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Listen to Looch: 'Summer of Soul' is a must-see documentary

Gladys Knight & the Pips perform at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary SUMMER OF SOUL.
Gladys Knight & the Pips perform at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary SUMMER OF SOUL.Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

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by Mary Lucia

July 08, 2021

Mary Lucia talks about Summer of Soul, a new documentary directed by Questlove that features footage of performances — stashed away for 50 years — of the Harlem Cultural Festival that took place in New York in 1969.

The lineup was incredible, featuring such artists as Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Staple Singers, Sly and the Family Stone, Mahalia Jackson, Hugh Masekela, the Fifth Dimension, B.B. King and many others. Notably, the festival took place in 1969, the same year as Woodstock, but only now is this historic music and cultural moment coming back to light.

"Go watch it," Mary says. Summer of Soul is available in theaters and it is also streaming on Hulu.

Official Trailer

Summer of Soul - official site

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