10 Greatest Musical Moments In Martin Scorsese Movies

10. Mean Streets: The Ronettes - Be My Baby

Scorsese’s early classic begins with Harvey Keitel’s Charlie waking in the night from a troubled sleep. As sirens wail outside and we enter into his claustrophobic urban life, Charlie’s head hits the pillow and the drumbeat intro from The Ronettes 1963 pop classic “Be My Baby” kicks in.

The Phil Spector Wall of Sound process is in full effect as the bright and breezy pop song plays over the film’s opening credits. We then see various roughly made home movies flickering on the screen before us, giving a brief glimpse into the world we are entering into.

The cutesy goodness of the Ronettes song very deliberately contrasts with the men we see in these home movies. Scorsese masterfully cuts the movie footage to ensure that the “Mean Streets” title card flashes up right as the song’s chorus kicks in to gear.