Music has always played an important part in cinema since the very beginning of the industry. The early films were silent but were accompanied by a pianist or even, in some large cities, a small orchestra in theaters. When recorded, synchronized sound began in 1927, it was a game-charger for the movies and the first sound feature film released, "The Jazz Singer" was, not surprisingly, a musical.
Over time, documentaries were made about music and the gifted artists who created these sounds. In recent years, this has exploded with a large number of movies about musicians, well-known, obscure or forgotten, in all genres have been filling cinemas and streaming channels.
Vulturehas put together a list of fifty of what they consider to be the best music documentaries of all time. First putting these selections together in 2015, they have updated this listing to include recent releases. These movies (which include a few concert films) are all important and fascinating documents. There are films which deeply explore what has made many of these popular musicians so vital; highlight professionals who had assisted singers and musicians with their careers and reveal talented artists who never had a real opportunity to shine in their lifetime yet remain highly influential.
The National Recording Registry has just selected the latest twenty-five sound recordings inducted with the goal each year to highlight what it calls "the range and diversity of the American recorded sound heritage". The Registry is an extension of the passage by Congress in 2000 of the National Recording Preservation Act. Since 2002, the Library of Congress oversees the selection of 25 recordings, which must be at least 10 years old at the time of induction, and deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". This latest group brings the total number of recordings in the registry to 625.
Some of the selections this year include the breakthrough (and then highly controversial) album by Madonna, "Like a Virgin"; "Imagine", the inspirational anthem by the late, former Beatle, John Lennon; the debut album by hip-hop artist, Queen Latifah, "All Hail the Queen"; "Margaritaville", the laid back ode to the cocktail from Jimmy Buffett; Daddy Yankee’s reggaeton explosion, "Gasolina"; "Wang Dang Doodle", the first big hit from "The Queen of the Blues", Koko Taylor; "Stairway to Heaven", the lengthy, innovative rock classic that progressively shifts in tempo and volume from the blues-rock band, Led Zeppelin; the first recording of one of Bacharach-David's legendary pop songs, "What the World Needs Now Is Love" by Jackie DeShannon; the video game sound of "Super Mario Bros." and Mariah Carey's now traditional holiday song, "All I Want For Christmas".
Here is the complete list of the twenty-five selections entered into the 2023 Recording Registry:
"The Very First Mariachi Recordings" — Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)
"St. Louis Blues" (single) — Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)
"Sugar Foot Stomp" — Fletcher Henderson (1926)
"Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation" for NBC Radio
(Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939) "Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around" (single) — The Fairfield Four (1947)
"What the World Needs Now is Love" (single) — Jackie DeShannon (1965)
"Wang Dang Doodle" (single) — Koko Taylor (1966)
"Sherry" (single) — The Four Seasons (1962)
"Ode to Billie Joe" (single) — Bobbie Gentry (1967)
"Déjà Vu" (album) — Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)
"Imagine" (single) — John Lennon (1971)
"Stairway to Heaven" (single) — Led Zeppelin (1971)
"Take Me Home, Country Roads" (single) — John Denver (1971)
"Margaritaville" (single) — Jimmy Buffett (1977)
"Flashdance. . .What a Feeling" (single) — Irene Cara (1983) "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (single) — Eurythmics (1983)
"Synchronicity" (album) — The Police (1983)
"Black Codes (From the Underground)" (album) — Wynton Marsalis (1985)
"Super Mario Bros. theme" — Koji Kondo, composer (1986)
"Like a Virgin" (album) — Madonna (1984)
"All Hail the Queen" (album) — Queen Latifah (1989)
"All I Want for Christmas is You" (single) — Mariah Carey (1994)
"Pale Blue Dot" — Carl Sagan (1994)
"Gasolina" (single) — Daddy Yankee (2004)
"Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra" — Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)
It's been almost three years since The Go-Go's, the first commercially successful all-female rock band, were finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And its been almost twenty-seven years since the group's lead singer, Belinda Carlisle, who went on to have her own popular career as a solo artist after the Go-Go's broke-up for the first time, has released a collection of new pop music. Although she had previously recorded an album of classic French-language standards in 2007 and a collection of Sikh chants ten years later, Carlisle has teamed up with legendary songwriter, Diane Warren, who had written one of her early solo hits "I Get Weak", to work on this recent musical venture. The now sixty-four year old vocalist has previewed the first single from the upcoming EP, "Kismet" due out on May. "Big Big Love" is one of five songs written by Warren and produced by Carlisle's long time collaborator, Gabe Lopez. Carlisle had never planned on recording another pop album but a chance encounter lead to Warren proposing a song which lead to this album. This project went so well that Carlisle plans to record a new studio album.
ALISON GOLDFRAPP
Alison Goldfrapp first came together with Will Gregory to form a band way back in 1999. Taking on her surname as their group's name, Goldfrapp first found success by merging shimmering glam rock with throbbing electro beats. As time went on, the British duo shifted their sound, experimenting with ambient music and trip hop. Now after seven albums as part of a band, Alison Goldfrapp is branching out to release her very first solo album. "The Love Invention" (which will be out in May) began during the pandemic with Goldfrapp forced to think about creating music independently. With production assistance by Richard X and James Greenwood, the fifty-six year old musician has released the first single, "So Hard So Hot", a dynamic electronic track that moves us on to a different side of the dance floor yet doesn't stray too far from what she is best known for.
