Last night, my family watched the movie, Mamma Mia! It was the second musical I’ve watched on gudang lagu in the last year (the other being Across the Universe) that was written around songs from a particular band. Mamma Mia, for example, had songs from ABBA while Across the Universe had Beatles’ songs.
Last night’s movie got me thinking about other groups or musicians that have such a wide variety of songs, you could create another feature-length film around their music. I even thought about writing one myself but realized I’m probably not talented enough for that (I decided just to take credit for the idea if someone does eventually follow through with these suggestions and ask for a small percentage of the profits).
Here are my top 5 bands/musicians that would be perfect for this.
Queen – I’ve been a fan of the group Queen since I was a kid. They have such a wide variety of songs I have a hard time believing there’s a single person out there that wouldn’t like at least one. I could see an upbeat musical with songs like “Somebody to Love” and “We Will Rock You.” However, I would avoid “Bohemian Rhapsody” considering it’ll likely bring back memories of Wayne’s World.
Buddy Holly –
Well, actually, I’m thinking of a musical based primarily around Buddy Holly’s music but with one or two songs from Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper to pay tribute to the two men who died with him in that plane crash. I’m thinking his songs like “Peggy Sue” and “Oh Boy” would be good material for a teenaged love story.
Michael Jackson –
With some of the recent scandals involving Jackson, this probably wouldn’t happen. But, if it did, the writers would have a lot of material to work with. If I were to do it (which, again, I won’t) I would expand on his “Thriller” video/mini-movie; making a feature-length horror/musical complete with songs like “Billie Jean” and “Man in the Mirror” and maybe even throw in a song or two from his Jackson 5 days.
Elvis Presley –
I actually debated about not adding him to this list because many of his songs actually came from movies he starred in. But, much like Jackson, there’s just so much material to work with like “Hound Dog,” “Love Me Tender,” and “Return to Sender.” You could do just about anything.
Walt Disney –
OK, so this isn’t really a band, it’s just the name of a guy who created a billion-dollar entertainment business and the name of the company itself. But, think of all the great Disney musicals that are out there and all the fun songs they produced like “Kiss the Girl,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” “True to Your Heart,” and “A Whole New World.” Wouldn’t it be great to have them all re-performed in one film that isn’t necessarily for kids? Of course, Disney will likely have to be the company to produce it because of copyright issues.
