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Questlove Talks 'Summer of Soul' : It's Been a Minute There were two big music festivals happening in the summer of 1969. While one defined an entire generation of culture and music... the other remained obscure — the only recorded footage placed in a basement that was said to have sat, unpublished, for decades. That is, until Questlove's first documentary Summer of Soul came out last year. In this episode, Sam chats with Questlove about the recent release of the film's soundtrack, the long history of Black erasure, and the memorable performances from the likes of The 5th Dimension, Stevie Wonder (playing the drums!), Mavis Staples, Mahalia Jackson, and Nina Simone.

It's Been a Minute

Questlove's 'Summer of Soul' brings lost music back to life

Questlove's 'Summer of Soul' brings lost music back to life

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Sly Stone performs at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary Summer of Soul. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Sly Stone performs at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary Summer of Soul.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

There were two big music festivals happening in the summer of 1969. While one defined an entire generation of culture and music... the other remained obscure — the only recorded footage placed in a basement that was said to have sat, unpublished, for decades. That is, until Questlove's first documentary Summer of Soul came out last year. In this episode, Sam chats with Questlove about the recent release of the film's soundtrack, the long history of Black erasure, and the memorable performances from the likes of The 5th Dimension, Stevie Wonder (playing the drums!), Mavis Staples, Mahalia Jackson, and Nina Simone.

This episode of 'It's Been a Minute' was produced by Jinae West and edited by Jordana Hochman. We had help from Lars Gotrich and engineering support from Neal Rauch and Gilly Moon. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org.