Inside Dennis Hopper’s personal record collection
When considering the core cast of countercultural figures, Dennis Hopper undoubtedly belongs among them. Despite being one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, often cast in strange and twisted roles, he was never strictly an underground figure. From the beginning of his career, Hopper was always ahead of the curve, seamlessly blending the emerging youth culture with the traditional film industry. This ability came naturally to him, as a glimpse inside Hopper’s personal record collection reveals a man with his finger firmly on the pulse of both cultural shifts and artistic trends.
It feels like Hopper was involved in almost every step that cinema took into the world of counterculture. He was in Rebel Without A Cause, where James Dean’s emergence to fame marked the start of a new kind of leading man—one that teenagers would love but not their parents.
Hopper’s role in Easy Rider could arguably be the very start of countercultural cinema. Up until this point, Hollywood had still been caught up in making classic romances or the same tired western flicks. The success of their road trip film, along with movies like The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde, opened up the studio’s eyes to the worth of engaging with the youth.
Off the back of that project, Hopper became an idol of the scene. Along with the various musicians and frontmen, the actor became an admired figure that hoards of hippie kids shaped themselves after. With his 1960s shoulder-length hair and his film’s hedonistic air, he established himself as a critical figure in the crowd.
His ties to music were always there. Not only did he marry Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and Papas, but the soundtrack to Easy Rider is a veritable 1960s jukebox featuring acts like Steppenwolf, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and more. When it came to editing the film, the team were merely slotting in songs from their record collection, originally intending them to just be placeholders, but they stuck, with their own musical tastes colouring the world of the film.
After his death in 2010, Hopper’s record collection went up for auction, selling for £129,600. Sure, it was a way of peering into the personal life of one of cinema’s beloved names by revealing his listening habits. But it also appeared as an assured purchase; the buyer already knew that the music in there would be great. No one doubted for a second that Hopper had great taste.
Of the 110 items, it contained all the greats; The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Leonard Cohen. There were jazz records from Miles Davis in there too as Hopper was a fan of the King of Cool. Within many of the albums there were handwritten notes from the artist to their friend the film star, showing just how embedded in the music scene he was.
There were also some real treasures, as those musical friends regularly gifted him special creations. The collection featured a 1970 recording of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, specifically recorded by Carl Perkins for the actor and given to him by musician Zack Van Arsdale.
But even beyond his 1960s days, Hopper’s love for acting and his love for music were always intertwined. So many of his most beloved roles still had some interaction with music, such as his depiction of Frank Booth in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, where he lipsyncs ‘In Dreams’ in one of the most memorable moments in cinema history.
