Dave's Music Hall of Fame: Album Inductees (August 2022)

Originally posted 8/22/2022. January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the fifteenth group of album inductees. These are the top soundtracks of all time, excluding previous inductees The Bodyguard, Grease, Purple Rain, Saturday Night Fever, South Pacific, and West Side Story. See the full list of album inductees here.

American Graffiti (1973) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

This isn’t just the soundtrack to George Lucas’ nostalgic reflection to teenage life in 1962, it’s the soundtrack to the early rock-n-roll era. It’s loaded with classics including Bill Haley & the Comets’ “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock,” Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” the Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You,” Frankie Lymon & the Teeangers’ “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” and the Platters’ “The Great Pretender.” Read more.

George Gershwin (music) & Ira Gershwin (lyrics) An American in Paris (1951) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

George Gershwin’s 1928 classical composition “An American in Paris” inspired this movie starring Gene Kelly. In addition to the title song, the soundtrack features Gershwin classics “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” “S’ Wonderful,” “Embraceable You,” “I Got Rhythm,” and “Love Is Here to Stay.” The album has been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

Dirty Dancing (1987) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

This tale of a young woman (Jennifer Grey) who falls for a dance instructor (Patrick Swayze) while her family is on vacation is set in 1963, but features a soundtrack of both old (The Ronettes “Be My Baby,” Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs’ “Stay”) and new (Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes’ “I’ve Had the Time of My Life,” Eric Carmen “Hungry Eyes”). It spent 18 weeks atop the Billboard album chart and sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Read more.

Footloose (1984) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

An outsider (Kevin Bacon) moves to a small town where dancing is forbidden but crusades to have the law overturned for the high school prom. The soundtrack was loaded with hits, including the #1 title song by Kenny Loggins and Deniece Williams’ chart-topping “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.” The album spent 10 weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart and sold over 16 million copies worldwide. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed it as a definitive album in 2007. Read more.

Frozen (2013) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

Disney experienced a commercial revival in the late ‘80s that saw a slew of blockbuster animated films from The Little Mermaid to Aladdin to The Lion King. Even so, the monstrous success of 2013’s Frozen wasn’t expected. The album topped the Billboard chart for 13 weeks on the strength of the top-5 sing-along hit “Let It Go” and became the best-selling album of the year. Read more.

The Harder They Come (1972) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

The movie didn’t leave much impression, but its soundtrack became a crucial entry point into the world of reggae music for most Americans. Jimmy Cliff starred in the movie as a would-be reggae singer and contributes several songs to the soundtrack. The album has been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry. Read more.

High School Musical (2006) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

The Disney Channel hit gold with this made-for-cable movie that was essentially a modern day take on Grease starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. It launched a franchise that included two sequel films, stage musicals, books, comics, live shows, video games, and a television series. The soundtrack hit #1 on the Billboard album chart and sold five million copies in the United States. Read more.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

This soundtrack to the Coen brothers’ loose adaptation of The Odyssey caught everyone by surprise, topping the Billboard album chart and selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. It effectively kicked off a revived interest in Americana music and established T-Bone Burnett as the go-to producer for artists wanting to create roots music. The soundtrack won Album of the Year awards from the Grammys, the Academy of Country Music, and the Country Music Association. Read more.

Richard Rodgers (music) & Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) The Sound of Music (1965) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

The cast album for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical The Sound of Music was a major hit, topping the Billboard album chart for 16 weeks. The soundtrack spent an astonishing 70 weeks atop the UK album chart and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. It has been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry. The show featured now-iconic songs like “My Favorite Things,” “Do Re Mi,” and the title cut. Read more.

Titanic (1997) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

Film scores aren’t typically major hits, but James Horner’s score for Titanic was a major hit. The movie about the passenger liner that sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg became the biggest grossing of all time and made Celine Dion a superstar with the song “My Heart Will Go On.” The soundtrack spent 16 weeks at #1 on the Billboard album chart and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Read more.

The O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack hit #1: March 23, 2002

Originally posted March 23, 2012.

The soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? was a slow burner. Released in December 2000, it served as the musical back drop to “the Coen brothers’ delightfully warm and weird Depression-era re-telling of Homer’s Odyssey.” ^AMG The soundtrack hit its peak in the first quarter of 2002 after winning the Grammy for Album of the Year. That sent the album to the top of the charts and completely out-of-the-blue blockbuster status as an eight-million seller in the U.S.





“In order to capture the sound of Mississippi circa 1932, the Coens commissioned T-Bone Burnett, a masterful producer whose work with artists like Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Joseph Arthur, and Counting Crows has earned him a special place in the folk-rock hall of fame.” ^AMG He tapped “an impressive assembly of old-time country veterans (Fairfield Four, Ralph Stanley, the Whites) and talented newcomers (Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris)” ^AMG to “re-create the country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and blues of the era.” ^AMG

“There are no original compositions here (though Burnett is given a ‘music by’ credit usually reserved for composers), and the characters do not generally break into stylized song and dance numbers.” ^AMG However, “nearly every scene in O Brother is set to a period song, and the music frequently drives and defines the action.” ^AMG For example, the a cappella performance on Stanley’s “chillingly plaintive O Death” ^AZ “sets a chilling tone for a climactic struggle at a Ku Klux Klan rally.” ^AMG Also, “a significant segment of the plot hinges on the (utterly plausible) notion that Dan Tyminksi’s ebullient rendition of I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow could be a runaway hit.” ^AMG



The material is featured “in arrangements that are either a cappella or feature bare-bones accompaniment.” ^AZ “Nothing mucks up these homespun tunes” ^TM “which were made without the meddling clarity of digital technology” ^AMG but instead in a style “reminiscent of the single-microphone, wax-cylinder recordings of the 1930s.” ^TM They “give the film much of its power and authenticity.” ^AMG Every song was recorded for the film with the exception of “a stunning 1955 Alan Lomax recording of a black prison chain gang singing Po Lazarus, and Harry McClintock’s Big Rock Candy Mountain.” ^AMG

The soundtrack is “chock-full of ol’-timey fun” ^ZS as “a great throwback to pickin’, grinnin’, fiddling, and knee-slappin’” ^ZS music, all a testament to “Burnett’s remarkable skills as a producer.” ^AMG It serves as “a powerful tribute not only to the time-honored but commercially ignored genres of bluegrass and mountain music.” ^AMG

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Awards:

• one of the top 1000 albums of all time
  
• Grammy Award for Album of the Year
  
• Top 50 Soundtracks
  
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  
• the top 100 albums of the 2000s
  

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Resources and Related Links:

• DMDB page for O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  
• T-Bone Burnett’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
  
• ^AMG All Music Guide review by Evan Cater
  
• ^AZ Amazon.com review by Don McLeese
  
• ^TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY.
  
• ^WK Wikipedia
  
• ^ZS Zagat Survey (2003). Music Guide: 1,000 Top Albums of All Time. Coordinator: Pat Blashill. Music Editor: Holly George-Warren. Editors: Betsy Andrews and Randi Gollin. Zagat Survey, LLC: New York, NY.
  

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O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack released

O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack Various Artists

Released: December 5, 2000 Peak: 12 US, 135 CW, 20 UK, 3 CN, 15 AU Sales (in millions): 8.18 US, 0.3 UK, 10.3 world (includes US and UK) Genre: country/folk/Americana

Tracks: Song Title (ACT) (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Po’ Lazarus (JAMES CARTER) Big Rock Candy Mountain (HARRY McCLINTOCK) You Are My Sunshine (NORMAN BLAKE) Down to the River to Pray (ALISON KRAUSS) Man of Constant Sorrow (SOGGY BOTTOM BOYS/ DAN TYMINKSI) (3/17/01, 35 CW) Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (CHRIS THOMAS KING) Man of Constant Sorrow [instrumental] (NORMAN BLAKE) Keep on the Sunny Side (THE WHITES) I’ll Fly Away (ALISON KRAUSS/ GILLIAN WELCH) Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby (EMMYLOU HARRIS/ ALISON KRAUSS/ GILLIAN WELCH) In the Highways (LEAH, SARAH & HANNAH PEASALL) I Am Weary, Let Me Rest (COX FAMILY) Man of Constant Sorrow [instrumental] (JOHN HARTFORD) O Death (RALPH STANLEY) In the Jailhouse Now (SOGGY BOTTOM BOYS/ TIM NELSON) Man of Constant Sorrow [alternate take] (SOGGY BOTTOM BOYS/ DAN TYMINKSI) Indian War Whoop [instrumental] (JOHN HARTFORD) Lonesome Valley (FAIRFIELD FOUR) Angel Band (STANLEY BROTHERS) Total Running Time: 61:24

Rating: 4.304 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings) Quotable: “A powerful tribute not only to the time-honored but commercially ignored genres of bluegrass and mountain music.” – Evan Cater, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “The critical consensus at the end of 2000 was that it had been one of the weakest film years in recent memory.” AMG However, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen brothers’ delightfully warm and weird Depression-era re-telling of Homer’s Odyssey,” AMG was one of the bright spots – if not for the movie, then definitely for the soundtrack. “The best soundtracks are like movies for the ears, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? joins the likes of Saturday Night Fever and The Harder They Come as cinematic pinnacles of song.” AZ “People left theaters humming the prominently featured songs, rerecordings of hymns, and old-time laments that helped the Coens evoke the ethics and beliefs of a simpler time.” TM “In order to capture the sound of Mississippi circa 1932, the Coens commissioned T-Bone Burnett, a masterful producer whose work with artists like Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Joseph Arthur, and Counting Crows has earned him a special place in the folk-rock hall of fame.” AMG He tapped “an impressive assembly of old-time country veterans (Fairfield Four, Ralph Stanley, the Whites) and talented newcomers (Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris)” AMG to “re-create the country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and blues of the era.” AMG “There are no original compositions here (though Burnett is given a ‘music by’ credit usually reserved for composers), and the characters do not generally break into stylized song and dance numbers.” AMG However, “nearly every scene in O Brother is set to a period song, and the music frequently drives and defines the action.” AMG For example, “a significant segment of the plot hinges on the (utterly plausible) notion that Dan Tyminksi’s ebullient rendition of I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow could be a runaway hit.” AMG In another example, “a memorable sequence involving three riverside sirens centers around an eerie version of Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby.” AMG As “the album’s spiritual centerpiece” AZ this “gospel lullaby” AZ finds Krauss, Welch, and Harris sounding “like a chorus of Appalachian angels.” AZ The material is featured “in arrangements that are either a cappella or feature bare-bones accompaniment.” AZ “Nothing mucks up these homespun tunes” TM “which were made without the meddling clarity of digital technology” AMG but instead in a style “reminiscent of the single-microphone, wax-cylinder recordings of the 1930s.” TM They “give the film much of its power and authenticity.” AMG Every song was recorded for the film with the exception of “a stunning 1955 Alan Lomax recording of a black prison chain gang singing Po Lazarus, and Harry McClintock’s Big Rock Candy Mountain.” AMG “Highlights range from the aching purity of Krauss’ Down to the River to Pray to the plainspoken faith of the Whites’ Keep on the Sunny Side to Stanley's chillingly plaintive O Death.” AZ a cappella performance on the latter “sets a chilling tone for a climactic struggle at a Ku Klux Klan rally.” AMG “Throughout, Burnett’s steady guiding hand is evident.” AMG The soundtrack is “chock-full of ol’-timey fun” ZS as “a great throwback to pickin’, grinnin’, fiddling, and knee-slappin’” ZS music, all a testament to “Burnett’s remarkable skills as a producer.” AMG It serves as “a powerful tribute not only to the time-honored but commercially ignored genres of bluegrass and mountain music.” AMG “Within a year the soundtrack had sold over five million copies, renewed interest in classic bluegrass and traditional American music, and spawned an extensive concert tour and a slew of subsequent releases. For a while, any performer with a speck of bluegrass in the back catalog was opportunistically riding the O Brother bandwagon.” TM Notes: An August 2011 reissue added 14 tracks not on the original soundtrack, including a dozen unreleased cuts from the O Brother sessions. WK

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for T-Bone Burnett AMG All Music Guide review by Evan Cater AZ Amazon.com review by Don McLeese TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. WK Wikipedia ZS Zagat Survey (2003). Music Guide: 1,000 Top Albums of All Time. Coordinator: Pat Blashill. Music Editor: Holly George-Warren. Editors: Betsy Andrews and Randi Gollin. Zagat Survey, LLC: New York, NY. First posted 3/30/2008; last updated 4/20/2022.