POP GOES THE MUSIC The Explosive Development of the Songtrack.

There was a time when, apart from musicals, film music was strictly scored background music. Oh, there may have been a few jazz scores (notably in the film noir category), but mostly the music was quasi-classical in style; sweeping strings for a romance, martial orchestral suites for a war film, stirring heroic themes for an action adventure. Robin Hood. Citizen Kane. Laurence of Arabia. You get the idea.?But, around 50 years ago, came a movie that changed how we looked at film music and soundtracks. That changed radio, and it changed the very culture music for films.

That movie was?“American Graffiti”?(1973) directed by George Lucas.?A deceptively simple coming of age tale of American teenagers in the early 60’s, contemplating their next move in life after completing high school, it struck a nerve. Maybe the audience, having seen the idealism of the sixties flower power movement dissipate in the face of the deteriorating war in Vietnam, growing student unrest, and the political upheaval of Watergate, were just ready to wallow in nostalgia, to relive a simpler time. A time of cars and girls and sock hops and soda fountains and drive through hamburger joints. Whatever it was, it hit hard. And it was accompanied not by a lush orchestral score but driven by 41 tracks of dynamic old-time rock n’ roll, all featured on the soundtrack album in the order in which they appeared in the movie.?The American Graffiti Double LP?went triple platinum and is still available today! “Ain’t That a Shame,”, “Get a Job”, “Johnny B. Goode,” “Chantilly Lace,” “Rock Around the Clock”. And many more hit songs were included.?This was something old that was something new! “Diegetic” music, that is, music that is part of the scene and knowingly heard by the characters. America, and indeed the World, couldn’t get enough. Oldies radio stations sprung up, echoing the real-life DJ Wolfman Jack who appeared in the film, and played these songs, considered passe a few months earlier. They still do. Paul Le Mat’s character John, based obviously on James Dean, the cool dude with his cigarette pack rolled up in his white T shirt sleeve, basically introduced Dean to a young audience who had never seen?“Rebel Without a Cause”?(1955). ?The hugely popular TV show?“Happy Days”?(1974-84) was a G-rated spinoff in all but name, even recycling movie cast members Ron Howard and Cindy Williams (although playing different characters.) Nostalgia for “the golden age of rock n’ roll” was born and shows no signs of going away to this day.??So, as American Graffiti had proved so successfully, soundtracks could now consist of previously released pop songs, music to generate a mood, a feeling, an instant trigger of recognition. A new position in the film crew was created, that of?the music curator.?One artist conspicuous by his absence in the American Graffiti film and soundtrack was Elvis Presley. The studio had offered the same flat deal to all the music publishers involved, and they had all agreed – with the exception of RCA. No deal. No Elvis.?For?“Forrest Gump”?(1994), directed by Robert Zemeckis, a deal had been worked out, and there’s the King with “Hound Dog,” the very first song on the soundtrack. Pop music once again played an integral part in this saga, the fictional story of a simple man’s odyssey as he interacts with real and seismic moments in American history.?Music producer Joel Sill explained what they were aiming for: “We wanted to have very recognizable material that would pinpoint time periods.”?The Youngbloods “Get Together” perfectly represents the hippie dream of peace and harmony, the biting “Fortunate Son” by CCR stings like the bullets flying through the Vietnam jungle. Sill went on to note why all the artists selected (Elvis, Dylan, Aretha, The Beach Boys etc.) were, as insisted by Zemeckis, American.?“Bob (Zemeckis) felt strongly about it. He felt that Forrest wouldn’t buy anything but American.”?They succeeded splendidly, not only creating a memorable movie with heart and soul, but a fantastic 32 song collection of the best of American pop that sold 12 million copies.?Another perfect example of the art of the “songtrack” is the sci-fi action comedy?“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1”?(2014), directed by James Gunn. In it, the music almost becomes an additional character. The hero, Quill (Chris Pratt) has a mix tape in his Walkman consisting of 60’s and 70’s songs. Gunn said these songs were “cultural reference points” as a way to connect Quill with the Earth, and the home and family he had lost. He picked the songs himself, and amazingly, let them influence his artistic and directing choices:?“Sometimes I would be inspired to create a scene around a song, and other times I had a scene that needed music and I would listen to the playlist and figure out which song worked best.”?Certainly, the writers and performers of “Hooked on a Feeling” and “Come and Get Your Love” could never have dreamed of the second life, popularity and royalties this movie would afford them!?The?Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack?was the first consisting of previously released songs to hit #1 on the Billboard charts. It has sold over 1.7 million copies in the USA. It is the third best-selling vinyl album of the decade. And remember cassettes? That old, dead format? Well, because of the tie in with Quill and his Walkman the soundtrack has sold over 11,000 cassettes. Amazing.?It’s not just rock, pop and R & B songs that can have an impact on a movie and evoke a time and a place.?Take?“Goodfellas”?(1990) directed by the great Martin Scorcese. There is no instrumental “score.” Scorcese chose songs if they commented on the scene or characters “in an oblique way.” He also kept a strict sense of time and place – only using music that could have been heard at or before that particular time relative to the scene. Hence, we go from the opening credits and Henry’s (Ray Liotta) fifties childhood to the strains of Tony Bennett’s “Rags to Riches,” all the way through to the seventies and his downfall, accompanied by the austere coda to Derek and the Dominoes’ “Layla.”?Of course, no discussion of popular music in film would be complete without the juggernaut that was?“Saturday Night Fever”?(1977), directed by John Badham. 1977 was the year of punk. The year of rap. The year of?“Star Wars".?But perhaps more than anything it was the year of DISCO! And?“Saturday Night Fever”?was the inescapable symbol of the disco phenomenon. The Bee Gees turned their fortunes around, from out of favor ‘60s has-beens to the kings of disco. “Staying Alive” (who can forget Travolta’s strut?). “You Should Be Dancing.” “Night Fever.” “How Deep is Your Love.” All reached #1 in the US. Admit it – you can sing along with them all. Resistance was futile. In my native UK the album spent 18 consecutive weeks at #1. It has sold over 16 million copies. Surely the biggest soundtrack of all time??Actually, no. That distinction goes to?“The Bodyguard”?(1992), directed by Mick Jackson. Far from a classic movie to be honest, but 6 original songs by the star, the late Whitney Houston, has propelled?The Bodyguard soundtrack?to sales of over, wait for it, 45 million!?So, popular songs used as a “songtrack” in lieu of a score are now a well-established thing that I’m sure will continue as long as there are still people to watch and listen.?And all thanks to George Lucas and his little film about growing up in his hometown of Modesto CA. A little film that spent $90k on music licensing rights, leaving no money left for a traditional score. Which effectively changed film music forever.?

But what has it got to do with graffiti……?

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