If you love watching movies about music, check out these titles on your next movie night! From biopics to comedies, each of these movies also have great soundtracks. 

Walk The Line (2005) 

Drama/biopic 

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon star in this biopic about Johnny Cash’s early life and his evolution into being the “Man in Black”. The film’s actors perform the songs in the movie, including “Folsom Prison Blues”. 

Folsom Prison Blues

This is Spinal Tap (1984) 

Comedy

“Spinal Tap – The Majesty of Rock” by kevin dooley is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

This mockumentary follows the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap on their tour of America. The film parodies the excesses of rock bands of the time, as well as documentaries about rock bands like The Song Remains the Same. The film also spawned the term “up to eleven”. 

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) 

Biopic 

Bohemian Rhapsody follows the life of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, from the band’s inception to their iconic 1985 Live Aid performance. The soundtrack includes many of the band’s songs and previously unreleased recordings. Including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, and “We Will Rock You”. 

Wayne’s World (1992) 

Comedy   

“Wayn’s World” by Ned Vizzini is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Based on an SNL sketch, Wayne’s World follows a pair of metalheads who run a public cable access show in Aurora, Ill. The film features cameos from Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper, and the soundtrack famously features “Bohemian Rhapsody” in a driving scene. 

Purple Rain (1984) 

Drama 

Purple Rain features Prince in his acting debut. The musician had told his manager after the release of his album 1999 that he wouldn’t renew his contract with him unless he was able to star in a studio film. He also scored the film, including the title track, “Purple Rain”. 

Straight Outta Compton (2015) 

Biopic 

This biopic details the history of hip-hop group N.W.A. Original members of the group Dr. Dre and Ice Cube served as producers on the film, as well as Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Woods-Wright. MC Ren and DJ Yella were creative consultants on the project. 

A Star is Born (2018) 

Romantic drama

The 2018 version of this movie, starting Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, is actually the fourth American adaptation. The 1937 original starred Janet Gaynor, 1954’s starred Judy Garland, and 1976’s starred Barbara Streisand. The lead song off of the 2018 soundtrack, “Shallow”, won an Oscar for “Best Original Song”. 

The Wall (1982) 

Musical drama 

The 1982 film The Wall was based on Pink Floyd’s 1979 album of the same name, and Pink Floyd bassist and vocalist Roger Waters wrote the screenplay. The film is metaphorical and features little dialogue, driven instead by music from the album, including “Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2”. 

La Bamba (1987) 

Biopic 

La Bamba followed the life of Chicano rock and roll star Ritchie Valens. The title comes from a Mexican folk song, famously recorded by Valens in 1958. Los Lobos covered the song for the soundtrack. 

What are your favorite music movies? Let us know in the comments!

Need to fall back in love with playing guitar?

Check out these song lessons we added in September 2023.

“Daydreamer” – Adele

“Daydreamer” is the first track off of British singer Adele’s first album, 19. She played guitar on the studio version of the track.

“Demons” – Imagine Dragons 

The music video for Imagine Dragons song “Demons” was dedicated to Tyler Robinson, a fan of the band who died at the age of 17 in March 2013 following a battle with cancer.

“Hey Joe” – Jimi Hendrix 

This lesson is a three-parter – learn the intro, solo and chord progression for this song!

“The Trooper” – Iron Maiden 

“The Trooper” is one of the English heavy metal band’s best-performing songs in the United States. The song is about a battle in the Crimean War called the “Charge of the Light Brigade at the Brigade of Balaclava 1854. Lord Alfred Tennyson wrote a poem of the same name in 1854.

“Give a Little Bit” – Super Tramp 

Supertramp co-frontman Roger Hodgson wrote “Give a Little Bit” years before the band recorded the track – when he was 19 or 20. Hodgson said that the song was inspired by The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love”. He told PROG in 2023, “Even at an unwizened young age when I wrote this song, I saw that the world needed love. I believed in love – it was always for love – and I just felt that was the most important thing in life.”

“All Out of Love” – Air Supply 

Australian soft rock duo Air Supply had a huge hit on their hands with 1980’s “All Out of Love”. The song had already been a hit in Australia after coming out in 1978 – but the original version had some different lyrics, including “I’m all out of love, I want to arrest you” – meaning to “get your attention. American record producer Clive Davis knew the line wouldn’t fly in America, so he suggested changing it to “so lost without you”.

We also dropped a new course!

Jack White Player Study 

Learn Jack White’s blues-inspired signature style with this course.

Sept. 25 is National One-Hit Wonder Day. Here’s a list of some bands that made it big – just briefly. 

‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell (1982)

The song “Tainted Love” was originally recorded in 1964 by American artist Gloria Jones. Originally a commercial flop, the single was purchased by British DJ Richard Searling in 1973 while on a trip to the U.S. Searling played the track in clubs in Northern England, where the “Northern soul” movement was popular.

English vocal-and-synth duo Soft Cell recorded a version of the track in 1981, which shot to the top of the UK charts and then the U.S. charts as well – staying 43 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, a record at that time.

In 2006, Rihanna’s “S.O.S.” sampled the iconic hook of the song.

‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor, 1982

Sylvester Stallone wanted to use Queen’s song “Another One Bites the Dust” as the theme song for Rocky III. When Queen declined, Stallone asked American rock band Survivor to write a song for the movie. The result was “Eye of the Tiger” – their best-selling hit of all time. It spent 15 back-to-back weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.

‘What’s Up?’ by 4 Non Blondes, 1993

The phrase “What’s Up” doesn’t actually appear in the lyrics for thi song – it was given the name “What’s Up” so that record stores wouldn’t confuse the track with “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye. The all-woman band only produced one record – “Bigger, Better, Faster, More!” in 1992 before breaking up in 1994. Founder and vocalist Linda Perry went on to have a very successful songwriting career, writing hit songs for Christina Aguilera, Pink, Gwen Stefani, and other artists. 

‘Tubthumping’ by Chumbawamba (1997)

British rock band Chumbawamba credited a pub for the inspiration for “Tubthumping”. The band was living in Leeds at the time, near a bar called “Fforde Grene”, and had a next-door neighbor who would patronize the bar every weekend, falling down drunk while trying to get back into his house. 

‘Take On Me’ by A-ha (1985)

Norwegian synth-pop band achieved huge success with their 1985 hit “Take On Me” – largely thanks to the song’s creative music video, which featured a live-action animation sequence. The video took six months to create and took home six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.

‘La Bamba’ by Los Lobos, 1987

Los Lobos covered “La Bamba” – a Mexican folk song, famously recorded by Ritchie Valens in 1958 – for Valens’ 1987 biopic, La Bamba. Los Lobos’ version was the fourth non-English language song to top the Billboard Hot 100.