Interesting article. At long last black music cultural icons are being given their place in the long tradition of Hollywood music biopics. First can I point out the error- "Coal Miners Daughter" was based on the life of Loretta Lynn. "Sweet Dreams" was the Patsy Cline bio-pic starring Jessica Lange. The first major studio biopic of a major black star has to be "Lady Sings The Blues" released in 1973 and starring Diana Ross as... Diana Ross! The movie plays fast and hard with the truth regarding the biographical facts of Billie Holliday's life and career. Diana Ross famously lost out on the Oscar which went to Liza Minnelli for her OTT cringeworthy performance as... Liza Minnelli in "Cabaret". "Lady" was a culturally significant movie, proving that major movie with a black cast could succeed at the box office. Strangely the movie was shown only twice on UK TV back in the 80s and despite a major US anniversary release has never been available on video, DVD or Blu Ray. It also seems to be overlooked when documentaries feature the history of "black cinema" and Ross is almost never recognised by female African American actors when they collect THEIR awards. Diana broke through so many glass ceilings and broke into so many areas of the music and wider entertainment industry both as a Supreme and as a solo performer.
Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Gladys Knight, The Supremes (DreamGirls doesn't count!) The Motown Story (NOT the jukebox stage show) are all ripe for the picking. The Marvin movie has been talked about for the past 40 years! It's just good to finally see these great artists receive the recognition they deserve on the silver screen, exposing their music to a whole new generation for the first time, cementing their legacy and keeping their music alive.