Popular music history on screen
the pop/rock biopic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.v2i1.77Keywords:
music, film, history, performanceAbstract
The current popularity of popular music biopics in British and American cinema (and TV) has re-awakened discussions over the accuracy and reliability of the stories they tell. Using illustrations and examples from past and present productions, the paper explores the relationship between music, film and history; the inevitability of interpretation, imagination and invention in the films’ portrayals of history; the inevitable tensions between historical accuracy and commercial considerations; the options open to film-makers in their reconstruction of musical performances; and the attractions of the genre for producers and consumers of film and popular music. Many of these issues are applicable to cinema’s treatment of historical themes and events in general, but the success of films like Ray, Walk the Line and Beyond the Sea, and the large number of projects in various stages of production and pre-production, have given the popular music biopic a very specific place in the current debate.
References
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Babington, Bruce. 2006. ‘Star Personae and Authenticity in the Country Music Biopic’. In Film’s Musical Moments, eds Ian Conrich and Estella Tincknell, 84–98. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
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Davis, Stephen. 2004. Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend. London: Ebury Press.
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Hughes-Warrington, Marnie. 2007. History Goes to the Movies: Studying History on Film. London: Routledge.
Jenkins, Keith. 1995. On ‘What is History’. London: Routledge.
Jenson, Joli. 1992. ‘Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization’. In The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, ed. Lisa A. Lewis, 9–29. London: Routledge.
Laing, Dave. 1972. Buddy Holly. London: Macmillan.
Lotman, Yuri. 1976. Semiotics of Cinema. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Lowenthal, David. 1989. ‘Nostalgia Tells it Like it Wasn’t’. In The Imagined Past: History and Nostalgia, eds Christopher Shaw and Malcolm Chase, 18–32. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Maltby, Richard. 1995. Hollywood Cinema. Oxford: Blackwell.
Medhurst, Andy. 1995. ‘It Sort of Happened Here: The Strange, Brief Life of the British Pop Film’. In Celluloid Jukebox, eds Jonathan Romney and Adrian Wootton, 60–71. London: British Film Institute.
Morley, Paul. 2005. ‘Rock and Reel’. The Observer Music Magazine, August 21, 2005: 12–17. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,13887,1550799.00.html.
Norman, Philip. 1996. Rave On: The Biography of Buddy Holly. London: Simon & Schuster.
Romney, Jonathan and Adrian Wootton, eds. 1995. Celluloid Jukebox. London: British Film Institute.
Rose, Cynthia. 1993. ‘The Riddle of the Rock Biopic’. Sight and Sound 3/10: 14–16.
Rosenstone, Robert A. 1995. Visions of the Past. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Stam, Robert. 2005a. Literature Through Film: Realism, Magic, and the Art of Adaptation. Oxford: Blackwell.
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Taylor, John Russell. 1971. ‘The Musical’. In Cinema: The First 75 Years, ed. George Perry, 69–77. London: Thomson.
Tosh, John. 1984. The Pursuit of History. London: Longman.
Tudor, Andrew. 1974. Image And Influence: Studies in the Sociology of Film. London: Allen & Unwin.
Babington, Bruce. 2006. ‘Star Personae and Authenticity in the Country Music Biopic’. In Film’s Musical Moments, eds Ian Conrich and Estella Tincknell, 84–98. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Beatles, The. 2000. The Beatles Anthology. London: Cassell.
Beecher, John and John Goldrosen. 1996. Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography. London: Omnibus.
Burke, Peter. 2004. What is Cultural History? Cambridge: Polity.
Carlin, Peter Ames. 2006. Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall And Redemption of The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. London: Rodale.
Carr, E. H. 1961. What Is History. London: Macmillan.
Carroll, Noel. 2006. ‘Fiction, Non-Fiction, and the Film of Presumptive Assertion: A Conceptual Analysis’. In Philosophy of Film and Motion Pictures, eds Noel Carroll and Jinhee Choi, 154–71. Oxford: Blackwell.
Caughie, John. 1981. ‘Progressive Television and Documentary Drama’. In Popular Television and Film, eds Tony Bennett, Susan Boyd-Bowman, Colin Mercer and Janet Woollacott, 327–52. London: British Film Institute.
Coleman, Kathleen M. 2004. ‘The Pedant Goes to Hollywood’. In Gladiator: Film and History, ed. Martin M. Winkler, 45–52.Oxford: Blackwell.
Cook, Pam. 2005. Screening the Past: Memory and Nostalgia in Cinema. London: Routledge.
Custen, George F. 1992. Bio/Pics: How Hollywood Conceived Public History. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
Davies, Hunter. 1985. The Beatles (Revised Edition). London: Jonathan Cape.
Davis, Stephen. 2004. Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend. London: Ebury Press.
Harrison, George. 1982. I Me Mine. London: W. H. Allen.
Hesmondhalgh, David. 2002. ‘Popular Music Audiences and Everyday Life’. In Popular Music Studies, ed. David Hesmondhalgh and Keith Negus, 117–30. London: Arnold.
Hughes-Warrington, Marnie. 2007. History Goes to the Movies: Studying History on Film. London: Routledge.
Jenkins, Keith. 1995. On ‘What is History’. London: Routledge.
Jenson, Joli. 1992. ‘Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization’. In The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, ed. Lisa A. Lewis, 9–29. London: Routledge.
Laing, Dave. 1972. Buddy Holly. London: Macmillan.
Lotman, Yuri. 1976. Semiotics of Cinema. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Lowenthal, David. 1989. ‘Nostalgia Tells it Like it Wasn’t’. In The Imagined Past: History and Nostalgia, eds Christopher Shaw and Malcolm Chase, 18–32. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Maltby, Richard. 1995. Hollywood Cinema. Oxford: Blackwell.
Medhurst, Andy. 1995. ‘It Sort of Happened Here: The Strange, Brief Life of the British Pop Film’. In Celluloid Jukebox, eds Jonathan Romney and Adrian Wootton, 60–71. London: British Film Institute.
Morley, Paul. 2005. ‘Rock and Reel’. The Observer Music Magazine, August 21, 2005: 12–17. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,13887,1550799.00.html.
Norman, Philip. 1996. Rave On: The Biography of Buddy Holly. London: Simon & Schuster.
Romney, Jonathan and Adrian Wootton, eds. 1995. Celluloid Jukebox. London: British Film Institute.
Rose, Cynthia. 1993. ‘The Riddle of the Rock Biopic’. Sight and Sound 3/10: 14–16.
Rosenstone, Robert A. 1995. Visions of the Past. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Stam, Robert. 2005a. Literature Through Film: Realism, Magic, and the Art of Adaptation. Oxford: Blackwell.
—2005b. ‘The Theory and Practice of Adaptation’. In Literature and Film, eds Robert Stam and Alessandra Raengo, 1–52. Oxford: Blackwell.
Taylor, John Russell. 1971. ‘The Musical’. In Cinema: The First 75 Years, ed. George Perry, 69–77. London: Thomson.
Tosh, John. 1984. The Pursuit of History. London: Longman.
Tudor, Andrew. 1974. Image And Influence: Studies in the Sociology of Film. London: Allen & Unwin.
Published
2007-04-01
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Inglis, I. (2007). Popular music history on screen: the pop/rock biopic. Popular Music History, 2(1), 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.v2i1.77
