Earlier this year Dua Lipa’s buzzy pop star status expanded into the movies in a supporting role in the Matthew Vaughn directed spy film, Argylle.
But of course, this is nothing new, as pop stars with personality have been making that transition for years now. And there’s something inherently gleeful about seeing our favorite singers and musicians on the big screen, especially for the first time. It adds new shades to their long-developed personas and makes them even more inextricable to our shared pop culture. And when it goes well, it’s marvelous.
And with that, I decided to give a nod to some of the all-time favorite musician (artist) appearances in feature films. You will find everything from Oscar-winning turns in prestigious classics to quick cameos in cult favorites, from artists whose film catalog is equal to or greater than their musical catalog to those who have only tested the thespian waters. I only used two guidelines in the rankings below:
1. The artist had to be known for music before they became known for their movies. For example: this disqualifies Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez.
2. Starring as themselves does not count. This disqualifies The Beatles.
With those guidelines, the list encompasses a wide variety of chart-toppers-gone-Hollywood. Where will your favorite land? Let’s dive in.
1. Cher
Launching to fame as half of the recording duo Sonny & Cher in 1965 with the huge #1 hit “I Got You Babe”, Cher was quickly an icon of the mid-‘60s. She first started appearing on film and TV in 1967 and has provided strong performances in several A Cute Film Addict favorites, such as Mermaids and The Witches of Eastwick, but its her portrayal of Loretta Castorini in Moonstruck that serves as her defining achievement in film. The 1987 romantic comedy won her an Oscar as the Italian-American widow doing her absolute best to resist falling for her fiancé’s estranged bad-boy brother played by Nic Cage. Bested by life’s countless disappointments, Cher carries herself with a sense of downtrodden exasperation. But Loretta Castorini has a spark and Moonstruck is a story about finding the courage to feel hopeful about life after the world brings you to your knees. Altogether, Cher brings a perfect mixture of reluctance and romantic recklessness to the film with a self-effacing realism and millisecond sharp comedic timing. I dare to say, it would be hard to find a performance this irresistible, humorous and as believably low-key, as this one from Cher nearly forty years ago.
2. Barbra Streisand
In 1963, Streisand accomplished great commercial success with her first Columbia Records releases, “The Barbra Streisand Album” and “The Second Barbra Streisand Album”. The albums won multiple Grammys, critical praise, and public acclaim all over the US. Continuing to garner music success, in 1968, she flew to Hollywood to work on her first movie, Funny Girl. Over the length of her career, Streisand has collected a multi-generational fan base, including myself. Of all her films, my favorite is 1972’s What’s Up Doc?
Streisand is Judy Maxwell, a klutzy, directionless but brilliant young woman whose life is spent studying at one educational institution after another, each stint lasting till she’s kicked out. Upon meeting the mild mannered Dr. Howard Bannister, a professor of musicology at the Ames Conservatory of Music in Ames, Iowa, falling in love at first sight, Judy does whatever she can to insinuate herself into Howard’s life. Further complications and hilarity ensue as Howard, Judy, wealthy Mrs. Van Hoskins and reporter Mr. Smith all have the identical red plaid overnight bag, their contents includes Howard’s igneous rocks, Judy’s clothes, Mrs. Van Hoskins’ jewels and top secret documents. For Streisand fans, her lunatic sense of comedy has never been better showcased than in this film.
3. Ice Cube
Cube first gained notoriety as a singer and songwriter with the controversial and influential N.W.A. His compositions with that group include “Express Yourself” from their debut LP “Straight Outta Compton”. Going solo shortly afterwards, his solo career has seen him sell well over ten million copies. His move to movies has been no less stellar, starting with his debut in 1991’s Boyz n the Hood. I was even blessed to work as an extra in the 2008 film The Longshots starring Ice Cube, and he is definitely one of my favorites. But it’s the 1995 film Friday that ranks in as his best for me.
In the film written by Cube, he plays Craig Jones, a man who’s been given the axe from his job, on his day off nonetheless. Subsequently, Jones and his friend Smokey (Chris Tucker) are just two guys in L.A. hanging out on their porch on a Friday afternoon, smoking and looking for something to do. How Ice Cube and Tucker deal with a neighborhood bully, relationship troubles, an angry drug dealer, and various other odd characters are what make the ensuing hilarious film a must watch.
4. Lady Gaga
With the 2009 hit “Just Dance”, Gaga exploded onto the music scene. Since then, she has gained numerous awards and nominations for a string of hits, and in 2013, Gaga made her acting debut in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills and then in 2018 she starred with Bradley Cooper in her best film to date A Star is Born and received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance.
Her portrayal of Ally is of an insecure woman plucked for stardom by a weary man with an ugly alcohol problem who honestly just wants to take another look at her. But the second Gaga takes the stage to belt out “La Vie En Rose,” she electrified the theater audience just as much as she enchants Jackson Maine (Cooper). It may be no surprise to see Gaga light up the stage, but Gaga’s acting artistry is really stunningly impressive in A Star is Born, particularly as the drunk Jackson tells Ally she’s ugly and we see the pain of her worst insecurity flash across her face. Gaga brilliantly brings to life Ally’s quiet determination to find herself as an artist in a world obsessed with sexy pop stars who sing bubbly, but often forgettable tunes. Altogether, Cooper and Gaga present a beautiful, exhilarating, and heartbreaking, but never completely destructive “Bad Romance.” And as Gaga takes her final bow, introducing herself as Mrs. Ally Maine, a Hollywood Star is Born.
5. Judy Garland
Judy Garland began singing on stage at the young age of just two years old in her family’s Vaudevillian shows. She would soon be traveling all across America where she would perform in nightclubs, cabarets, and hotels. It was in September 1935, that she would be signed by Louis B. Mayer, the mogul of leading film studio MGM. Then in 1937, her career really kicked off when she sang one of her most famous songs “You Made Me Love You” at Clark Gable’s birthday party, and Meyer finally really paid attention to the talented songstress he had hired two years earlier. And of course, it was in 1939, that Garland immediately shot to stardom with The Wizard of Oz, in which she portrayed Dorothy, an orphaned girl living on a farm in the dry plains of Kansas who gets whisked off into the magical world of Oz on the other end of the rainbow. For many, and rightfully so, this is their pick of Judy Garland films.
But I lean more towards 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis. Made while War World II was ongoing, the film tells a story of a simpler time when there were no foes threatening our way of life. The movie is a story about the Smith family eagerly awaiting the World’s Fair in St. Louis. Garland shines with her acting prowess here as second daughter born into the family and also performs three of her most identifiable songs The Boy Next Door, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and The Trolley Song. The Trolley Song would go onto receive an Oscar nomination for best original song that year. Overall the picture is a non-stop delight, highlighting the things that really matter; family ties and the glue that bonds them together. And logically, it displays beautifully that there is “no place like home” and sometimes we don’t cherish enough the place we call home.
6. Madonna
The Material Girl blew up in the 1980s and since then has sold over three hundred million albums to adoring fans worldwide. Madonna made her first appearances on screen in two low-budget films A Certain Sacrifice (1979) and Vision Quest (1985). She would follow that up with a minor cult hit in 1985’s Desperately Seeking Susan starring alongside the spunky Rosanna Arquette. Then in 1992 she slid into her Rockford Peach uniform for her best performance yet.
Holding her own with the leads Geena Davis and Tom Hanks, Madonna is the wise-cracking, man-slaying “All the Way” Mae Mordabito. Madonna plays Mae with a certain toughness and flirtation, convincingly making highlight reel plays on the diamond and stealing hearts in a bar full of GI’s. Where she really shines in the movie, is the comedic timing she shows off alongside Rosie O’Donnell, Mae’s best friend in the film and real-life pal. It’s their playful, scene-stealing chemistry that adds extra charm to the film.
7. Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton, the daughter of a Tennessee tobacco farmer, was appearing on Knoxville TV at age 12 and by age 13, she was already recording on a small label and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry. She moved to Nashville to launch her country-singing career after graduating from high school in 1964. In 1967 her voice caught the attention of Porter Wagoner, who then hired her to appear on his show, The Porter Wagoner Show. She would stay with the show for seven years and their duets would become famous. But her fame would soon overshadow his and by 1974, she would strike out on her own as a solo artist. By 1980 she had won several CMA awards and her first Grammy Award for her song “Here You Come Again.”
With beauty and character to boot, Dolly was perfect for film and she made her movie debut in 1980’s 9 to 5, where she would receive an Oscar nomination for writing the title tune. Dolly is perfectly cast in the role of Doralee Rhodes, playing one-third of a trio of women (including Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin) who live out their darkest revenge fantasies against a misogynistic, vile boss played by Dabney Coleman.
Fonda and Tomlin’s characters initially believe the office gossip that Doralee is involved with the boss. I mean what do you expect, with her curve-hugging outfits, sky-high hair and fire-engine-red fingernails, but just like Parton herself, with Doralee there’s much more than meets the eye. Dolly channeled her feisty personality and career of resounding accomplishments into Doralee, and it’s all laid out in her pitch perfect warning to her boss should he ever choose to get handsy with her again. “Look, I’ve got a gun out there in my purse, and up to now, I’ve been forgivin’ and forgettin’ because of the way I was brought up, but I tell you one thing: If you ever say another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I’m gonna get that gun of mine, and I’m gonna change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot.”
8. Justin Timberlake
JT’s career got started early, with an appearance on Star Search at age 11, then joining The All New Mickey Mouse Club, where his co-stars included Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell, Christina Aguilera and future band-mate JC Chasez. And at age 14, Timberlake became a member of the boy band *NSYNC and in 1998 the group released their self-titled debut album. They would go on to become a big hit with fans, then in 2002 Justin released his first solo album “Justified” to huge success.
Timberlake has since branched out into film, starring in The Social Network, Trouble with the Curve and A Cute Film Addict favorite, 2011’s Friends with Benefits. The film is an exploration of modern dating and finds Timberlake and co-star Mila Kunis as friends who decide to add sex into their friendship. It’s only when Jamie (Kunis) starts dating, that all kinds of unexpected feelings start coming out, and of course, it turns out they actually do love each other more than they realized. The story is cliche, but it works and is extremely enjoyable because of the chemistry between Timberlake and Kunis.
9. Tupac Shakur
Tupac’s breakthrough in music came in 1991 as a member of the group Digital Underground and in the same year he received individual recognition for his album ‘2Pocalypse Now’. His movie career would begin one year later with the films Juice and Poetic Justice. But it’s 1997’s Gridlock’d co-starring with Tim Roth that really showcases the talented actor Tupac would have become, giving time. Tupac and Roth illuminate Gridlock’d with a comic spirit that is gritty and goofy. Yes, the film covers grim material, but the pairing made it surprisingly entertaining.
The heart of the film is the banter between the two men, the grungy dialogue that serves to put an ironic spin on their anger and fear. Tupac, who plays the character Spoon, does so with an earnestness, as the leader and thinker of the pair. The movie itself is powerful, but leans more into being fun as well. At its heart, Gridlock’d is a comedy, even if sometimes, you may ask yourself why you are laughing.
No more true than when Spoon, desperate to get into an emergency room and begin detox, persuades Stretch (Roth) to stab him. As the two friends discuss how to do it, the problem is, remembering which side of the body the liver is on. Altogether, this is Tupac’s best performance, Spoon, the musician who wants to get off drugs.
10. Mark Wahlberg
Brother Donnie Wahlberg, a member of the 1980’s boy band New Kids on the Block, used his connections in the music business and secured his little brother a recording contract, and in the early ‘90s, the world was introduced to Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Despite a lack of singing ability, promoters knew they had something with the bad-boy rapper who danced in his boxers and had a physique the teenage girls loved.
Donnie scripted some easy songs for Mark, who collected a troupe of dancers and a DJ to become his “Funky Bunch” and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch was born. Their debut album “Music for the People” was a huge success, propelled along by several catchy tunes that included “Good Vibrations” and “Wildside”. Then in 1994, he dropped the Marky Mark moniker for his first big screen role in Penny Marshall’s Renaissance Man, where he delivered an utterly charming performance as a simple, but sincere army recruit. Wahlberg’s life-changing role would come about in 1997’s Boogie Nights as troubled porn star Dirk Diggler. Since then, Wahlberg has been wildly successful as a Hollywood leading man. But it’s 1999’s Three Kings where he plays SFC Troy Barlow that remains my favorite to date.
The film, itself, has been called a screw-loose war movie masterpiece, one that sends action and humor crashing head-on into each other. In the action comedy about a group of American soldiers trying to make off with Saddam Hussein’s bullion during the first Gulf War, Wahlberg is a dim, gung-ho patriot whose matter-of-fact acceptance of war is challenged when he finds himself tortured, wounded, and facing the consequences of his country’s actions. George Clooney is, without a doubt, the star of the film, but Wahlberg’s journey is the one that mirrors the movie’s emotional trajectory. Beginning with him killing a man in cold blood, in the end you will be totally gripped and moved by his ordeal as he learns to care about people he once thought of as barely human.
11. Queen Latifah
Hip-Hop’s first lady broke into the music world in the late ‘80s with a style that picked selectively from jazz, reggae, and soul traditions. Her debut LP “All Hail the Queen” announced her courtship had arrived in 1989. One of the most prominent female hip-hop artists on the scene for over a decade, Queen Latifah also made the leap to the big screen with 1991’s Jungle Fever. And has enjoyed a stellar career on both the big and small screens since. But her standout performance is “Mama” Morton in the 2002 film adaptation of the musical Chicago.
In the movie which became the first musical to take home the Best Picture Oscar since 1968, the screen-commanding Latifah dispelled any notion she couldn’t belt out a musical number as impressively as she could rap. She would wind up losing the best supporting actress Oscar to her co-star, Catherine Zeta-Jones, but remember when you’re good to mama, mama’s good to you, and Queen Latifah was very good as the tough-as-nails, corrupt prison matron “Mama” Morton.
12. Frank Sinatra
Affectionately known as The Chairman of the Board or Ol’ Blue Eyes, when Frank Sinatra first started his singing career, he instantly found fame as the king of the bobbysoxers, the young women and girls who were his fans, and he would go onto become the most popular singer of the era among teenage music fans. Just a few years later in 1945, he struck box office gold with a lead role in Anchors Aweigh starring alongside Gene Kelly, which would also be a Best Picture nominee at the 1946 Academy Awards. With his career on high, Sinatra went from strength to strength, recording in the studio to stage and screen seamlessly over the next five years. This run would include his peak in 1949 with two more films co-starring with Gene Kelly, On the Town and Take Me Out to the Ball Game. After a few down years, Sinatra secured the role he so desperately wanted, Maggio in From Here to Eternity. He would win the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance and he was back on top to stay in a run that includes one of my favorites 1955’s Guys and Dolls.
In the film, Sinatra plays the role of Nathan Detroit, a charming yet hapless gambler. The musical, based on the runaway Broadway hit, allowed Sinatra to showcase his singing and acting skills simultaneously. It’s his dynamic performance alongside Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons that make the movie a classic, blending humor, romance, and memorable musical numbers.
The film, itself, revolves around a high-stakes bet involving Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson (Brando), that leads to a series of comedic and romantic escapades. You will find Sinatra’s Nathan Detroit both endearing and entertaining as he captured the essence of the lovable rogue. And it’s his chemistry with the other cast members, especially during the musical numbers, that add to the film’s charm and appeal.
Nathan Detroit is a small-time gambler known for running the oldest floating crap game in New York; referring to a game that could move from place to place to keep ahead of the authorities during a time when gambling was outlawed. Combined with the memorable musical numbers and witty dialogue, Sinatra’s performance as Nathan Detroit is one I consider a timeless masterpiece.
13. Will Smith
Will Smith first achieved success in the late 1980s as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a role he would inhabit for the next six years. After the series ended, Smith made a successful transition to blockbuster films that includes the Bad Boys franchise, Independence Day, I Am Legend and one of my all-time favorites, Men in Black.
In the film, Smith is Agent Jay, a role that seems to be tailor-made for Smith. He is perfect for the droll interplay between him and his curmudgeonly partner, Agent Kay played by Tommy Lee Jones. Agent Jay represents the cool, younger generation who abides by his own code of conduct, one Kay struggles to grasp. Between their relationship and Agent Jay’s interactions with the aliens, you could say Smith conquered the role, just don’t call him Tiger.
14. Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John’s early forays into the music scene were with the country music hits 1973’s “Let Me Be There” and the following year’s “If You Love Me (Let Me Know). Winning a Grammy in 1974 for Best Country Vocal Performance, cemented her arrival. But those tunes were just a mere staging ground for a career deviation into pop music with 1974’s pop smash hit “I Honestly Love You,” which put her on a star-ward trajectory. But just as soon as pop success came, she transitioned yet again to take on star-making role Sandy Olsson in the 1978 film adaptation of Grease, finger-snapping her way alongside John Travolta through hard-to-resist sing-alongs built on rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia.
Over four decades after its box office debut, Grease still remains a cultural phenomenon. Of course, the film’s classic songs helped make it one of the most beloved musicals of all time, but the chemistry between the leads John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John remains the film’s most important piece of the success. Portraying the wholesome exchange student, Sandra Dee-turned-Pink Lady Sandy, Newton-John is particularly impressive, with her charming persona and spotless soprano voice marking the film as the apotheosis of her ‘70s superstardom.
15. Doris Day
Famed actress, Doris Day’s first stage appearances were as a singer at age 17 touring with The Les Brown Band. It was Day’s agent that talked her into taking a screen test at Warner Bros. and the executives there liked what they saw and immediately signed her to a contract. Her first starring role was in 1948’s Romance on the High Seas. Audiences, of course, took to her beauty, terrific singing voice and bubbly personality, and soon she was the Hollywood leading lady of the ‘50s. It was in 1959 that she made her best-known film, Pillow Talk.
Opposite Rock Hudson, here, Day brings a quiet confidence and droll comedy to this madcap Technicolor smash. Her character is an independent Manhattan career woman who low-key wants romance even if she doesn’t have time for it. Maybe it’s no surprise Day’s performance remains relatable over six decades later, and her comedic timing as she reacts to her perpetually hungover housekeeper or her playboy neighbor (Hudson) demonstrates that the so-called straight man is on occasion the funniest role of all.
16. Bette Midler
After studying drama at the University of Hawaii, Bette Midler got her musical career started performing on stage with piano accompaniment from Barry Manilow. Her first two albums, “The Divine Miss M” released in November 1972 and 1973’s self-titled “Bette Midler” took off on the music charts and her career swiftly escalated from there. Moving into acting, after several minor roles on television and film, she blew everyone away with her knockout performance of a hard-living rock ‘n’ roll singer (loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin) in 1979’s The Rose, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In 1986, she was cast in the hilarious Down and Out in Beverly Hills, which would begin a string of very funny comedic film roles that includes one of my favorites, the Halloween movie Hocus Pocus.
The entire cast of this film is amazing, but Midler is on another level. The way she is able to deliver so many clever lines in effortless style, and with those horrible fake teeth in, as well, just shows the professional she is and one of the reasons the film has become a Halloween tradition.
17. Dean Martin
Inspired by his hero, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin began his performing career as a nightclub singer. Blessed with a mellow, buttery tenor voice, he got his first big break in Atlantic City, performing opposite the comedian Jerry Lewis. Though the gig was originally meant to be temporary, it unveiled Martin and Lewis’s vaudevillian improvisational genius. Martin brought the charm and sophistication, meanwhile Lewis was the anarchic delinquent, and audiences ate it up. They would make 16 movies together in 11 years before splitting up over differences of opinion. All the while, Martin was recording jazzy, insouciant hits that played on his Italian roots, such as “That’s Amore” and “Volare.” After his split with Lewis, Dino found himself a new niche as part of the Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., co-starring in a series of comedies that cemented his image. But he also showed serious acting chops in films like Rio Bravo. But his ability to light up comedies with that sort of charisma and humor that only Dino possessed makes him a favorite of mine. And maybe nowhere is this showcased better than in 1960’s classic romantic comedy musical Bells Are Ringing.
The film finds Dino at his musical-comedy peak; he’s both intuitive and modulated as a blocked playwright in the adaptation of the Betty Comden-Adolph Green-Jule Styne Broadway hit. Co-star Judy Holliday, in her last film, provides empathy and warmth to her character, an answering-service operator who can’t resist trying to improve the lives of her customers. The farcical complications are wispy and silly; they involve bookies who are using classical music titles as a code and a couple of overzealous vice investigators. But the highlight here is the incredibly fetching score that includes “The Party’s Over” and “Just in Time,” Martin and Holliday’s duet is now a romantic classic. Director Vincente Minnelli makes use of the widescreen with graceful, fluid movement, and he helped Martin anchor his usual breeziness with just the right amount of anxiety. Altogether, this is a Dean Martin classic for both fans and the unacquainted.
18. Ann-Margret
After studying at Northwestern University, Ann-Margret left for Las Vegas to pursue a career as a singer. There she was discovered by George Burns and soon received both a record deal at RCA and a film contract at 20th Century Fox. Rather quickly her musical career took off with the 1961 single “I Just Don’t Understand” charting in the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. Her breakthrough role on film would take place roughly two years later with 1963’s Bye Bye Birdie.
She would have us at hello; in the opening scene of Bye Bye Birdie, the 22-year old ingenue, then largely known as a pop singer, singing the title track in front of a blue screen, relying solely on her considerable charisma and blend of innocence and sexuality as high schooler Kim MacAfee. The musical, inspired by the devastation experienced by teenage girls when Elvis Presley was drafted into the army, would lead to Ann-Margret and Presley starring in 1964’s Viva Las Vegas a year later.
19. John Denver
Sure, it may be hard to believe now, but between the years 1969 and 1975, the squeaky-clean John Denver was one of the biggest pop stars in the world. He was the top selling recording artist during that time, appearing on both country and pop charts alike. He was soon trying his hand at acting and his most memorable role came in 1977 when he starred opposite George Burns in the hit comedy, Oh, God!
In the film, Denver portrays a mousy supermarket manager tapped by God (George Burns) to spread His gospel of love to a cynical world. The movie is boosted by veteran sitcom legend Larry Gilbert (M*A*S*H) behind the screenplay and Carl Reiner (The Jerk) behind the camera. Together they give us a kind-eyed Denver that is eminently believable and sympathetic as an earnest, perpetually flustered everyman willing to risk it all on his unshakable belief in the kindly little Old Man only he can see.
20. Bing Crosby
While studying law at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, Bing Crosby became more interested in playing drums and singing with a local band. So much so, that he and the band’s piano player, Al Rinker, left Spokane for Los Angeles in 1925. In the early 1930s Bing’s brother Everett sent a record of Bing singing “I Surrender, Dear” to the president of CBS. His live performances from New York were soon being carried over the national radio network and his radio success would lead Paramount Pictures to include him in 1932’s The Big Broadcast, a film featuring radio favorites. Thanks to his relaxed, low-key style, Crosby was soon just as big of a star on the big screen as he was on the radio airwaves. From the “Road” comedies he made with pal Bob Hope to his Oscar turn as an easygoing priest in 1944’s Going My Way, Crosby was a fan favorite. But perhaps it’s 1954’s White Christmas that remains his most recognizable role.
Consider for a moment the significance of this film. For a film that’s mostly remembered as a warm, nostalgic holiday movie rather than one of the all-time great musicals, White Christmas certainly commands a lot of star power and and pop-culture status. Crosby was the #1 box office star in the country and “White Christmas” was already the most successful song in American history, a record it would maintain for many more decades. I mean, who doesn’t know and love that song?
As someone who adores the film, even I will admit the plot is thin, but Crosby and costar Danny Kaye are terrific as a top song-and-dance act who take a vacation in Vermont with a pair of sister entertainers, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney. Studio, Paramount, believed in the film so much that they chose it to be their first movie produced in VistaVision, their widescreen answer to CinemaScope.
And they were not wrong in their assessment. The holiday classic delivered as the highest grossing film of 1954, thanks to Bing Crosby and costars, and their ability to bring some fine Irving Berlin songs to life including “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing,” “Sisters,” “Snow,” “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me,” the Oscar nominated “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” and of course “White Christmas.”
21. Lena Horne
Lena Horne quit school when she was 14 and got her first stage job at 16 dancing and later singing at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem. She was in good hands at the club, with Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington taking her under their wings and helping her over the rough spots. Before long, her talent resulted in her playing before packed houses. If Lena had never made a movie, her music career would have been more than enough to ensure her legendary status in the entertainment industry, but after an appearance on Broadway, Hollywood beckoned. At 21 years of age, Lena made her first film and in 1943, the finest performance of her career came in the film Cabin in the Sky.
Cabin in the Sky is a heavily religious story of good and evil fighting for a condemned man’s soul. Lena is the unwitting tool of Lucifer as the seductive, worldly Georgia Brown. Oozing secular charm, one wink from the deliciously, devilish Horne would send most of us running to the confessional booth. Sadly, the race barriers of her time kept her from being the major leading lady she deserved to be, but as it is, her turn in Cabin in the Sky stands as a testament to her smoldering, luminescent on-screen presence.
22. Elvis Presley
The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s original moniker was “The Hillbilly Cat” when he first began singing locally around the Memphis, Tennessee area. After he signed with RCA in 1955, Elvis did much to establish early rock and roll music. His brand of rockabilly music, an uptempo fusion of country music mixed with rhythm and blues, with a strong backbeat, along with his novel versions of existing songs, mixing ‘black’ and ‘white’ sounds, not to mention his uninhibited stage performances, soon made him popular as well as controversial. Early smash hits included the tracks “Jailhouse Rock” and “Hound Dog.” But Presley wasn’t limited to any one style, with a versatile voice, he had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads, and pop music. Teenage girls went hysterical over his blatantly sexual gyrations, and soon he had another nickname, “Elvis the Pelvis.” Of note, during this time, television cameras were not permitted to film him below his waist.
After making several television appearances, in 1956, Elvis was cast in his first acting role, a supporting actor in Love Me Tender. It would be the first of 33 movies he would star in. Most of these films play to his strength, music, and critics panned them overall. But they performed at the box office as fans couldn’t get enough of Presley. Admittedly, these are not the best movies of all time, but they are fun to watch in my humble opinion. And one of my favorites is 1962’s Follow That Dream. In the film, Elvis is Toby, a mentally limited young man with a heart of gold. The chemistry between Toby and his father (Arthur O’Connell) is just terrific and the theme of the movie is a crowd pleaser. The pure story line is ‘David vs Goliath’ with the State playing the role of the pushy and overbearing villain. And if you come to Elvis movies for the songs, the musical score is the King at his best. Tracks include the absolutely beautiful ballad “Angel”, the jubilant toe-tapper “What a Wonderful Life” and the title track “Follow That Dream.” In short, if you want a movie that will put on smile on your face, well, Follow That Dream.
23. Mandy Moore
As a child, Mandy Moore got her start performing the National Anthem at several athletic events around her hometown of Orlando, Florida and soon was known as the “National Anthem girl.” At age 14, while recording in an Orlando studio, a Fed-Ex employee happened to hear her and was interested in her talent. He happened to know someone at Sony and very soon Moore had a record deal with Sony 550 Music. At 15, her first album “So Real” was released and she was off on her first tour with the Backstreet Boys.
Since the early 2000’s Moore has headlined several film and television series, including the hugely popular This is Us. But it’s 2004’s Saved! that ranks in as my favorite Mandy Moore performance. Moore’s performance as the goody-goody, Jesus-loving high schooler Hilary Faye plays perfectly to the image she had created for herself by the early 2000’s. Perhaps her character’s self-righteousness would be unbearable if it weren’t so hilarious. “I am filled with Christ’s love!” she shouts, hurling a Bible at the back of her co-star Jena Malone.
24. Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel honed his skills singing in his family’s synagogue while growing up in Queens, New York before going on to perform with school pal Paul Simon in the late ‘50s. They would go on to become folk-pop superstars in the ‘60s and reach an artistic peak with “Bridge Over Troubled Water” before splitting up in 1970. Going on to a successful solo career, Garfunkel also dipped his feet into Hollywood territory starting in 1970’s Catch-22. But his most memorable role is as Sandy in 1971’s Carnal Knowledge.
In the brilliant opening from the film, Garfunkel as Sandy, confesses to his friend Jonathan (Jack Nicholson), “I’ve never been able to talk to any girl.” Director Mike Nichols smartly lets the dialogue run over the credits against a black screen. Sandy and Jonathan are Amherst students in the ‘40s, and what follows is a shrewd, formally challenging and bitterly satirical portrait of misogyny, stunted emotional growth, and impotence. Garfunkel, who was nominated for a Golden Globe, brings a tender cowardice to his portrayal of a guileless loser whose central male friendship is as toxic as possible. An example, during an early scene, at Jonathan’s urging, Sandy repeatedly tries to touch the breasts of his first girlfriend, Susan (Candice Bergen), while they’re kissing. Resisting repeatedly, each time she removes his hand before finally asking, exasperated, “How could it be any fun for you if you know I don’t want it?” His reply: “I didn’t say it was fun.”
25. ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic
’Weird Al’ Yankovic, a shy, accordion-playing teenager began sending in homemade tapes to the Dr. Demento Radio Show and then went on to become a pop culture icon and the biggest selling comedy recording artist of all time with classic song and music video parodies such as “Eat It,” “Like a Surgeon,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise,” “White & Nerdy,” and “Word Crimes.” In total he has been honored with four Grammy Awards. Since 1989, Yankovic has also remained a staple of film and television, with his most memorable role coming in the 1989 cult hit feature film UHF.
The film as a whole is gleefully and unapologetically goofy and Yankovic leads the charge, from the moment his neck swivels 180 degrees to face an impossibly large boulder heading straight toward him after stealing the very Academy Award that should have been his. This may be Weird Al’s only lead film role, but it’s a darn good one. Now, anyone up for drinking from the fire hose?!
26. Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin grew up singing in her father’s church in Detroit. She learned how to play piano by ear and released her first single at the age of eighteen, which would go on to reach number 10 on the Billboard charts. In 1966, Aretha released her first legendary single, “Respect,” written by The King of Soul, Otis Redding. The single would help Aretha usher in a new vocal skill called “call and response,” which she would go on to use to liven up many of her singles. Securing eight consecutive Grammys for best female R&B vocal category, The Queen of Soul, would also add to her musical accomplishments as the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As if a successful music career wasn’t enough, in 1980, along with several other musicians such as Ray Charles and James Brown, Aretha appeared in the hit feature film The Blues Brothers.
It’s a small role, but she commands the room as diner matriarch Mrs. Murphy. Aretha repurposes her 1968 hit “Think” into a perfectly choreographed verbal tongue-lashing. With her hands on her hips and a final finger wag, Aretha reminds her partner and audiences as well to think again before counting her out as she solidified her place for generations to come as a commanding figure in the music industry, in this her acting debut.
27. Awkwafina
Awkwafina debuted her brand of rap, that is sly, tackling racial identity and sexuality with a boldly comedic perspective before expanding her reach into Hollywood. Having received classical and jazz training, her dive into hip-hop as a teenager led to the success of her debut LP, Yellow Ranger in 2014. With success as a musician on her resume, she soon set her sights on a new career as an actor. In 2018, she landed breakthrough roles in two high-profile films, Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians.
In Crazy Rich Asians, she takes the film to another level as Goh Peik Lin, the new-money college best friend of protagonist Rachel (Constance Wu), as she guides Rachel and the audience through the world of Singapore’s ultra-wealthy with rapsy irreverence and 5-Hour-Energy pep. With this much energy, we can expect Awkwafina’s star to shine brightly for years to come.
28. David Johansen
David Johansen sang in Rock & Roll dance bands as a teenager, joining Charles Ludlum’s Ridiculous Theater and eventually starting the New York Dolls. The highly influential Dolls made two iconic Rock & Roll records before disbanding in the mid seventies. By the late ‘80s, Johansen started appearing In various movies, including 1988’s Scrooged.
For his portrayal of the reckless cab-driving Ghost of Christmas Past, Johansen exchanges the frontman glam of his early New York Dolls days for a fresh out of the dumpster look; ashen skin, yellow teeth and dusty clothes. Certainly he had the appearance of the ghoulish tour guide down pat, but it’s his delivery that really sells the role. Johansen throws some extra gravel onto his natural Staten Island accent as he cackles in the face of Bill Murray’s fear and comfortably shouts at another driver what any native New Yorker I’m sure has said before, “Go back to Jersey, ya moron!”
29. Tom Waits
Tom Waits is accurately described as one of the last beatniks of contemporary music. It would seem that Waits has had two separate musical careers. From 1973 to 1983, he recorded nine albums for Asylum Records, writing songs mainly in the manner of Tin Pan Alley, mixing them with jazz and blues. Then in 1983, he signed with Island Records and released a series of albums that stunned the music world, introducing a whole new orchestration to high critical praise. Moving into film, he began playing the type of characters he would write about in his songs. None better than Zack, the character Waits plays in Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law.
Waits is a DJ in the Big Easy, good at growing a goatee and growling his way through popular oldies like “Crying,” but unlucky in love and with the law. Currently in the clink on a frame-job after a body showed up in the trunk of the car he was driving, he’s sharing the cell with a pimp named Jack, who incidentally was also framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and with an eccentric Italian optimist named Roberto, whose limited command of the English language is both entertaining and infuriating. More useful to Zack and Jack, is that Roberto knows an escape route.
30. A$AP Rocky
A$AP Rocky released his debut mixtape Live. Love. A$AP, in 2011 and the success of that mixtape led to a record deal with Polo Grounds Music, RCA Records, and Sony Music Entertainment. Since then, he has been a mainstay on the music charts. In 2015, he made his big screen debut in the role of Dom in the coming-of-age crime dramedy, Dope. The film sees Rocky playing a young, successful drug kingpin, into whose orbit protagonist Malcolm, a high school nerd who likes ‘90s hip-hop, gets mixed up. Rocky provides an intuitive performance and innate cleverness that persuaded audiences everywhere that there was good in Dom’s world.
31. Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris
Dubbed the Jay-Z of the South, by Pharrell, T.I. gradually established himself as one of rap music’s greatest and most successful MC’s during the early 2000’s. On the big screen, he has also had a notably successful career appearing alongside Denzel Washington in 2007’s American Gangster and Paul Rudd, as Dave, in 2015’s Ant-Man.
Alongside Michael Peña (Luis) and David Dastmalchian (Kurt), T.I. shines as Dave, Rudd’s (Scott Lang) criminal compatriots and serve as comic relief. T.I. is refreshing here, has impeccable comic timing, and may have all but stolen the show here if everyone else wasn’t so good.
32. Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett albums incorporate elements of country, western, folk, swing, jazz, bebop, blues and gospel music. It’s a sound that won him a 1989 Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. He successfully transitioned from country music star to character actor in the early ‘90s seamlessly in Robert Altman’s 1992 film The Player. His role as Detective DeLongpre in the meta-noir was perfectly destabilizing, as he quote-chants “One of us! in flat monotone at Tim Robbins’ murder-suspect film producer, he looks like he’s losing his mind, and we’re right there with him.
33. Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin performed his song “Splish, Splash” on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in 1958 and you can say it made more than a splash, becoming a huge hit and eventually selling over one million copies. The next year was even bigger as he won two Grammys, best record for “Mack the Knife” and Best New Artist. “Mack the Knife” stayed in the top ten for 52 weeks, nine of those at #1. His next goal was to make a movie and that opportunity came with the 1961 film Come September. Then in 1964 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1963 film Captain Newman, M.D.
In the movie, Darin stretches his acting chops as a shell-shocked soldier with a wry, suggestive sneer who spits out insults at those who try to help him. The risk paid off for the former teen idol as he displays an absolute gem of a character performance.
34. Jack White
The multi-talented Jack White is one of the greatest guitarists of all time and has performed as a singer, guitarist and drummer for three different bands, including The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. Trying his hand in the movies, he has appeared in the films Cold Mountain, Coffee and Cigarettes, and The Fearless Freaks. But perhaps no role is more surprising and entertaining than his turn as Elvis Presley in 2007’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
The 2007 music-biopic parody boasts a laundry list of left-field cameos, but none more enjoyable than White as Elvis. White, who has a penchant for writing songs full of tongue-twisters and gibberish, skillfully embodies the King of Rock & Roll’s larger-than-life persona with an incomprehensible, strung-out stream of mumbo jumbo. With some Elvis’ famed karate chop moves in hand, White translates his sharp, tongue-in-cheek wit into slapstick silliness.
35. Yasiin Bey
Bey, under the moniker Mos Def, is regarded as one of hip-hop’s most introspective and insightful artists. Mos Def’s 1999 solo debut, “Black On Both Sides” was certified gold and hailed by critics as bringing hip-hop back to its soapbox roots. As with his music, Mos Def has demonstrated insight and passion with his acting career. Notable roles include Left Ear in The Italian Job, Sgt. Lucas in The Woodsman, and Eddie Bunker in 16 Blocks. But it’s Def’s performance as the hero Ford Prefect in the 2005 film adaptation of the classic Douglas Adams Science Fiction novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy that ranks as my favorite of his.
Mos Def’s performance in the film is perfectly understated, with a dry wit that is precisely the way Adams described the character. This is especially true in the scenes when Earth is about to be demolished.
36. Rihanna
While growing up in Barbados, Rihanna won numerous beauty pageants and performed Mariah Carey’s single, Hero in a school talent show. Her music career was catapulted when one of her friends introduced her to Evan Rodgers, a producer from New York who was in Barbados on vacation with his wife. Rodgers arranged for Rihanna to go to New York to meet Jay-Z, who heard her sing and knew she was going to be incredibly successful and snatched her up and signed her to his label Def Jam Records. Since then, she has amassed incredible success in the music industry and more recently moved into the world of Hollywood movies.
Her biggest movie so far, 2018’s Ocean’s 8, sees Rihanna as part of the all-female addition to Steven Soderbergh’s heist series. Set around the Met Gala, Rihanna plays stoner-hacker “Nine Ball,” a side-eyeing, tech-savvy, so-good-when-she’s-bad girl who wears sunglasses indoors and can disable a building’s entire electrical system in seconds flat. The film is a lot of fun to watch and arguably Rihanna is a huge part of the reason.
37. Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys began taking piano lessons at age seven, largely due to her mother’s insistence. Proving to be a child prodigy, she was accepted into the prestigious Professional Performance Arts School of Manhattan, where she majored in choir and graduated valedictorian, at age 16. After joining J Records headed by the legendary Clive Davis in 1999, Keys success was meteoric. Her 2001 debut album, “Songs in A Minor,” sold 6 million copies and garnered her five Grammys. Then her album “Diary” won her four more Grammys in 2005.
In 2008, Alicia Keys starred in the star-studded assassin free-for-all Smokin’ Aces. The enjoyable film showcases Keys as half of hitwomen team, the other half played by Taraji P. Henson. The action and comedy combo of the film are almost as winning as Keys is, in a variety of wigs and hoop earrings.
So there you have it, 37 of my all-time favorite musician appearances in feature films. I’m sure you have your favorites as well. If I missed them, let me hear about it with a comment below.
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