Music History Events: Movies
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.
January 22, 1971 The Joe Cocker film Mad Dogs and Englishmen, featuring performances by Cocker, Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, and others, premieres in London.
January 7, 1971 The film Performance, starring Mick Jagger, premieres in London two years after its completion.
December 6, 1970 The Rolling Stones' tour documentary Gimme Shelter, featuring footage of the infamous Altamont concert, opens in New York City.
October 19, 1970 The Australian outlaw film Ned Kelly, featuring Mick Jagger in his first starring role, is released to scathing reviews.
August 1, 1970 After two years of sitting on the shelf (namely due to shocking sex and violence scenes), the gangster movie Performance premieres in London. It features what would have been the acting debut of the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger (Ned Kelly was released first).
Back to Categories©2026 Songfacts®, LLC