Bobby Poe and legendary artist manager/record executive Frank Dileo have written a screenplay loosely based on Bobby Poe's experiences in Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats.
Writers Guild of America, West / Registration Number: 1275650
The Rise and Fall of Danny Rock (Period Drama, Inspired by a True Story)
Written by Bobby Poe and Frank Dileo
Logline:
The leader of one of the first integrated Rock and Roll bands of the 1950's finds he can't avoid racism of all kinds and violence from organized crime during his meteoric rise to Superstardom and his tragic fall into oblivion.
Synopsis:
When Elvis Presley explodes on the music scene in the 1950's, he inspires a young Danny Rock to pursue his own dream of stardom. Danny forms Danny Rock and The Rollers, one of the first integrated Rock and Roll bands of the era. He then proceeds to rock his way up the musical ladder. Danny immediately learns the hard way about racism of all kinds and how violence can lurk around every corner.
Set amidst a background of historical events and the music of the 1950's and 1960's, Danny's story unfolds as he struggles to make a name for himself in the music business. Life on the road is dangerous, as Danny overcomes such obstacles as being shot in a club in Tulsa, nearly hanged and narrowly avoiding a flaming car crash after a show in Fayetteville, being forced out of Amarillo at gunpoint, assaulted in Boston and beaten up in Harlem.
Danny Rock climbs the musical ladder of success by releasing his own versions of the magical music of Chuck Berry. While overnight success suddenly catapults Danny to the level of Superstar, he finds it's one thing to reach the top and quite another thing to stay there. Ultimately, Danny's career is ruined by The British Invasion of 1964 and a gangster manager who is only out for himself.
As Danny falls back down the ladder of success, his son is hit by a school bus and his wife goes into shock and a coma. But his gangster manager will not let Danny leave a tour of Japan to care for his family. When Danny finally arrives back home, he is told his son has died and his wife is still in a coma. In a drunken rage he kills his manager and in turn is killed by his manager's bodyguards, but the exact details are never given to the police or the public.
For the funeral of Danny Rock, state flags in New York are flown at half mast and every hour on the hour all radio stations play the song "Danny Boy". The funeral is the largest in New York City since the funeral of Rudolph Valentino.