It's always fascinating to know how our favorite musicians came up with their personas and, more importantly, their chart-topping, award-winning hits. Every great artist has a story to share, from rags-to-riches and underdogs to the high life and glitz and glamour.
Music biopics have become a growing, thriving genre on its own, and if the present films are any indication - 2015's "Straight Outta Compton" to 2019's "Rocketman" - it's not slowing down anytime soon. This year, we're already looking at some promising new works - Aretha Franklin's "Respect", starring Jennifer Hudson, and "Stardust", the upcoming David Bowie biopic starring Johnny Flynn.
For fans of both music and movies, here are 10 of the best music biopics to get your next binge-watching session started:
10. Selena (1997)
Gregory Nava's 1997 film revisits the life and times of Tejano music idol Selena Perez, whose very promising career was cut short when she was shot and killed by the president of her fan club at a young age of 23.
This movie is credited as Jennifer Lopez's breakout role, earning her a Golden Globe nomination. Lopez would remember Selena in a 2015 interview with Billboard, saying that "She had a sense of living in the moment, living in the present and following her heart."
9. The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
Another one of music's greatest "what could've beens" is in this 1978 flick led by Gary Busey. The Lubbock, Texas teenager catapulted to rock and roll stardom. The movie includes the budding romance between Holly and Maria Elena Santiago, Ross Turner's secretary as well as a funny episode at the Apollo Theater.
The eyeglass-sporting rock pioneer, together with "The Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson and Ritchie Valens, would get on the ill-fated flight to Minnesota that would be later known as "The Day The Music Died". The 1986 movie by English director Alex Cox follows punk rock icon Sid Vicious as he spirals into substance abuse. It immediately opens to the tense scene of Vicious' capture outside Hotel Chelsea. The movie retells everything in a flashback to how the famous (or infamous) affair between the Sex Pistols' bassist and girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Gary Oldman undeniably captures' Sid Vicious' charisma, that even John Lydon, frontman to the British punk band, commends his performance despite finding the movie "the lowest form of life." This direct-to-TV biopic was directed by John Carpenter and starred Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley. Released two years after Presley's untimely death, the ABC-released film follows the King of Rock and Roll as he began his career before abruptly ending in 1970, not including the last few years before his death. It was Carpenter's first major foray into non-horror films after his wildly successful "Halloween" a year earlier. After its U.S. success, it was released theatrically in Europe. There are, however, different versions of the film: the original ABC broadcast, the shorted edited version for European audiences, and an alternate edit starting with Elvis' haircut before joining the Army. Completely lavish to capture 18th Vienna, Amadeus spares no expense in its production. Directed by Milos Forman and lifted from a stage play of the same name by Peter Shaffer, it follows composer Antonio Salieri as he recounts his life living in the shadow of the genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Note: in real life, Salieri was not the in-your-nose kind of villain he is. They were contemporaries and rivals, yes, but history notes their relationship as more synergistic and professional. Plus, this film won eight Academy Awards in one go. For a story on the life and battles of the NWA, 2015's "Straight Outta Compton" is your authorized source. The group's remaining members produced it, and it follows the group's rise and fall, from the late 80s to the 90s. As the curtains soon close, the heartbreaking return and last lap of founder Eazy-E, as well as the separate paths taken by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube unfolds. Of course, since it was mostly developed with inputs from Ice Cube and Dr. Dre themselves, other people have something to say about it. MC Ren, one of the group's members, complained about his lack of representation in the movie. At the same time, several editorials and posts took a jab at Dr. Dre's history with physically abusing his female associates. Either way, you have to see it first. Named after a 1972 hit song, "Rocketman" follows the life of Sir Elton John, born Kenneth Reginald Dwight. His songs underscore essential scenes and events in his life, giving that theatric feel to the visual spectacle that the movie inevitably becomes. It begins from his childhood as Regie, up until he reached stardom, and his battle with substance abuse, before getting over it and continuing his lasting musical legacy. Kingman star Taron Egerton looks, sounds, and feels like a young Elton John. He actually lived with the pop legend in preparation for the role, knowing stories and nuances that the real "Rocketman" offers. It was "Dirty Harry" himself who produced and directed this film, with Forest Whitaker playing the role of the sax genius Charlie "Bird" Parker. Clint Eastwood's work leaves the truth to the audience as he recreated scenes from Bird's life, carefully woven into an actual montage from his life. It includes his drug addiction, his attempted suicide from the death of his child, and more before dying early at 34. Some of the music used in this movie were Bird's actual performances recorded by his wife, Chan Parker. This movie would earn Eastwood a Golden Globe Best Director Award while Whitaker would have a Best Actor Award from no less than the Cannes Film Festival. How do you tell the story onscreen of a multi-talented artist whose works span five decades defying conventions at every turn? Todd Haynes knew that linear storytelling would be both long and convoluted, so he did it the way Bob Dylan made his music, unconventionally. "I'm Not There" attempts to show "The Voice of Protest", having six actors portray different parts of Bob Dylan's public persona. It intercuts each episode of the musician's life, using the Dylan-inspired characters as a stand-in for the characters he manifests. We have concepts and facets such as the poet, the outlaw, and the martyr of rock and roll. It's an experience as hard to describe as it was to try and understand Dylan in his entirety. While Queen as a band was already mainstream and successful beyond comparison, it was their 1985 Live Aid performance that would finally cement their legacy in music history. The movie understands this and created it in such a way that moviegoers for "Bohemian Rhapsody" actually felt like they were in that legendary performance, with the concert being the movie's climax. Rami Malek went up and beyond to portray frontman Freddy Mercury, with the team recreating the 1985 performance almost shot by shot. No wonder it scored four victories at the 91st Academy Awards, as well as recognition from the Gloden Globes, BAFTA, and the Screen Actors Guild.
Buddy Holly, the Lubbock teen who would be propelled at the forefront of the budding Rock n' Roll scene before tragically dying in a plane crush dubbed "The Day the Music Died" in February 1959.
8. Sid & Nancy (1986)
7. Elvis (1979)
6. Amadeus (1984)
5. Straight Outta Compton (2015)
4. Rocketman
The Rocketman, a movie based on the life and times of Sir Elton John, was released in 2019 to critical acclaim.
3. Bird (1988)
2. I'm Not There (2007)
1. Bohemian Rhapsody
