Out Now!

211209_summerofsoul

OSCAR-NOMINATED DOCUMENTARY SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE NOW 
2LP EXPANDED EDITION COMING JUNE 17 

SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) 
AVAILABLE NOW ON DISNEY +, HULU, DIGITAL RETAILERS AND DVD

“This soundtrack is a miracle” – NPR Music 

“Best New Reissue…The soundtrack to Questlove’s excellent documentary on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival tells a nuanced story of Black creativity and perseverance at the end of a transformative decade” – Pitchfork 

“This is as perfect as any album can be…5 STARS” – MOJO

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, Mass Distraction Media, Academy Award nominated documentary producers David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, and Joseph Patel alongside Academy Award nominated filmmaker, director, executive producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson are pleased to present the Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The album accompanies Questlove’s Oscar-nominated, award-winning directorial debut documentary. The film is available now on Hulu, through digital retailers and DVD. 

Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on January 28 in digital and CD formats. An expanded 2LP will be available on June 17, and Target will exclusively offer a 1LP red vinyl. Both are available for pre-order now HERE

Like the documentary, most of the audio recordings that were recorded during the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival have not been heard for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America’s history lost – until now. The Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Original Motion Picture Soundtrackis a joyous musical celebration and the rediscovery of a nearly erased historical event that celebrated Black culture, pride and unity. 

For the album, Questlove carefully selected 17 live renditions of jazz, blues, R&B, Latin, and soul classics performed over the course of The Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969 as chronicled by the film (please see track listing below). “Sing A Simple Song” from Sly & The Family Stone was released last month. Listen to it HERE

Stay tuned for more news and announcements about the Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack soon.

Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
CD TRACKLISTING:

  1. The Chambers Brothers – “Uptown”
  2. B.B. King – “Why I Sing The Blues”
  3. The 5th Dimension – “Don’t Cha Hear Me Callin’ To Ya”
  4. The 5th Dimension – “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)”
  5. David Ruffin – “My Girl”
  6. The Edwin Hawkins Singers – “Oh Happy Day”
  7. The Staple Singers – “It’s Been A Change”
  8. The Operation Breadbasket Orchestra & Choir Featuring Mahalia Jackson and Mavis Staples – “Precious Lord Take My Hand”
  9. Gladys Knight & The Pips – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
  10. Mongo Santamaria – “Watermelon Man”
  11. Ray Barretto – “Together”
  12. Herbie Mann- “Hold On, I’m Comin’”
  13. Sly & The Family Stone – “Sing A Simple Song”
  14. Sly & The Family Stone – “Everyday People”
  15. Nina Simone – “Backlash Blues”
  16. Nina Simone – “Are You Ready”

Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
DIGITAL & 2 LP TRACKLISTING:

  1. The Chambers Brothers – “Uptown”
  2. B.B. King – “Why I Sing The Blues”
  3. The 5th Dimension – “Don’t Cha Hear Me Callin’ To Ya”
  4. The 5th Dimension – “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)”
  5. David Ruffin – “My Girl”
  6. The Edwin Hawkins Singers – “Oh Happy Day”
  7. The Staple Singers – “It’s Been A Change”
  8. The Operation Breadbasket Orchestra & Choir Featuring Mahalia Jackson and Mavis Staples – “Precious Lord Take My Hand”
  9. Gladys Knight & The Pips – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
  10. Mongo Santamaria – “Watermelon Man”
  11. Ray Barretto – “Together”
  12. Herbie Mann- “Hold On, I’m Comin’”
  13. Sly & The Family Stone – “Sing A Simple Song”
  14. Sly & The Family Stone – “Everyday People”
  15. Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach – “Africa”
  16. Nina Simone – “Backlash Blues”
  17. Nina Simone – “Are You Ready”

SUMMER OF SOUL (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Highlights from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack  
TARGET EXCLUSIVE TRACKLISTING 
Side A

  1. The Chambers Brothers – “Uptown”
  2. B.B. King – “Why I Sing The Blues”
  3. The 5th Dimension – “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)”
  4. The Edwin Hawkins Singers – “Oh Happy Day”
  5. The Staple Singers – “It’s Been A Change”

Side B

  1. Gladys Knight & The Pips – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
  2. Mongo Santamaria – “Watermelon Man”
  3. Ray Barretto – “Together”
  4. Sly & The Family Stone – “Sing A Simple Song”
  5. Nina Simone – “Backlash Blues”

About Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was largely forgotten—until now. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past and present. The feature includes concert performances by Nina Simone, Sly & The Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension and more. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. It is streaming on Disney + and Hulu in conjunction with Disney General Entertainment’s Onyx Collective; Searchlight Pictures released it theatrically. It notably took home six top honors at the Critics Choice Awards, including “Best Documentary Feature,” “Best Director,” “Best First Documentary Feature,” “Best Editing,” “Best Archival Documentary,” and “Best Music Documentary,” and wasWinner of Best Documentary Award from the National Board of Review.  Summer Of Soul has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary and the 2022 GRAMMY® Awards in the “Best Music Film” category.