''Crazy'' is a 2007 American
biographical
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film co-written and directed by Rick Bieber, starring
Waylon Payne
Waylon Malloy Payne (born April 5, 1972) is an American country singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is the son of the country singer Sammi Smith and guitarist Jody Payne.
Early life
Payne was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of guita ...
and
Ali Larter
Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and former model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She m ...
.
Inspired by the life of
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
guitarist
Hank Garland
Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...
, the film was shot from January 13 to February 12, 2005, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
Plot
''Crazy'' is the story of a legendary guitar player who emerged from Nashville in the 1950s. Blessed with incomparable, natural talent,
Hank Garland
Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...
quickly established his reputation as the finest sessions player in Nashville. Artists such as
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...
,
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...
,
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
, and
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
all sought Hank’s brilliant playing for their recordings. Moving effortlessly from country, to rock-a-billy, to jazz, Hank was also quickly recognized by the likes of
Dave Brubeck
David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
,
Gary Burton
Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz Vibraphone, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused ...
,
Joe Morello
Joseph Albert Morello (July 17, 1928 – March 12, 2011) was an American jazz drummer best known for serving as the drummer for pianist Dave Brubeck, as part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, from 1957 to 1972, including during the quartet's "clas ...
, and
Joe Benjamin
Joseph Rupert Benjamin (November 4, 1919 – January 26, 1974) was an American jazz bassist.
Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Benjamin played with many jazz musicians in a variety of idioms. Early in his career he played in the big bands of A ...
.
The
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
scene was a unique place in the 1950s – dominated by a small group of executives and musicians who controlled the studios, labels and unions. Hank, in his arrogance and pursuit of musical excellence, often came into conflict with the business, social and racial culture he found both restrictive and frequently frustrating.
Some people say that a near-fatal car accident, which Hank suffered, was a result of tragic response to dreams unfulfilled. Others will say that the subsequent electro-shock therapy, which was ordered by his doctors, may have contributed to ending Hank’s playing career at the age of thirty-one. Four years later his wife dies in her own car accident.
Historians have questioned the accuracy some of the movie's points, noting that Garland was a member of Nashville's fabled "
A-Team" of session players, with whom he socialized in the 1950s, and who rallied around him in the wake of his accident.
Cast
Awards
''Crazy'' won the Best of Fest award at the
Real to Reel International Film Festival The Real to Reel International Film Festival is presented by the Cleveland County Arts Council and held annually in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, at the Joy Performance Center. It was founded in 2000 by Will Eskridge and Noel T. Manning II to offe ...
in 2008.
References
External links
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2007 films
2007 biographical drama films
2007 independent films
2000s American films
2000s English-language films
2000s musical drama films
American biographical drama films
American independent films
American musical drama films
Biographical films about musicians
Country music films
Cultural depictions of country musicians
Films set in the 1940s
Films set in the 1950s
Films set in 1957
Films set in the 1960s
Films set in the 1970s
Musical drama films based on actual events
English-language biographical drama films
English-language independent films
English-language musical drama films
2007 musical films
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