Music on The Sopranos
Eclectic music curated by David Chase for The Sopranos.
The music in *The Sopranos* was widely praised for its wide-ranging and effective choices. David Chase, the show’s creator, picked every song himself, usually after an episode was shot and edited, but sometimes scenes were filmed to fit a track he had already chosen. He worked with producer Martin Bruestle and music editor Kathryn Dayak, and occasionally consulted Steven Van Zandt—who played Silvio Dante and is a guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. The show’s soundtrack mixed mainstream pop (Britney Spears, The Bangles), oldies and classic rock (The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd), classic jazz and soul (Ella Fitzgerald, Ben E. King), and hip-hop (Xzibit, Time Zone), often within a single episode.
The opening credits show Tony Soprano driving from the Lincoln Tunnel to his home in North Caldwell, New Jersey, set to the “Chosen One Mix” of “Woke Up This Morning” by the British band Alabama 3 (known in the U.S. as A3 for legal reasons). The full song is four minutes and five seconds long, but the credits use a shortened version of about one minute and thirty seconds.
Each episode’s closing credits usually feature a unique piece of pre-recorded music. The episode “A Hit Is a Hit” uses a song by the fictional band Defiler, which appeared earlier in the episode. Three episodes (“Commendatori,” “Whitecaps,” and “Cold Stones”) have multiple songs in the credits, while two episodes (“Full Leather Jacket” and “Made in America”) have no music at all.
For the European broadcast, producers replaced some songs due to licensing issues. European DVD editions (for the first season, only the 16:9 re-issue) include these altered versions alongside the original English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1.
Two official soundtrack compilations have been released. The first, *The Sopranos: Music from the HBO Original Series* (1999), includes songs from the first two seasons. The second, *The Sopranos: Peppers & Eggs: Music from the HBO Original Series* (2001), is a two-disc set with songs from the first three seasons.
- Field
- Television music curation
- Known for
- Eclectic soundtrack selection for The Sopranos
- Key personnel
- David Chase (series creator), Martin Bruestle (producer), Kathryn Dayak (music editor), Steven Van Zandt (consultant)
Lore & Background
David Chase personally selected all music for The Sopranos, working with producer Martin Bruestle and music editor Kathryn Dayak, and sometimes consulting Steven Van Zandt, who portrayed Silvio Dante and is a guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Music was typically chosen after an episode's production and editing, but occasionally Chase filmed sequences to match pre-selected songs. The show's music ranged from mainstream pop (Britney Spears, The Bangles) to classic rock (The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd), jazz and soul (Ella Fitzgerald, Ben E. King), and hip-hop (Xzibit, Time Zone), often within a single episode.
Reader's Guide
The opening credits feature a shortened version of 'Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix)' by the British band Alabama 3, approximately one minute and thirty seconds long. Each episode's closing credits sequence used a unique piece of previously recorded music, with few exceptions: one episode used a song by the fictional band Defiler, three episodes featured multiple songs, and two episodes had no music at all. For European broadcasts, producers partially replaced music for licensing reasons; European DVD editions contain both altered versions and the original English soundtrack. Two official soundtrack compilations were released: The Sopranos: Music from the HBO Original Series (1999) covering the first two seasons, and The Sopranos: Peppers & Eggs: Music from the HBO Original Series (2001) covering the first three seasons.
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