Pick a Day

Music History Events: Movies

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.

May 25, 1978 Keith Moon performs for the last time with The Who at the Shepperton Film Studio in England for the movie The Kids Are Alright.

May 18, 1978 The Buddy Holly Story, starring Gary Busey as Holly, is released in the US.

May 17, 1978 The disco film Thank God It's Friday, starring Donna Summer and Village People, premieres in Los Angeles.

March 17, 1978 The Alan Freed biopic American Hot Wax, widely considered one of the best Rock and Roll movies of all time, premieres in New York City, featuring appearances and performances by Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

February 16, 1978 The film ABBA: The Movie has its UK premiere at Leicester Square's Warner Theatre.

February 3, 1978 The TV-movie Dead Man's Curve, the first to deal with the tragic Jan & Dean story, premieres on ABC.

January 25, 1978 Bob Dylan's Renaldo and Clara, a semi-documentary of his famous Rolling Thunder Revue tour, premieres in Los Angeles.

November 19, 1977 The Frank Sinatra TV-movie Contract On Cherry Street airs on NBC.

March 18, 1976 The Man Who Fell To Earth, starring David Bowie, premieres in London. The film is based on Walter Tevis' novel of the same name, about an alien who visits Earth in search of water for his planet, which is suffering from a drought. It's Bowie's first major film role.

March 26, 1975 The movie version of Tommy premieres in London.

October 24, 1974 Stardust, a sequel to the film That'll Be The Day again starring David Essex, opens in the UK.

April 14, 1974 On Easter Sunday, the concert documentary Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones, premieres at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. It's the first of its kind with quadraphonic sound, requiring a special system. It's a grand event, but Mick Jagger declares the film "boring."

June 6, 1973 The Elvis Presley concert documentary Elvis On Tour opens nationwide.

May 13, 1973 The movie That'll Be The Day, starring David Essex, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Billy Fury and John Hawken of The Nashville Teens opens in the UK.More

April 18, 1973 The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young documentary Journey Through The Past, directed by Neil Young, debuts at the Dallas Film Festival.

March 27, 1973 Liza Minnelli wins an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Cabaret, beating out Diana Ross, who starred in Lady Sings The Blues.

March 17, 1973 The sci-fi musical Lost Horizon, scored by Burt Bacharach, bombs at the box office. The failure precipitates Bacharach's split from longtime songwriting partner Hal David and Dionne Warwick, who had performed their songs for more than a decade.More

March 15, 1973 The Emerson, Lake & Palmer film Pictures At An Exhibition, taken from a 1970 performance at the Lyceum in London, opens in theaters. The album of the same name is taken from a later performance.

December 18, 1972 The Ringo Starr-directed T. Rex documentary, Born to Boogie, premieres at Oscar's Cinema in Brewer Street, Soho (UK). In attendance are Starr, the members of T. Rex, and Elton John.

December 18, 1972 Shooting begins for Bob Dylan's part in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

October 12, 1972 The movie Lady Sings The Blues, a musical biopic of singer Billie Holiday that launches the movie career of star Diana Ross, opens in theaters.

December 16, 1971 Frank Zappa's film 200 Motels premieres in London.

November 15, 1971 Blindman, a Spaghetti Western starring Ringo Starr, debuts in Rome.

May 15, 1971 Two short John Lennon films are shown at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

February 8, 1971 Bob Dylan's documentary Eat the Document, chronicling his 1966 tour of the UK, premieres at New York's Academy of Music. The ABC television network will buy the rights to the film, although they refuse to air it after deciding it doesn't contain enough concert footage.