10 Greatest Musical Moments In Martin Scorsese Movies
Marty's finest song selections from classical elegance to rock and roll swagger.
Over the course of his illustrious career, one of the key aspects of Martin Scorsese’s movies that has made them so iconic has been his great knack for choosing the perfect song to accompany key scenes. Scorsese’s soundtrack choices have amplified some of his most famous works, becoming vital to their aesthetic and helping to seamlessly set his desired mood.
In countless movies his music choices have become an intrinsic part of our enjoyment of them and there are now countless jukebox classics which for many film fans will forever be associated with Scorsese’s work. He’s utilised a broad array of artists ranging from The Rolling Stones, Phil Spector girl groups, 70s rock titans, punk bands, soul legends and then The Rolling Stones some more.
The director's love of the Stones is well documented, quite literally in the case of his own feature Shine A Light. However I've deliberately decided to stick Scorsese's non-documentary movies for this list, with his documentaries on the likes of The Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Bob Dylan and The Band perhaps warranting a list all of their own.
It was difficult to trim the list down to a final ten and honourable mentions must go to The Clash- Janie Jones in Bringing Out The Dead and The Crystals - And Then He Kissed Me in Goodfellas which both narrowly missed out:
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.