Jukebox musical


A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical.
Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs previously performed by one singer or band, or written by one songwriter. In such cases, the plot is often a biography of the artist or artists. In other jukebox musicals, the plot is purely fictional. For musicals about a musician or musical act, some of the songs can be diegetic, meaning that they are performed within the world of the play or film. Works in which all of the music is diegetic, however, such as a biographical film about a singer who is at times shown performing their songs, are generally not considered jukebox musicals.
Revues that lack a plot are also usually not described as jukebox musicals, although plotless shows that include a dance element sometimes are.

History

In Europe in the 17th and 18th century, many comic operas were produced that parodied popular songs of the time by performing them with modified lyrics. Comédie en vaudevilles and ballad operas are two genres that made heavy use of well-known melodies. The Beggar's Opera, the first ballad opera and the most famous, has been called "the original jukebox musical".
Films considered early examples of jukebox musicals include An [American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris], Singin' in the Rain, Rock, Rock, Rock and Rock [Around the Clock (film)|Rock Around the Clock].
The songwriting team of Robert Wright and George Forrest pioneered the concept of musicals whose songs are derived from one composer's instrumental works, with newly-written lyrics. Some of these musicals also told the life story of that composer. Musicals and operettas that they produced in this fashion include Song of Norway, Magdalena: a Musical Adventure, a 1949 reworking of the 1934 musical The Great Waltz, Kismet, and Anya.
The origin of the phrase "jukebox musical" in its current meaning is unclear. The word "jukebox" dates to around 1939. The first documented use of "jukebox musical" in print may have been in a 1962 description of the musical Do Re Mi, but that was a musical about a man who sells jukeboxes. In a 1964 review of the Beatles film A [Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Night], critic Andrew Sarris described that film as "the Citizen Kane of jukebox musicals", but he too may have had a meaning in mind other than the contemporary one, since most of that film's songs were original.
Although jukebox musicals had achieved success for years, a surge in popularity was led by the success of Mamma Mia!, built around the music of ABBA. The biographical musical, a subset of the jukebox musical in which an artist's or band's own songs form the basis of a musical based on their life story, received a surge in popularity in the early 2000s with All Shook Up and Jersey Boys, as well as The Boy from Oz.

Types of jukebox musicals

The most common format for jukebox musicals is a show that tells the life story of a famous musician or musical group, while incorporating songs from throughout their career. Artists whose life and songs have served as the basis for a jukebox musical include Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Susan Boyle, Shlomo Carlebach, Johnny Cash, Cher, Patsy Cline, Bobby Darin, The Drifters, Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Buddy Holly, Peter Allen, Janis Joplin, Carole King, The Kinks, Fela Kuti, Udo Lindenberg, Bob Marley, Johnny O'Keefe, The Seekers, Dusty Springfield, Donna Summer, The Temptations, Tina Turner, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Hank Williams, Neil Diamond, and ABBA. Others who have gotten similar treatment include songwriter/producers Bert Berns, Berry Gordy and Ellie Greenwich, record producer Florence Greenberg, and composer/songwriter Norbert Glanzberg.
For jukebox musicals with a fictional plot, one common approach is to center the plot around one or more singers or musicians, thus letting some of the songs be performed as songs within the show. Examples of such musicals include Boogie Nights, Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You, Hoy no me puedo levantar, Bésame mucho, el musical, Rock of Ages, Daddy Cool, Never Forget, Viva Forever!, All [Out of Love (musical)|All Out of Love], and Jukebox Hero.
Some jukebox musicals are adaptations of a film, in which songs from the film's soundtrack are now sung by the characters; examples include Saturday Night Fever, Priscilla, [Queen of the Desert (musical)|Priscilla, Queen of the Desert], Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical and My Best Friend's Wedding.
Some shows and films combine original and previously released songs; it may be a matter of opinion whether these qualify as jukebox musicals. For example, the stage musicals 42nd Street, Five Guys Named Moe, Crazy for You, and Xanadu are all adaptations of earlier source material that added to the original score other well-known songs written by the original songwriters. The stage musicals The Last Ship and Standing at the Sky's Edge and film musicals Yellow Submarine and Idlewild are all musicals that combine original and previously recorded songs by a single artist or group. Other films that combine old and original songs include Singin' in the Rain, Trolls, and Cinderella.

List of stage jukebox musicals

1970s

YearTitleBased on the music of
1976Bubbling Brown SugarDuke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, et al.
1977 BeatlemaniaThe Beatles
1977ElvisElvis Presley
1978Ain't Misbehavin'Fats Waller
1978Eubie!Eubie Blake

1980s

YearTitleBased on the music of
198042nd StreetAl Dubin, Johnny Mercer, and Harry Warren
1983AbbacadabraABBA
1984Leader of the PackEllie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector
1986Big DealPopular songs from the 1920s and 30s
1987Hank Williams: Lost HighwayHank Williams
1989Buddy: The [Buddy Holly Story]Buddy Holly, including many early rock "standards"
1989Forever PlaidPopular songs from the 1950s
1989Return to the Forbidden Planet1960s rock and roll

1990s

YearTitleBased on the music of
1990 Five Guys Named MoeLouis Jordan
1992 Jelly's Last JamJelly Roll Morton
1993 The Who's TommyThe Who
1996Summer HolidayCliff Richard & The Shadows
1997Boogie NightsThe 1970s
1998Saturday Night FeverBee Gees and others
1999Disco Inferno1970s disco
1999Mamma Mia!ABBA
1999The Marvelous WonderettesFemale vocal harmony groups of the 1950s and 1960s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Various artists

List of jukebox musical films

In a different category are films or stage musicals based around a concept album, in which the story being told is not original but rather a fleshed-out version of the narrative already contained in the album. Examples include: