Pleasantville: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...

 film Pleasantville

Pleasantville (film)

Pleasantville is a 1998 American fantasy comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Gary Ross. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Marley Shelton and Jeff Daniels. Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Jane Kaczmarek, and J. T. Walsh are also featured.The film...

, released alongside the movie's release in 1998. A score release is also in distribution, although the suite track is only available on the standard soundtrack. The soundtrack features music from the 1950s and 1960s such as "Be-Bop-A-Lula

Be-Bop-A-Lula

"Be-Bop-A-Lula" is a rockabilly song first recorded in 1956 by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps.-Origins of the song:The writing of the song is credited to Gene Vincent and his manager, Bill "Sheriff Tex" Davis. There is evidence that the song was started in 1955, when Vincent was recuperating from...

" by Gene Vincent

Gene Vincent

Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...

, "Take Five

Take Five

"Take Five" is a jazz piece written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1, and August 18, 1959, this piece became one of the group's best-known records, famous for its...

" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

The Dave Brubeck Quartet is an American jazz quartet, founded in 1951 by Dave Brubeck and originally featuring Paul Desmond on saxophone and Brubeck on piano...

, and "At Last

At Last

"At Last" is a 1941 song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Orchestra Wives, starring George Montgomery and Ann Rutherford. It was performed in the film and on record by Glenn Miller and his orchestra, with vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday...

" by Etta James

Etta James

Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...

. The main score for the film was composed by Randy Newman

Randy Newman

Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....

; he received an Oscar nomination in the original music category

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...

.

The soundtrack also features two cover songs by Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Apple met international acclaim for her 1996 debut album, Tidal, which was a critical and commercial success...

. The music video for Apple's version of "Across the Universe

Across the Universe

"Across the Universe" is a song by the English group The Beatles. It was written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the various artists charity compilation album No One's Gonna Change Our World in December 1969, and later, in different form, on Let It Be,...

," directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed five feature films: Hard Eight , Boogie Nights , Magnolia , Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood...

, uses the set of the diner from the film.

Among the Pleasantville DVD "Special Features" is a music-only feature with voice-over commentary by Randy Newman.

Track listing

1. "Across the Universe" - Fiona Apple – 5:07
2. "Dream Girl" - Robert & Johnny
   Robert & Johnny
   Robert & Johnny were an American doo-wop duo from The Bronx.The duo's full names were Robert Carr and Johnny Mitchell; they released about a dozen singles for Old Town Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Two of them charted; "We Belong Together", which hit #12 on the U.S...
   
    – 1:57
3. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" - Gene Vincent – 2:36
4. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy
   Lawdy Miss Clawdy
   "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is a song by Lloyd Price. It was first recorded by Price at the New Orleans recording studio of Specialty Records in March 1952. It was released under the Specialty label in April and was number one on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart for seven weeks and stayed on the chart...
   
   " - Larry Williams
   Larry Williams
   Larry Williams was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana...
   
    – 2:11
5. "Sixty Minute Man
   Sixty Minute Man
   "Sixty Minute Man" is a rhythm and blues record released in 1951 by The Dominoes. It was written by Billy Ward and Rose Marks and was one of the first R&B hit records to cross over to become a pop hit on the pop charts...
   
   " - Billy Ward and His Dominoes – 2:28
6. "Take Five" - The Dave Brubeck Quartet – 5:25
7. "At Last" - Etta James – 3:00
8. "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
   Teddy Bear (song)
   " Teddy Bear" is a popular song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Gladys Music. It was written by Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe and published in 1957 by Gladys Music, Elvis Presley's publishing company...
   
   " - Elvis Presley
   Elvis Presley
   Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
   
    – 1:47
9. "Rave On!" - Buddy Holly
   Buddy Holly
   Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
   
    and the Crickets
   The Crickets
   The Crickets are a rock & roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s. Their first hit record was "That'll Be the Day", released in 1957....
   
    – 1:49
10. "Please Send Me Someone to Love
    Please Send Me Someone to Love
    "Please Send Me Someone to Love" is a blues ballad, written and recorded by Percy Mayfield in 1950, on Art Rupe's Specialty Records label. It was on the R&B chart for 27 weeks and reached the number one position and was his most successful song...
    
    " - Fiona Apple – 4:01
11. "So What
    So What (composition)
    "So What" is the first track on the 1959 Miles Davis album Kind of Blue.-History:"So What" is one of the best known examples of modal jazz, set in the Dorian mode and consisting of 16 bars of D Dorian, followed by eight bars of E Dorian and another eight of D Dorian...
    
    " - Miles Davis
    Miles Davis
    Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
    
     – 9:04
12. "Suite from Pleasantville" - Randy Newman
    Randy Newman
    Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
    
    – 8:11