Pick a Day

Music History Events: Movies

November 27, 1985 Rocky IV opens in theaters, introducing a younger generation to James Brown, who performs a new song called "Living In America" before a big fight scene. It's Brown's first big hit since 1974, and also his last.

March 29, 1985 Madonna stars in the movie Desperately Seeking Susan alongside Rosanna Arquette.

February 22, 1985 Carl Perkins plays a nightclub bouncer in the John Landis-directed film Into The Night. It is Perkins' only film role as an actor.

December 5, 1984 Beverly Hills Cop, an action comedy starring Eddie Murphy, debuts in theaters. Its hit soundtrack, which goes on to win a Grammy Award, features tunes from Patti LaBelle ("New Attitude," "Stir It Up"), The Pointer Sisters ("Neutron Dance"), Glenn Frey ("The Heat Is On"), and Harold Faltermeyer ("Axel F").

September 13, 1984 Patti LaBelle makes her feature-film debut in the Norman Jewison drama A Soldier's Story, a WWII-era mystery about the murder of a Black sergeant near a segregated Army base in Louisiana. For her role as blues singer Big Mary, LaBelle wrote and performed the tune "Pourin' Whiskey Blues."

July 29, 1984 Prince becomes the first person to have a #1 song and star in a #1 movie at the same time as Purple Rain tops the box office while "When Doves Cry" stays perched atop the Hot 100 for its fourth consecutive week.

June 22, 1984 The Dolly Parton movie Rhinestone is released, featuring Parton as a country singer trying to mentor a New York cabbie played by Sylvester Stallone.

April 9, 1984 Cher, for her performance in Silkwood, loses the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award to Linda Hunt (in The Year Of Living Dangerously). Cher would win for Best Actress three years later for her role in Moonstruck.

August 26, 1983 The film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, starring David Bowie, opens in New York City.

July 15, 1983 The Saturday Night Fever sequel Staying Alive debuts in theaters, starring John Travolta. The Bee Gees also return for the soundtrack, introducing five new songs, including "The Woman In You."More

August 27, 1982 George Strait makes his movie debut in The Soldier, where he performs his song "Fool Hearted Memory" in a honky tonk as a brawl breaks out. The song becomes the first of Strait's 44 #1 Country hits.

June 11, 1982 After much anticipation Grease 2, the sequel to the smash 1978 musical, lands in theaters... but crashes and burns.More

May 24, 1982 The 11-minute film The Cooler, staring Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, is screened in the Short Film category at the Cannes Film Festival.

February 11, 1982 The Rolling Stones Let's Spend the Night Together, a concert film from their 1981 tour, opens in New York to miserable reviews.

April 3, 1981 The Elvis Presley documentary movie This Is Elvis (with Ral Donner narrating) premieres in Memphis.

February 7, 1981 ABC begins airing the first installment of the mini-series Elvis and Me, based on ex-wife Priscilla Presley's book of the same name.

November 26, 1980 The movie Rockshow, a documentary of Paul McCartney's 1976 "Wings Over America" tour, premieres in New York.

October 3, 1980 Paul Simon's semi-autobiographical movie One-Trick Pony, in which he stars, is released in the US. It gets mixed reviews and does poorly at the box office, but does include a hit song: "Late in the Evening."

September 17, 1980 Bette Midler's Divine Madness movie, based on one of her concerts the previous year, premieres in Los Angeles.

August 1, 1980 George Harrison forms a movie production company called Handmade Films, which produces the films Monty Python's Life of Brian, The Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, and Shanghai Surprise.

June 13, 1980 The film Roadie, starring Meat Loaf as, yep, a roadie, opens in theaters.More

November 7, 1979 The Rose, starring Bette Midler as a rock singer who hits the big time, opens in theaters. The film is based on the life of Janis Joplin, but filmmakers can't secure the rights to use her image or story. Midler gets an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the role.

November 2, 1979 The Who's musical film Quadrophenia, featuring a small part played by Sting, opens in US theaters.

October 18, 1979 After a series of renovations, New York's legendary venue Radio City Music Hall re-opens with a showing of its first film, Disney's Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.

September 14, 1979 The film version of Quadrophenia, The Who's 1973 rock opera about growing up mod in London, premieres at the Toronto Film Festival.

May 23, 1979 The Who's acclaimed documentary The Kids Are Alright debuts in New York City.

March 16, 1979 CBS airs the Wings Over the World documentary, chronicling the adventures of Paul McCartney's band Wings on their 1975-1976 tour.

February 11, 1979 The TV movie Elvis, starring Kurt Russell as the singer, airs on ABC.

July 14, 1978 Foul Play, a quirky comedy thriller starring Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase, debuts in theaters. The soundtrack boasts the Barry Manilow tune "Ready To Take A Chance Again," which is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.More

June 29, 1978 Peter Frampton gets in a bad car accident in the Bahamas, breaking his arm and suffering internal injuries. On the bright side, he gets to miss the premiere of the film he starred in, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which is derided by critics and anyone unfortunate enough to see it.