ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE

Some have passed into soul heaven: Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Jackie Wilson. But what of the Motown crooners and hit-makers whose work planted the seeds of inspiration for rap and hip-hop 25 years ago? Acclaimed documentarians Pennebaker and Hegedus (“Jimi Hendrix,” “The War Room,””Down from the Mountain”) hit the road with journalist Roger Friedman in 1999 to rediscover the aging singers in far-flung places and in mostly fine form: Wilson Pickett, Sam Moore, the Chi-Lites, Jerry Butler, and the best gem of the film, Mary Wilson of the Supremes. More a present-day valentine than a historical flashback, the film documents a dying music genre and the folks who were cheated out of millions in “golden oldie” royalties, but remain standing … and singing, at benefits, in-the-round dinner theaters and the like. The film includes brief interviews and backstage glimpses, but focuses on spotlighted acts in performance, such as Wilson Pickett's “In the Midnight Hour,” Sam Moore of Sam & Dave singing a show-stopping “Something is Wrong,” and Jerry Butler returns to the mike from Chicago politics for a dramatic reading of “For Your Precious Love.” Some archival footage is brief; the focus here is on the singers still belting out their tunes.