Music at the movies: Musical artists on the silver screen

Let’s go right back to the Fab Four for their most successful cinematic effort. The Beatles play versions of themselves in this comedic romp that seems to crib heavily from the Marx Brothers. Still, "A Hard Day’s Night" captured the Beatles at the height of their fame at a time before they seemed to be tired of being the world’s biggest band (and also each other).

The Who made a couple movies, including "Quadrophenia," but their iconic offering is clearly "Tommy." After all, it’s a supremely bizarre rock musical about a deaf, dumb and blind kid who is a pinball wizard. Seriously: a rock opera about pinball.

Producer Roger Corman was just cravenly trying to exploit the punk scene to make some cash, but fortunately we got an awesome movie out of it. "Rock ‘n’ Roll High School" is an absurd comedy built around one girl's love for the Ramones, who make an extensive appearance in the film. None of them can act, but that’s just fine.

The Monkees used to get a ton of criticism, but over time their legacy has grown more respectable. Their television show was a lot of fun, but "Head"  is an entirely different thing. The film was co-written by Jack Nicholson — yes that Jack Nicholson — and features the Monkees starring in a series of vignettes that are hit-or-miss but definitely will give you a different perspective on the Pre-Fab Four.

Hey, when one of the members of your band is Jack Black, eventually you are going to star in a movie. Jack and Kyle Gass, also an actor, turned their two-man rock band into the focal point of "Pick of Destiny," which is probably most charitably described as a passion project.

"Jailhouse Rock" is standing in for the dozens of movies that Elvis starred in when he wasn’t being the most-popular musician in the world. Presley wasn’t the greatest actor, but he always gave it a go, and he would, naturally, drop a memorable song or two in all of his films. That includes the titular song in "Jailhouse Rock."

Diamond starred in this remake of the Al Jolson original, which is best remembered for being the first “talkie.” Unfortunately, Diamond and company included the blackface scene from the original, which didn’t play as well in 1980 as it did in 1927. For his efforts, he won the Razzie for Worst Actor.

Prince wasn’t the greatest actor, but the existence of "Purple Rain" means that we also have the "Purple Rain" soundtrack. We’re talking the titular song, "When Doves Cry," "Let’s Go Crazy" and many more. The music makes it all worth it, even if it is the best part of the film by a wide margin.

It would have been more fun to go with "Goldmember" for Beyonce, but a movie about a girl group felt like a better choice for the former Destiny’s Child member. Jennifer Hudson and her Oscar got the majority of the love, but Beyonce is doing just fine.

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello starred together in several beach-y romps in the ‘60s, although Avalon had a couple films (like "Ski Party") that didn’t feature his distaff counterpart. "Beach Party" wasn’t Avalon’s first movie, but it was the one who turned him into a star. You might also remember him as the guy who sings “Beauty School Dropout” in "Grease."

Paul Anka’s greatest role was as himself in a "Simpsons" episode, but there are a lot of people who can say that. Back when he was a huge star in the ‘50s, though, he was given his first acting role alongside Mamie Van Doren in "Girls Town." As for the quality of the movie, it ended up on "Mystery Science Theater 3000."

Reggae star Jimmy Cliff plays the lead role in 1972’s "The Harder They Come." The film is considered the thing that brought reggae to the world, and it was a huge success in Jamaica. For a movie to make it out of the Caribbean and make an impact around the world, it must be special.

Bob Dylan doesn’t have a huge role in Sam Peckinpah’s film — as opposed to Kristofferson, who plays Billy the Kid — but his impact on the film is significant. He composed the score for the movie and wrote a few songs for it as well. That includes “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” which has made a lasting impact on pop music.

There are a lot of great actors in "The Life Aquatic," led by Bill Murray, but in some ways Seu Jorge steals the show. After all, the Brazilian actor and musician plays several David Bowie covers in Portuguese throughout the film. Jorge also had a role in "City of God," but there are no Bowie covers there.

Speaking of Bowie, he had several significant movie roles of his own. However, anybody of a certain age is going to think of Jareth the Goblin King first and foremost. Plus, it’s a role where he sings, which is something he didn’t do as Nikola Tesla in "The Prestige."

Sure, this is technically a made-for-TV movie, but how could we not include it? It’s called "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park"! The members of Kiss use their superpowers to save an amusement park. Most people had to win a breakdancing contest to do that. Reportedly, Kiss hated the movie so much they forbid anybody to talk about it in their presence.

Most people on this list acted in the movies selected. Byrne took things to another level. He didn’t just act in "True Stories." He’s also director and co-writer. Oh, and there are Talking Heads songs (of course).

The year 2016 was big for Janelle Monae. In addition to her significant role in "Hidden Figures" as Mary Jackson, she also had a role in Best Picture winner "Moonlight." She’s still in the early stages of her music — and film — career, but we will likely see Monae in more movies in the near future.

Kris Kristofferson is back at it again! This time, he stars alongside Barbra Streisand in the third rendition of the "A Star is Born" story. We’ve got a new one coming in the near future, and it will feature another musician in an acting role: starring alongside Bradley Cooper, who's in the Kristofferson role, is Lady Gaga.

Iggy Pop has acted in a few movies and TV shows, including playing a suburban dad in "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" on Nickelodeon. Seeing him in a John Waters film like "Cry-Baby" makes more sense, even if it is Johnny Depp’s character who does most of the singing.

There are elements of reality in "200 Motels," as Frank Zappa and his band the Mothers of Invention play themselves. On the other hand, Ringo Starr plays “Larry the Dwarf,” and Keith Moon plays “the hot nun.” Zappa, in all his iconoclastic, self-indulgent glory, co-wrote and co-directed this film while also starring in it and producing music for it. It’s, uh, really weird. That’s probably the best thing you can say about it, though Zappa fanatics might disagree.

Neither Flea nor Aimee Mann have a major role, which is why we are doubling them up for this entry. Mann barely talks in her brief appearance as the nihilist who gave up her pinkie toe for their extortion scheme. Flea has a slightly larger role as one of the nihilists — and fitting, the German trio were also in a band called Autobahn within the world of the film.

Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones are as successful as any rock band in the history of music. Jagger’s acting career was less impressive. The “highlight” is probably 1992’s "Freejack," if only because he starred in it alongside Emilio Estevez. David Johansen from the New York Dolls is also in it. He also had a role in "Pete & Pete" alongside Iggy Pop. As for "Freejack," it’s terrible.

Lee Ving’s most memorable moment on a screen was surely when he and his band Fear played on "Saturday Night Live," a performance that got them banned from the show for life. Aside from that, he had a few acting roles — including as Mr. Boddy on "Clue." As Mr. Boddy, he plays the murder victim/MacGuffin that drives the action of the movie.