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".

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. The term was subsequently used to describe concert films containing appearances by multiple artists. In 1976 the term was used by the promoters of the live musical production Beatlemania which documented the evolving career of The Beatles. 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

Rockumentary films

Rock-mockumentary films

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.

The Cure

The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex, in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member. The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970's with their debut album Three Imaginary Boys; this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock revolution in the United Kingdom. During the early 1980's, the band's increasingly dark and tormented music was a staple of the emerging gothic rock genre.

After the release of 1982's Pornography, the band's future was uncertain and Smith was keen to move past the gloomy reputation his band had acquired. With the single "Let's Go to Bed" released the same year, Smith began to place a pop sensibility into the band's music and their popularity increased as the decade wore on, with songs like "Just Like Heaven", "Lovesong" and "Friday I'm in Love". The band is estimated to have sold 27 million albums as of 2004 and have released thirteen studio albums, ten EPs and over thirty singles during their career.