The music of a film is often one of the most crucial and overlooked elements of the entire cinematic experience. A great film score can really suck the audience in and evoke all sorts of unexpected emotions within them. There are many great composers out there that have made a name for themselves by producing some of the best scores and soundtracks of all time. While many composers have been classically trained and set out to become the composers that they are, there are also plenty of others that have ended up providing the score for a film despite being famous for their music elsewhere.
Over the years, there have been many different musicians and rock stars that have transitioned out of their careers in a band or as solo recording artists in the music industry and made the jump to film scoring. Sometimes these cinematic detours are for one-off projects, and in other cases, they have been entire decades-long shifts.
Many of these composers have come out of the rock and roll scene in particular, but there have also been many that have originated in other genres such as R&B, electronica and even early heavy metal. With all that said, here are (in no particular order) 22 of the best recording musicians that have also composed film scores:
22Thom Yorke
While his bandmate Jonny Greenwood has become famous for his film scores, Radiohead’s frontmanThom Yorkehas also made the jump to movie scoring as well. His first, and currently only, foray into the realm of cinematic music was for director Luca Guadagnino’s remake ofSuspiriain 2018.
The original film had previously been scored by the Italian band Goblin, and Guadagnino was looking for a composer that could speak to his generation and the overall nature of the story. After having previously turned downoffers to score films such as David Fincher’sFight Club, Yorke was drawn toSuspiriabecause of the film’s horror stylings and the “air of madness” to it all.
21Peter Gabriel
After producing a slew of popular and acclaimed records, both as a solo artist and as the frontman of the band Genesis,Peter Gabrielalso dipped his toe into the world of film scoring. His first film score was for the 1984 filmBirdy, directed by Alan Parker and starring Nicolas Cage and Matthew Modine. However, it was Gabriel’s second score that is of particular interest.
After the success of his work onBirdy, Gabriel was then approached to provide the score for Martin Scorsese’s religious dramaThe Last Temptation of Christ. The score that Gabriel provided for the film was praised for its forward-thinking and international approach, and it was nominated for a Golden Globe and even won a Grammy.
Related:Martin Scorsese Is Making Another Movie About Jesus Because The Pope Asked for It
In one of the most famous examples of a rock band working on a film’s soundtrack, the iconic groupQueencomposed much of the music for the 1980 film adaptation ofFlash Gordon. The music they produced for the film was also released as the band’s ninth studio album, which was also titledFlash Gordon.
Queen wasn’t solely responsible for the music of the film, however, as the composer Howard Blake also provided additional pieces throughout the film. The same is true of the 1986 filmHighlander, as Queen provided much of that soundtrack in combination with the orchestral arrangements by Michael Kamen.
19Frank Zappa
It’s no surprise that one of the most experimental rockers of the ‘60s and ‘70s,Frank Zappa, was also interested in providing music for film. Before his rise to fame with the band The Mothers of Invention, Zappa was already dipping his toes into film scoring. He had already provided the music for the 1962 filmThe World’s Greatest Sinner, which was written and directed by Timothy Carey.
After that, the eclectic musician went on to not only provide the music for several films but was also in the director’s chair for a few of them, most notably200 Motels.
18Arcade Fire
Moving into the 21st century, the popular and influential indie rock bandArcade Fireprovided the score to Spike Jonze’s filmHerin 2013. The score was written in collaboration with the Canadian musician Owen Pallett, who had also toured with the band and contributed to several of their records.
In addition to many other awards that the film had been nominated for and won, Arcade Fire’s score was also nominated for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards that year. Despite the immense attention and acclaim the score received, Arcade Fire has yet to score another movie.
17Brian Eno
The acclaimed musicianBrian Enohas produced everything from rock to electronica and even ambient music. On top of all that, he has also been credited as the composer of a number of different films and series. Some of his earliest work came from scoring low-budget short films, such as 1970’sBerlin Horse.
After growing in popularity throughout the ‘70s, Eno worked on numerous films throughout the ‘80s, ranging from the German language filmEgon Schiele – Excess and Punishmentto the 1989 documentaryFor All Mankind. He also collaborated with several other artists on a single track for the soundtrack to David Lynch’sDunein 1984. A few decades later, he also provided the score for 2009’sThe Lovely Bones, directed by Peter Jackson.
16Annie Clark
Annie Clark, also known by her stage name St. Vincent, is one of the most recent additions to this list. In addition to having released some of the best rock albums of the 21st century so far, such as 2011’sStrange Mercyand 2021’sDaddy’s Home, she has also branched into the cinematic medium as well.
After having written and directed part of the 2017 horror filmXX, Clark also co-wrote, produced, and starred in the 2020 mockumentary filmThe Nowhere Inn, in whichshe played a fictionalized version of herself. The film’s soundtrack was entirely written and performed by St. Vincent as well. Having been widely released in the latter half of 2021,The Nowhere Innis the most recent project that Clark has produced.
15Jimmy Page
As one of the most influential guitarists of the 1970s, Led Zeppelin’sJimmy Pageis the definition of a rock legend. After the band disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham, Page was hesitant to immediately find another band to play with. However, he did find some work in film composition.
He recorded the scores for several films throughout the ‘80s, most notably both the second and the third films in theDeath Wishseries. He also contributed to the soundtrack for the 1984 filmScream for Help, which his former Led Zeppelin bandmate John Paul Jones was scoring.
There were few rock bands with as big an impact in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s asThe Who. The group, fronted by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, became famous for their narrative approach to their records. Specifically, concept albums like 1969’sTommyshot the band into superstardom.
Throughout the ‘70s, there were multiple film adaptations of albums by The Who, to which the band also provided the updated soundtrack and scores. The first of these films was 1975’sTommy, for which the band collaborated with several major artists such as Elton John, Eric Clapton and Tina Turner. The Who also provided the music for the 1979 filmQuadrophenia, based on the band’s 1973 album of the same name, though that soundtrack was notably less collaborative.
13David Bowie
ThoughDavid Bowienever directly composed an entire score for a feature film, he was frequently involved with the production of soundtracks for films.Bowie starred in a number of moviesover the years such as 1976’sThe Man Who Fell to Earthand 1986’sAbsolute Beginnersas well asLabyrinth.
While several of his albums, namelyStation to StationandLow,were inspired byThe Man Who Fell to Earth, Bowie didn’t actually contribute to the music of that film. However, he did compose a handful of original songs for the soundtracks of bothAbsolute BeginnersandLabyrinth. Beyond that, he also had contributions to a number of films he did not star in, such as 1982’sCat Peopleand 1995’sShowgirls.
