(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Sun 4 January 2026 17:15, UK
When it comes to Clint Eastwood in the world of music, there seems to be one name that trumps all: Gorillaz.
The 2001 song used Eastwood’s namesake for one of the most addictive, spinning songs of the naughties. The vampiric chorus repeats, “I ain’t happy, I’m feeling glad / I got sunshine in a bag,” as a respectful nod towards The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The lyrics spiral through a back-and-forth between the conscious and unconscious mind.
The song reached number four in the UK and is certified double platinum. So why, given the widespread association of Eastwood with one of the biggest musical groups of the century (who are set for a royal comeback this year, mind you), have we never stopped to ask what Eastwood thinks of this whole music thing?
Turns out, music has been an integral part of the director’s life since he was young. As a boy, he learned to play the piano. In 1962, he released a cowboy song called ‘Rowdy’; sure, it was for his character, Rowdy Yates, in the TV western, Rawhide, but it ushered in a routine Eastwood would often emulate, taking charge of music in many of his films, often alongside Kyle Eastwood, his son, and a great musician.
Of course, he’s dabbled in the genre of the music biopic, too. Bird followed the story of Charlie Parker with a free-wheeling, non-linear structure, and Jersey Boys recreated the popular story of the Jersey Boys with many of the original Broadway cast members. Eastwood’s enthusiasm for jazz comes across in the deliberate, flashy pace of the films.
With all this said, Eastwood appears to be more than the dual threat of a Hollywood actor and director; he’s practically an esteemed musician, too. According to Eastwood, who has met most of the greats in his time, who sits at the top of the music world, triumphantly waving down at the rest of us? There are two specific groups he deems greatest of all.
It was actually in reference to the Jersey Boys that Eastwood made the grand comment. The Toronto Star posited the hypothetical… If Eastwood was so into New Jersey music, why didn’t he go for the “big kahuna” and film a Frank Sinatra biopic? Surely, there’s a gap in the market there.
Calling into the publication from New York, Eastwood responded crisply, “Sure, like you’re suggesting there’s Frank Sinatra, and if you going to do top groups, what about the Beatles and the Stones and all that?”
And with that, Eastwood proves he has his finger on two different pulses: the quivering body of the cinematic, and the pulsating body of the sonic. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are solid picks from a solid guy.
Eastwood seemed to predict the new Sam Mendes project over a decade before it was announced; in 2028, Beatles fans can expect not one, not two, but four Beatles biopics to hit the cinema, one following each member of the iconic band through their life and times. It’s a damn shame Eastwood isn’t behind the camera, but it’s not a reach to bet that he’ll be in the audience, same as us all, when the movies are finally released. Until then, press play on that addictive Gorillaz track, would ya?
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