A new song from Robbie Robertson will sit alongside classics by Fats Domino, Jackie Gleason and Marty Robbins on the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s next film, The Irishman. The film opens in theaters today, November 1st, before hitting Netflix November 27th, while the soundtrack will arrive November 8th.
Robertson wrote the score for The Irishman, although only his theme song for the film will appear on the soundtrack. The track has a captivating aura that’s somewhat reminiscent of a Spaghetti Western song, with Robertson lacing an ominous acoustic guitar strum over rumbling drums while a high-and-lonesome harmonica trades lead melody duty with a mournful cello.
“This is probably the tenth film I’ve worked on with Marty, and every time we do it, it’s a whole new experience,” Robertson said. “The music score for The Irishman was an unusual feat. We were trying to discover a sound, a mood, a feel, that could work, over the many decades that this story takes place. Marty was drawn to a theme I wrote that brought a unique, timeless quality to this movie.”
Scorsese and music supervisor Randall Poster compiled the rest of the film’s soundtrack. While the film notably spans several decades, the soundtrack mostly features songs from the late Forties and Fifties, such as the Five Satins’ doo-wop hit “In the Still of the Night,” Marty Robbins and Ray Connie’s “A White sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation),” Pérez Prado’s “Qué Rico el Mambo” and Jackie Gleason’s “Melancholy Serenade.”
“The songs in The Irishman are a ticket to time transport — a magical jukebox that will revitalize overlooked musical gems and place you firmly in a bygone America where Jimmy Hoffa reigned, Jackie Gleason ruled and Jerry Vale crooned,” said Poster. “Only a Scorsese film like The Irishman can ignite the past with such urgency and ambition.”
The Irishman stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, and recreates the story of long-lost union boss Jimmy Hoffa. The film is based on the book, heard You Paint Houses, by Charles Brandt, and notably used new anti-aging digital effects to depict De Niro, Pacino and Pesci’s characters as up to 30 years younger.
The Irishman Soundtrack Track List
1. “In the Still of the Night” – The Five Satins
2. “Tuxedo Junction” – Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
3. “I Hear You Knockin’” – Smiley Lewis
4. “The Fat Man” – Fats Domino
5. “El Negro Zumbon (From the Motion Picture “Anna”)” – Flo Sandon’s
6. “Le Grisbi” – Jean Wetzel
7. “Delicado” – Percy Faith & His Orchestra
8. “Have I Sinned” – Donnie Elbert
9. “Theme for The Irishman” – Robbie Robertson
10. “Song of the Barefoot Contessa” – Hugo Winterhalter & His Orchestra
11. “A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation)” – Marty Robbins with Ray Conniff
12. “Canadian Sunset (Single Version)” – Eddie Heywood
13. “Honky Tonk, Pt. 1” – Bill Doggett
14. “Melancholy Serenade” – Jackie Gleason
15. “Qué Rico el Mambo” – Pérez Prado
16. “Cry” – Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads
17. “Sleep Walk” – Santo & Johnny
18. “The Time Is Now” – The Golddiggers
19. “Al Di La” – Jerry Vale & The Latin Casino All Stars
20. “Pretend You Don’t See Her” – The Latin Casino All Stars