Staying Fit
(Left to right) George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham!; Donna Summer
Netflix; HBO
If you count yourself a music lover, but your concert-festival-going days are long behind you, you’re in luck: This summer will see the release of a slew of new streaming music documentaries and concert films that bring the thrill of live performance and the excitement of pop music history right into your living room. Best of all, there’s something to stream no matter your favorite genre, from pop (Wham!) to R&B (TLC Forever), disco (Love to Love You, Donna Summer) to country (CMA Fest: 50 Years of Fan Fair) and everything in between.
Wham!
Best known for attention-grabbing documentaries like Tiger King and 100 Foot Wave, Chris Smith directs this intimate look at the world-conquering pop power duo, made up of the late legend George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, 60. Using archival footage and never-before-seen interviews, the documentary dives into their four short years of superstardom (1982 to 1986), during which they sold more than 30 million records and landed seven singles in the Billboard top 10. “[Smith] has come as close as anyone might to making tangible that which is the essence of Wham! and has done so with veracity and affection,” Ridgeley recently told Rolling Stone.
Watch it: Wham! on Netflix (out July 5)
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TLC Forever
The best-selling American girl group since the Supremes, TLC got the fictionalized biopic treatment with 2013’s CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story. Now, a decade later, the two surviving members — Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, 53, and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, 52 — are telling their own story in a new documentary that premiered on Lifetime earlier this month. With interviews from acclaimed peers like Questlove (52) and Missy Elliott (51), the film charts the Grammy-winning trio’s rise in the early ’90s, the tragic death of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and preparations for their new summer tour.
Watch it: TLC Forever on Lifetime
AARP Members Only Access: 10 Quick Questions for TLC’s Chilli and T-Boz
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