Top ten best musician biopics

Trashing hotel rooms, sleeping with groupies and getting high on drugs – the showbiz lifestyles of top musicians are often a playground of high drama. No wonder then that Hollywood likes to come a-calling, taking these stories of musical magic and giving them the Tinseltown treatment. And it’s not just that shining moment when the star is top of the charts that attracts the attention, rather the whole rocky road rich with humble beginnings, traumatic setbacks and painful sacrifices. Sometimes there’s a happy ending, but often there’s not. It’s about the journey, going from zero to hero and bringing music to the masses through an individual gift.

That’s the formula, one that’s loyally followed in Notorious, the biopic of rapper Christopher Small better known to his fans as Biggie Smalls or Notorious B.I.G.

With this, the latest addition to the genre we take a look back at some of the other musicians to earn a biopic. We’re canvassing all types of music, from jazz to country, classical to punk in a bid to tune into the best. This means being selective. We’re not looking at fictional musicians (The Blues Brothers), music scenes/ movements (such as Manchester’s in 24 Hour Party People) or musicians whose story takes a backseat to another plot (Backbeat). And with this criteria in place – crank up the noise and enjoy the sounds of these giants of music.