Music on The Sopranos

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Sopranos is well known for its eclectic soundtrack. Series creator David Chase personally chose most of the music, with help from producer Martin Bruestle and music editor Kathryn Dayak, and sometimes input from Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante).

The show's music covers a wide range of styles, from pop (Britney Spears, The Bangles) to oldies and classic rock (The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd), to jazz and soul (Ella Fitzgerald, Ben E. King) and hip-hop (Xzibit). A single episode can feature several different genres.

Opening credits feature Tony Soprano driving from the Lincoln Tunnel to his home, scored with the Chosen One Mix of "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3. A shorter version of the track is used in the opening.

Closing credits usually end with a different pre-recorded song, though some episodes have multiple songs and a couple of episodes have no music at all.

A notable example is the episode "A Hit Is a Hit," which uses a song by the fictional Defiler (which appears earlier in the episode).

European versions of the show replace some music for licensing reasons. European DVD editions include altered tracks and foreign-language dubs, but also offer the original English soundtrack in 5.1.

There have been two official soundtrack releases. The 1999 release, The Sopranos: Music from the HBO Original Series, covers songs from the first two seasons. The 2001 release, The Sopranos: Peppers & Eggs: Music from the HBO Original Series, is a two-CD set with songs from the first three seasons.