Movies like Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing (1945)
The best movies like Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing (1945) are The Dirt (2019), Back to Black (2024) and Rocketman (2019). If Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedBohemian Rhapsody (2018)7.9/10 from 18,226 votes
- NewestBack to Black (2024)Released 2024
The Dirt (2019)
The story of Mötley Crüe and their rise from the Sunset Strip club scene of the early 1980s to superstardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBack to Black (2024)
The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRocketman (2019)
The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTender Mercies (1983)
Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlaze (2018)
Inspired by the life of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas outlaw country movement that spawned the likes of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. The film weaves together three periods in Blaze's life, exploring his love affair with Sybil Rosen; his last, dark night on Earth; and the impact his songs and his death had on his fans, friends, and foes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBob Marley: One Love (2024)
Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley overcomes adversity to become the most famous reggae musician in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Filth and the Fury (2000)
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWorried About the Boy (2010)
In 1980 young George O'Dowd baffles his parents with his love of frocks and make-up and moves into a squat with kindred spirit Peter, who dresses as Marilyn Monroe and calls himself Marilyn. They make a splash at Steve Strange's trendy Blitz Club where George gets a job in the cloakroom but George is unlucky in his relationships with men until he meets wannabe musician Kirk. Through Kirk George meets the handsome drummer Jon Moss, on whom he develops a crush, but sacked by the Blitz and spurned by Kirk, George turns to Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren to further his music career. George's spell with McLaren's group Bow Wow Wow is short but fan Mikey North is impressed and asks George to sing in a group he is forming, where George again meets Jon. They will have an affair and the group will become the very successful Culture Club. Four years later, however, hounded by the tabloid press amid stories of his drug addiction, an unhappy George turns to Jon for advice on his future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSid and Nancy (1986)
January 1978. After their success in England, the punk rock band Sex Pistols venture out on their tour of the southern United States. Temperamental bassist Sid Vicious is forced by his band mates to travel without his troubled girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, who will meet him in New York. When the band breaks up and Sid begins his solo career in a hostile city, the turbulent couple definitely falls into the depths of drug addiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006)
This 2005 documentary film chronicles the life of Daniel Johnston, a manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist, from childhood up to the present, with an emphasis on his mental illness and how it manifested itself in demonic self-obsession.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPutney Swope (1969)
Swope—the only black man on the executive board of an advertising firm—is accidentally put in charge after the death of the chairman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoyote Ugly (2000)
Graced with a velvet voice, 21-year-old Violet Sanford heads to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter only to find her aspirations sidelined by the accolades and notoriety she receives at her "day" job as a barmaid at Coyote Ugly. The "Coyotes" as they are affectionately called tantalize customers and the media alike with their outrageous antics, making Coyote Ugly the watering hole for guys on the prowl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStep Up (2006)
Delinquent Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance with up-and-coming dancer Nora.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Art of Getting By (2011)
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWeird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Exploring every facet of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle, this biopic takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLoving You (1957)
Deliveryman Deke Rivers is discovered by publicist Glenda Markle and country-western musician Tex Warner who want to promote him to fame and fortune, giving him every break he deserves. Romantic complications arise as Susan, another singer in the group, offers him devoted admiration as Glenda leads him on with promises of a golden future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPopeye the Sailor (1933)
Popeye and Bluto fight for the love of Olive Oyl in their debut short, featuring Betty Boop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glenn Miller Story (1954)
A vibrant tribute to one of America's legendary bandleaders, charting Glenn Miller's rise from obscurity and poverty to fame and wealth in the early 1940s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Saw the Light (2016)
Singer and songwriter Hank Williams rises to fame in the 1940s, but alcohol abuse and infidelity take a toll on his career and marriage to fellow musician Audrey Mae Williams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing?
The closest matches to Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing are The Dirt (2019), Back to Black (2024) and Rocketman (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing?
Start with The Dirt (2019), the closest match to Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing.
What is the highest-rated movie like Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing?
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), rated 7.9/10 by 18,226 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing?
Back to Black (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing?
Yes: The Dirt (2019), Back to Black (2024) and Rocketman (2019).
How are movies similar to Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Spade Cooley: King of Western Swing, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















