Jamie Foxx, Patti LaBelle and More Featured on ‘The Apollo: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’

The digital edition of THE APOLLO: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack has been released by Universal Music Group/Blue Note Records/Polygram Entertainment/UMe, just ahead of the new HBO documentary’s November 6 broadcast premiere. Helmed by Oscar® and Emmy®-winning director Roger Ross Williams, THE APOLLO chronicles the unique history and contemporary legacy of New York City’s landmark Apollo Theater. The soundtrack’s CD and 2LP vinyl editions, featuring liner notes written by Williams, will be released on December 20. Produced by the film’s music supervisors, Grammy® nominee Dondi Bastone and TunesMap founder G. Marq Roswell, executive produced by Williams and White Horse Pictures CEO Nigel Sinclair, and mastered by Ian Sefchick at Capitol Studios, THE APOLLO’s 32-track soundtrack spotlights classic recordings by legendary artists who have graced the theater’s stage. The soundtrack also exclusively debuts a new original song, “Don’t Turn Back Now” by Robert Glasper with vocals by Ledisi, plus selections from Glasper’s original score for the film.

THE APOLLO documentary film weaves together archival clips of music, comedy and dance performances from an astonishing list of legendary talents that includes James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, and Richard Pryor; behind-the-scenes verité footage of the team that makes the theater run; and interviews with such artists as Angela Bassett, Common, Jamie Foxx, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, and Pharrell Williams. Williams also examines the current state of race in America, following the 2018 multimedia adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ bestselling book Between the World and Me as it comes together on the theater’s grand stage. In the film, Williams explores not only the struggle of black lives in America, but the role that art plays in that struggle, and the essential part the Apollo continues to play in the cultural conversation. Directed by Roger Ross Williams (“Music By Prudence,” “Life Animated”), THE APOLLO is produced by Lisa Cortes, p.g.a.; Jeanne Elfant Festa, p.g.a.; Cassidy Hartmann, p.g.a.; along with Williams. The film is a presentation of HBO, Impact Partners, The Apollo Theater Foundation, and is a White Horse Pictures production. Executive producers are Nigel Sinclair, Dan Cogan, Nicholas Ferrall, and Julie Goldman, among others.

THE APOLLO: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack brings together timeless music by many greats who have taken the stage at the Apollo with stories and memories from those who were there. The soundtrack provides an intimate audio experience, interspersing new and classic recordings – Charles Mingus’ “Take the ‘A’ Train,” Ella Fitzgerald’s “How High The Moon,” Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” and James Brown’s “Say It Loud-I’m Black and I’m Proud” and “Lost Someone” (from his first Live at the Apollo album), to name a few – with interview excerpts from the film from those who made it happen show-after-show, as well as authors, artists, and community leaders who share their insights. Excerpted segments from the film include brief comments from President Barack Obama, Angela Bassett, Pharrell Williams, and more.

Throughout the soundtrack album, THE APOLLO’s music composer, Emmy and five-time Grammy-winning Loma Vista Recordings artist Robert Glasper, takes listeners through several interviews with original score elements. The soundtrack also presents score pieces by composer Todd Griffin in this context, including an excerpt from the film spotlighting the stage adaptation of Coates’ Between the World and Me.

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