Rockumentary

A rockumentary is a documentary about rock music or its musicians. The term was first used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast and is a portmanteau of "rock" and "documentary".^[1][2]

Usage

Rolling Stone magazine's first use of the term "rockumentary" was in 1969 to describe the radio show The History of Rock and Roll which aimed to document the major artists of rock and roll to that date.^[2] The term was subsequently used to describe concert films containing appearances by multiple artists.^[3][4] In 1976 the term was used by the promoters of the live musical production Beatlemania which documented the evolving career of The Beatles.^[5] The tongue-in-cheek film This Is Spinal Tap from 1984 is both a rockumentary and a mockumentary because of its intended humor.

List of "rockumentary" titles

Audio rockumentaries

Title	Creators	Year	Narrators	Writers	Info
The History of Rock and Roll	Bill Drake, Gene Chenault	1969	Robert W. Morgan, Humble Harve Miller	Pete Johnson	[1][2]
		1978, 1981	Bill Drake	Gary Theroux	[6]
The Pop Chronicles	John Gilliland	1969	John Gilliland, Sie Holliday, Thom Beck	John Gilliland	[7][8]

Rockumentary films

Film	Artist(s)	Year	Director	IMDB
Dont Look Back	Bob Dylan	1967	D. A. Pennebaker	tt0061589
Monterey Pop	Various – Monterey Pop Festival	1968	D. A. Pennebaker	tt0064689
Gimme Shelter	Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones	1970	Albert and David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin	tt0065780
Woodstock	Various – Woodstock festival	1970	Michael Wadleigh	tt0066580
Mad Dogs & Englishmen	Joe CockerJoe Cocker	1971	Pierre Adidge	tt0067275
Cocksucker Blues	Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones	1972	Robert Frank	tt0068389
The Concert for Bangladesh	Various - The Concert for Bangladesh	1972	Saul Swimmer	tt0158560
Live at Pompeii	Pink Floyd	1972	Adrian Maben	tt0069090
Yessongs	Yes	1973	Peter Neal	tt0070940
Let the Good Times Roll	Various – 1950s pop and rock scene	1973	Robert Abel, Sidney Levin	tt0143367
Cracked Actor	David Bowie	1974	Alan Yentob	tt0377047
Blank GenerationThe Blank Generation	Various – New York punk rock scene	1976	Ivan Kral	tt0074216
Song Remains the SameThe Song Remains the Same	Led Zeppelin	1976	Peter Clifton, Joe Massot	tt0075244
Last WaltzThe Last Waltz	BandThe Band final concert	1978	Martin Scorsese	tt0077838
Kids Are AlrightThe Kids Are Alright	WhoThe Who	1979	Jeff Stein	tt0079400
Let There Be RockAC/DC: Let There Be Rock	AC/DC	1979	Eric Dionysius	tt0080321
Decline of Western CivilizationThe Decline of Western Civilization	Various – Los Angeles punk rock scene	1981	Penelope Spheeris	tt0082252
Another State of Mind	Social Distortion, Youth Brigade	1984	Adam Small, Peter Stuart	tt0198307
Stop Making Sense	Talking Heads	1984	Jonathan Demme	tt0088178
Bring on the Night	Sting	1985	Michael Apted	tt0088855
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll	Chuck Berry	1987	Taylor Hackford	tt0092758
Decline of Western CivilizationThe Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years	Various – Los Angeles heavy metal scene	1988	Penelope Spheeris	tt0094980
Rattle and Hum	U2	1988	Phil Joanou	tt0096328
101	Depeche Mode	1989	D. A. Pennebaker	tt0094590
Truth or Dare (aka In Bed with Madonna)	Madonna	1991	Alek Keshishian	tt0102370
1991: The Year Punk Broke	Sonic Youth	1992	Dave Markey	tt0103595
Funky Monks	Red Hot Chili Peppers	1992	Gavin Bowden	tt0275623
Band That Would Be KingThe Band That Would Be King	Half Japanese	1993	Jeff Feuerzeig	tt0107071
Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!	Nirvana	1994	Kevin Kerslake	tt0239723
Beatles AnthologyThe Beatles Anthology	BeatlesThe Beatles	1995	Geoff Wonfor	tt0111893
Year of the Horse	Neil Young	1997	Jim Jarmusch	tt0120539
Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival 1970	Isle of Wight Festival 1970	1997	Murray Lerner	tt0117028
Meeting People Is Easy	Radiohead	1998	Grant Gee	tt0195909
Single Video Theory	Pearl Jam	1998	Mark Pellington	tt0216214
Man in the Sand	Billy Bragg and Wilco	1999	Kim Hopkins	tt0345620
Filth and the FuryThe Filth and the Fury	Sex Pistols	2000	Julien Temple	tt0236216
Biggie & Tupac	Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur	2002	Nick Broomfield	tt0303356
Goodnight Cleveland	HellacoptersThe Hellacopters	2002	Jim Heneghan	tt0388997
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart	Wilco	2002	Sam Jones	tt0327920
End of the Century	RamonesThe Ramones	2003	Jim Fields, Michael Gramaglia	tt0368711
Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)	They Might Be Giants	2003	A. J. Schnack	tt0304081
Sretno dijete	Various – Former-Yugoslavia punk rock scene	2003	Igor Mirkovic	tt0410657
Betty Blowtorch And Her Amazing True Life Adventures	Betty Blowtorch	2003	Antonia Scarpa	tt0366227
Festival Express	Various – 1970 Festival Express tour	2003	Bob Smeaton	tt0372279
Dig!	Dandy WarholsThe Dandy Warhols, The Brian Jonestown Massacre	2004	Ondi Timoner	tt0388888
Kill Your Idols	Various – NYC art punk scene	2004	Scott Crary	tt0407926
Kiss Loves You	KISS	2004	Jim Heneghan	tt1102243
Let's Rock Again!	Joe Strummer	2004	Dick Rude	tt0415935
Some Kind of Monster	Metallica	2004	Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky	tt0387412
Bullet in a Bible	Green Day	2005	Samuel Bayer	tt0485773
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret	Madonna	2005	Jonas Åkerlund	tt0451180
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey	Various – International heavy metal scene	2005	Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, Jessica Joy Wise	tt0478209
Stalking Pete Doherty	Pete Doherty (The Libertines, Babyshambles)	2005	Max Carlish	tt0805336
Divided States of America: Laibach 2004 Tour	Laibach	2005	Sašo Podgoršek	tt0395291
About a Son	Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)	2006	A. J. Schnack	tt0790769
American Hardcore	Various – 1980s hardcore punk scene	2006	Paul Rachman	tt0419434
Bilo jednom...	Various – Novi Sad punk rock scene	2006	Jovan Đerić	tt1990178
Devil and Daniel JohnstonThe Devil and Daniel Johnston	Daniel Johnston	2006	Jeff Feuerzeig	tt0436231
Dream of Life	Patti Smith	2006	Steven Sebring	tt0940620
Everyone Stares	PoliceThe Police	2006	Stewart Copeland	tt0492968
Fast Future Generation	Good Charlotte	2006	Marvin Scott Jarrett	tt1127864
Glastonbury	Various – Glastonbury Festival	2006	Julien Temple	tt0464022
LoudQUIETloud	Pixies	2006	Steven Cantor, Matthew Galkin	tt0449121
Screamers	System of a Down	2006	Carla Garapedian	tt0823668
Shut Up & Sing	Dixie Chicks	2006	Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck	tt0811136
Voliminal: Inside the Nine	Slipknot	2006	Shawn Crahan	tt0976221
Better Than Therapy	PoliceThe Police Reunion Tour	2007	Jordan Copeland	tt1330008
The Future is Unwritten	Joe Strummer	2007	Julien Temple	tt0800099
Global Metal	Various – International heavy metal scene	2007	Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen	tt1249171
Heavy Metal in Baghdad	Acrassicauda	2007	Suroosh Alvi, Eddy Moretti	tt1092007
Lord Don't Slow Me Down	Oasis	2007	Baillie Walsh	tt1167522
Runnin' Down A Dream	Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers	2007	Peter Bogdanovich	tt0965382
A Cross the Universe	Justice	2008	Romain Gavras	tt1619014
Anvil! The Story of Anvil	Anvil	2008	Sacha Gervasi	tt1157605
Come Rain or Shine	Genesis	2008	Anthony Mathile	tt1232771
It Might Get Loud	Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White	2008	Davis Guggenheim	tt1229360
Part of the Weekend Never Dies	Soulwax	2008	Saam Farahmand	tt1224448
Rock n Roll Nerd	Tim Minchin	2008	Rhian Skirving	tt1297297
Shine a Light	Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones	2008	Martin Scorsese	tt0893382
Get Thrashed	Various thrash metal bands from the 1980s and 1990s	2008	Rick Ernst	tt0780524
Flight 666	Iron Maiden	2009	Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen	tt1361558
When You're Strange	DoorsThe Doors	2009	Tom DiCillo	tt1333667
When We Were Beautiful	Bon Jovi	2009	Phil Griffin	tt1411663
Until the Light Takes Us	Various - Norwegian black metal	2009	Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell	tt1014809
Beyond the Lighted Stage	Rush	2010	Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen	tt1545103
Color's Notes	Various – Mestival music festival	2010	Xavi Tello	tt1854256
Lemmy	Lemmy (Motörhead)	2010	Greg Olliver, Wes Orshoski	tt1236472
Back and Forth	Foo Fighters	2011	James Moll	tt1853563
Talihina Sky	Kings of Leon	2011	Stephen C. Mitchell	tt1884431
From the Sky Down	U2	2011	Davis Guggenheim	tt2007385
Pearl Jam Twenty	Pearl Jam	2011	Cameron Crowe	tt1417592
One-Eyed Doll: A Rockumentary	One-Eyed Doll	2011	David Bruce Bates, Jr.	tt1600812
Better Than Something	Jay Reatard	2011	Alex Hammond, Ian Markiewicz	tt1800669
Living in the Material World	George Harrison	2011	Martin Scorsese	tt1113829
A Band Called Death	Death	2012	Mark Christopher Covino, Jeff Howlett	tt2064713
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me	Big Star	2012	Drew DeNicola, Olivia Mori	tt2290151
Filmage	Descendents, All	2012	Matt Riggle, Deedle LaCour	tt2417154
Marley	Bob Marley	2012	Kevin MacDonald	tt1183919
Shut Up and Play the Hits	LCD Soundsystem	2012	Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace	tt2124908
Sound City	Various – Sound City Studios	2013	Dave Grohl	tt2306745
History of the Eagles	Eagles	2013	Alison Ellwood	tt2194326
Fading West	Switchfoot	2013	Matt Katsolis	tt3300954
Sonic Highways	Foo Fighters	2014	Dave Grohl	tt3893538
Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock & Roll	Various - Pre-Khmer Rouge music of Cambodia	2015	John Pirozzi	tt2634200
We Are X	X Japan	2016	Stephen Kijak	tt4835086

Rock-mockumentary films

Film	Director	Year	Writers	Info
All You Need Is Cash	Eric Idle, Gary Weis	1978	Eric Idle	The Rutles[9]
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle	Julien Temple	1980	Julien Temple	[10]
This Is Spinal Tap	Rob Reiner	1984	Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner	[11]
Hard Core Logo	Bruce McDonald	1996	Bruce McDonald	Hard Core Logo (band)[12]
Get Ready to Be Boyzvoiced	Espen Eckbo, Henrik Elvestad, Mathis Fürst	2000	Espen Eckbo, Henrik Elvestad	Boyzvoice[13]
Rutles 2The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch	Eric Idle	2002	Eric Idle	The Rutles[14]
A Mighty Wind	Christopher Guest	2003	Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy	The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, Mitch & Mickey[15]
Naked Brothers BandThe Naked Brothers Band: The Movie	Polly Draper	2005	Polly Draper	The Naked Brothers Band (band)[16]
Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo	Les Claypool	2006	Les Claypool	[17]

Television

In the late 1980s and early 1990s MTV aired a series called Rockumentary. Some of the artists that were featured were: AC/DC (1991), Madonna (1990), Aerosmith (1990), Def Leppard (1988 and 1992), Don Henley (1990), Michael Jackson, The Doors, Eric Clapton (1990), Genesis (1992), Heavy metal music, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Metallica (1992 and 1996), Mötley Crüe (1989), Pink Floyd (1989), Rod Stewart (1988), The Rolling Stones, The Smashing Pumpkins (1995), and Van Halen.

In 2011, Radio Television of Serbia aired 40 episode documentary about former Yugoslav rock scene entitled Rockovnik.

Other music documentary series include VH1's Classic Albums, Behind the Music and Legends, and BBC Four's Britannia series. While their episodes are often about rock music, the inclusion of other genres means that they are not exclusively rockumentary series.

Rock-mockumentaries on TV

TV Series	Network	Director	Year	Writers	Info
HaPijamot (Israeli TV series)	Arutz HaYeladim	Robi Dwany	2003	Yoav Zaphir	Episode 4, Season 1
The Naked Brothers Band	Nickelodeon	Polly Draper, Melanie Mayron, Rosario Roveto, Jr., Jonathan Judge, Mark Salisbury	2007–2009	Polly Draper, Magda Liolis, Michael Rubiner & Bob Mittenthal, Will McRob, Chris Viscardi	[18]
Toyboize	UKTV	Jamie Deeks	2008–2009	Jack Brough, Jamie Deeks, Dan Johnston, Ewen Macintosh	Originally a web series, later broadcast on Dave.[19]

See also

• Concert film

References

1. "The Reel Top 40 Radio Repository - The History of Rock and Roll Demo". Reelradio.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
2. Hopkins, Jerry (April 5, 1969). "'Rockumentary' Radio Milestone". Rolling Stone (30). p. 9.
3. Aletti, Vince (August 31, 1972). "Our Latin Thing". Rolling Stone (116). p. 42.
4. Landau, Jon (July 19, 1973). "'Let the Good Times Roll' indeed". Rolling Stone (139). pp. 62–63.
5. Spires, Shari (December 26, 1980). "A 'Rockumentary' About the Beatles Comes to Sunrise". The Palm Beach Post.
6. "Drake Chenault". Drake Chenault. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
7. Gilliland, John (1969). ""The Pop Chronicles" — University of North Texas Libraries" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu.
8. "Classic DJ and Radio Scrapbook: KRLA POP CHRONICLES Program, 1969 (1 of 2)". Classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com. 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
9. "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) (TV)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
10. "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
11. "This Is Spinal Tap (1984)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
12. "Hard Core Logo (1996)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
13. "Get Ready to Be Boyzvoiced (2000)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
14. "The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2002) (TV)". Imdb.com. 2004-01-28. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
15. "A Mighty Wind (2003)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
16. "The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie (2005) (TV)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
17. "Electric Apricot (2006)". Imdb.com. 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
18. ""The Naked Brothers Band" (2007)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
19. "Toyboize - Dave Sitcom". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2011-03-10.

External links

• "The 18 Best Rockumentaries of ALL TIME". Screenjunkies.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.