The Music of the Sopranos
Like all great productions, the experience of watching The Sopranos television series became insurmountable when the words and actions of the script were given life with an eclectic list of musicians creating an unforgettable soundtrack. The Sopranos music Soundtrack is known for the clever use of pop music but entails so much more, combining music from many genre’s in an effortless manner.
The first season of the Sopranos introduces you to the unique musical choices of the show featuring music from an expansive list of talents including Buddy Holly, Funky Green Dogs, Garbage, Latin Playboys, Xzibit and The Aquatones. Artist such as Annie Lenox, Booker T. & the MG’s, Connie Francis, Johnny Adams, Land of the Loops, Little Steven and Tipsy were featured multiple times throughout the season.
A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Buddy (Charles Hardin) Holly was a driving force in the early years of rock and roll in the late 1950’s. Holly’s unique emphasis on words made his songs distinct, like the unforgettable “Peggy Sue.” The song “Rave On” heard in episode thirteen, the finale of the first season, was recorded in 1958 and while not as well known is considered to be one of Holly’s best.
Though he came from musical roots, Holly’s career was a fast and ferocious one, beginning in late 1955 after seeing a live performance of Elvis Presley. The life of Buddy Holly ended abruptly and sadly when the plane he and other musicians he was on tour with were on crashed in the early morning of February 3, 1959.
Though there is no doubt that modern day artist like Xzibit have people such as Buddy Holly to thank for the musical opportunities afforded to them, its not often that you would hear the two names used synonymously. Xzibit, Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, is a rap artist originally from Detroit Michigan known for husky voice. In the early 1990’s he moved to California and became a well know “West Coast” artist. Xzibit has collaborated with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog in the past. Listen for the instrumental version of Xzibit’s highly controversial song “Paparazzi” in episode ten.
As The Sopranos moved into the second season with an increasingly large fan base, the musical choices of the show began to shine with selections from artist such as Deep Purple, Leon Haywood, Pink Martini, Frankie Valie and The Four Seasons, The Eagles, Andrea Bocelli and Tom Petty. A season that provides a seamless compilation of hard rock, Americana, easy listening and soul to name a few.
Considers leaders in hard rock in the late 1960’s and 1970’s, Deep Purple would be described as a band that truly loved the music with international acclaim. As all great rock bands, they had rifts that only provided the fans with highly anticipated reunion tours. One of Deep Purple’s well-known songs “Smoke on the Water” is heard in episode fourteen of The Sopranos.
Leon Haywood, a Texas native is a vocalist and pianist known for soul and R&B music. Though his musical career spawned four decades, he rarely achieved success in the business. Notable songs from Haywood include “Strokin” and “Don’t Push It Don’t Force It” but you will hear “You Bring out the Freak in Me” in episode fourteen of season two of The Sopranos.
With the series feet becoming firmly grounded, The Sopranos astounds us once again in the third season with its diverse musical choice. This time we hear from The Police, Grand Funk Railroad, De La Soul, Ray Charles, Dean Martin, Keith Richards, Van Morrison and The Bangles.
How could we have The Sopranos without Dino Paul Crocetti, better know as Dean Martin. The Italian singer, actor and comedian is well known for “The Rat Pack”, his hit singles and womanizing ways. Born in Ohio in 1917, The King of Cool did not rise to fame until the 1950’s and 1960’s. There were unfounded allegations that Martin himself was involved in the mafia early on in his career, never the less it seems fitting that we would hear “Powder Your Face With Sunshine” in episode thirty two and “Return to Me” in episode thirty eight of season three.
A symbol of the 80’s pop rock scene is the all girl band The Bangles. The number one hit “Walk like an Egyptian” and number two hit “Manic Monday” will be forever know in pop culture. Listen for “Walk like an Egyptian” in episode thirty-eight, “Amour Fou.”
As we move half way through the series into season four of The Sopranos we find more current artist and those who were just on the rise. This time we hear the musical stylings of Radiohead, Jennifer Lopez, Weezer, Foghat, Faith Hill and Coldplay. Pop, rock, alternative and country all seamlessly intertwined throughout the season.
In the late 1980’s five men began to form the band known as Radiohead in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. From the start of their career to present day, they have released albums dabbling in alternative rock, electronica, experimental and experimental rock categories. In 2005, Radiohead was listed on Rolling Stones “greatest artist of all time” list. After a brief hiatus Radiohead released the album “Kid A” in 2000 revising their previous sound leaving fans divided. The song “Kid A” can be heard in episode forty-one, “No Show.”
Showing us a different side of the rock genre is Foghat, the English natives with an American sound who provided us with hard blues-rock in the 1970’s. The success of Foghat was short lived, as they were not able to compete with the sounds of disco and punk that were dominating the charts in the early 80’s. Even with their limited success, the songs of Foghat are easily recognized like “Slow Ride” which is found in episode forty-six of season four of The Sopranos.
Season five of The Sopranos series nears the end of award winning show and with it comes music from some of the greats. All well known for their genres and times we hear among the mix Marvin Gaye, Roy Orbison, Jimi Hendrix, Etta James, Bon Jovi and Heart.
Born in 1936 in Texas, Roy Orbison wowed us from the late 60’s until 1988 when he was pronounced dead from a heart attack just as his latest album was topping the charts. Know for his country-pop rock and roll Orbison had fifteen top forty hits in the early 1960’s. Orbison’s best hit and probably most recognizable was “Pretty Woman,” but it was his ballads like “Crying” found in episode fifty-four that touched the souls of listeners.
A Los Angeles native born in 1938, Etta James is the epitome of soul music and an icon for the R&B genre. James began singing gospel as a child, made her way through decades of turmoil, and struggles to be known as a feisty and evocative performer who will leave her fans stunned. With a song, title that suits her so well James’s song “The Blues is My Business” helps to set the tone in episode fifty-eight of The Sopranos.
Finales are always full of suspense and closure, and that is what you find in the sixth and final season of The Sopranos series. Such dramatic moments deserve equally dramatic music and you will find it from Jimmy Smith, Pink Floyd, Patsy Cline, Buddy Miles, Lynyrd Skynard, The Pretenders, The Doors and Journey.
As Tony and Chris drive on the highway at night in episode seventy-four, we hear “Midnight Rider” from Buddy Miles. The career of Buddy miles spawned for four decades beginning in the 70’s as the drummer for Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys. In 1986 Miles was the lead singer of the California Raisin Band singing “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” putting a smile on many kids’ faces.
The Sopranos leave us smiling on the eighty- sixth and final episode “Made in America” with “Don’t Stop Beleiven” from Journey as the final track. The song comes from the album “Escape” which featured ten hit singles. This came only after years of struggles and replacements within the band. The struggles were worthwhile though as Journey received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005 and relished in a thirtieth anniversary tour until they parted ways in 2007. As we find with The Sopranos and Journey, all good things must end, but we sure enjoyed the ride at the time.
Reverse Phone Lookup Saves Mafia Bride
A close friend of mine, Irina, had almost married into the mafia. Honest to god. She met and started dating this guy named Tony, and everyone joked around about his last name secretly being Soprano. It was close enough, Sotorino, and Tony laughed at all this good-naturedly. Tony did ride around in dark limos, dressed extravagantly and always carried a lot of cash. Sometimes, the similarities to a stereotypical mafia hit man became too many and close for comfort, and we really questioned his background and sources of income. Yet, he treated Irina like a goddess, so who were we to pry?
'Beverlywood' Reinvents Webisodes in TV Format
The internet series Beverlywood at bwseries.com, reinvents shortform (2 min) webisodes (http://www.bwseries.com/webisodes) in a new TV format. The series trailer is available on youtube.com. The show is a tongue in cheek version of the Sopranos online (http://www.bwseries.com/sopranos-online).
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