Years before his award-winning acting career, Jack Black formed the comedic hard rock band Tenacious D, with himself as the lead vocals. Many of his acting roles also feature him as a musician and singer.
In his Cameo video, Black explains that he is not classically trained, although he did sing in his high school choir. Even so, his band went on to gain critical acclaim, film work, as well as two Grammy nominations.
Even without classical training, Black has an award-winning voice and persona that made him relevant in movies, TV, and YouTube.
Music Career
Early 1994 kicked off Black’s career in music when he co-founded the award-winning operatic rock group ‘Tenacious D’ with Kyle Gass. The duo met at Actors’ Gang theater troupe in Culver City, CA.
Their band became a 1990’s cult-favorite amongst audiences. Not only did their union spur worldwide tours and four studio albums, but it also landed Black and Gass on a set for TV.
They were discovered in a series of small gigs at coffee shops and live comedy acts in Los Angeles. Two big players in comedy, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross began contacting them for gigs.
‘Tenacious D’ opened for Odenkirk and Cross’ show ‘Mr. Show Live’ in 1997. Immediately following this, they were contacted by HBO.
In the latter half of 1997, due to their wild popularity, ‘Tenacious D’ was given their own HBO series whose title was that of the band’s. The series was merely a fictional portrayal of the friendship between Black and Gass, with comedic band business at the focal point of the action.
It was after this that Tenacious D became synonymous with the ‘greatest band ever’ moniker. This self-aggrandizing title perfectly embodied their absurdist and sardonic comedy.
The band grew into a household name over the years, and in 2006, was invited once again to star in a ‘Tenacious D’ film project. This birthed the rock epic feature film, ‘Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny’.
Almost like a flashback, the film was a fictionalized portrayal of how the band came to be, and obstacles they would face. New Line Cinema did face a loss at the box office on the film, but it still became a cult classic.
In 2015, ‘Tenacious D’ won a Best Metal Performance Grammy, for their cover of Dio’s “The Last in Line.”
As a more recent project, Black created the ‘Tenacious D’ novel, ‘Post-Apocalypto: The Graphic Novel’. The book is complementary to its animated series.
Black would hand-draw every frame of the series, which features the Black and Gass duo saving the world. The graphic novel was said to be the final piece to the ‘Post-Apocalypto’ universe.
Black’s Solo Career in Movies, TV, and Youtube
In addition to his musical ventures in his own band, Black also provided backup vocals for ‘The Foo Fighters’, and Dave Grohl’s ‘Probot’ album, in addition to many others.
Even in his solo career, many of his film roles were centered around his musical prowess as well. In addition to his film about ‘Tenacious D’, he also starred in ‘School of Rock’ and had a supporting role in “High Fidelity.’
In TV, Black played Ludwig van Beethoven in the 2016 sitcom ‘Great Minds with Dan Harmon’. He was also featured in the musical pseudo-documentary, ‘Bob Roberts’.
As a testament to his notoriety, he has 273 listed credits in movies and TV just for making appearances as himself.
In 2018, Black announced that he would be setting out into uncharted territory: YouTube. Only weeks after he created the channel, Jablinski, he had already accrued three million subscribers.
Not Only Can He Sing
Jack Black has built an entertainment career over the course of his life with very little formal training. From music to movies, and stretching into the world of novels, Black has taken the ‘Tenacious D’ band spirit and transformed it into varied mediums.