Films Are Music Too: A Band Called Death

A very touching documentary on the Hackney brothers from Detroit who formed a proto-punk band called Death in the early 70’s. As the story unfolds it almost seems like it was made up by a Hollywood screenwriter but, as you know, real life can often be stranger than fiction.

Two of the brothers, Bobby and Dannis Hackney, are our primary guides through “A Band Called Death.” They are so engaging right out of the gate that you take an immediate liking to them and know you are in good hands. Their stories about the band and their family are sometimes filled with laughter and other times just raw emotion. It beautifully tells a parallel story of family along with the story of the music.

Without giving too much away, Death was an outlier in the early 1970’s in a city where Motown was king. But they pursued their rock-n-roll vision, encountering road blocks along the way. One surprising problem was the name of the band; today it hardly raises an eyebrow but back then it created some real issues. At one point, unable to land a record deal, they self-release a 7-inch single called “Politicians In My Eyes.”  Listen to the first 45 seconds of this song and tell me this couldn’t be Bad Brains:

You learn about the short life of the band and what the brothers get up to after Death is set aside. The prophetic words of brother David (“One day the world is going to come looking for this…”) foreshadow their rediscovery. In a circuitous route that involves music fans, industry insiders, the sons of one of the brothers, and some seemingly impossible twists of fate, Death finally gets their due over three decades after they probably should have been lauded.  

The good news (aside from a really excellent documentary)? Ultimately a Death album was released; “…For The Whole World To See” is now available, and Death finally found their audience.

Here’s a link to the official movie site, and you can also check out the music here: