The Music Of The Sopranos

Most know by now that James Gandofini has unexpectedly died in Rome from an apparent heart attack. Not surprisingly, there are countless articles exploding into the media stream about the 51-year-old actor, and even though he had a diverse career most are centered around his iconic gangster character, Tony Soprano.

We’re doing the same here on the GMC but with an important exception — since we’re all about music, I thought we’d focus on the rich musical heritage of The Sopranos, which began to emerge in the very first show. The opening credits, which featured the throbbing, visceral sound of the theme song performed by the contemporary group Alabama 3, set the mood for what was to follow.

For six seasons and 86 episodes, The Sopranos offered up a surprising variety of music. Some of it was pretty predictable — ballads from Italian/American crooners like Sinatra, Dino, and Perry Como — but there was so much more. Like oldies from Dion, Buddy Holly, the Drifters, and a ton of others, or jazz from Brubeck, Ellington, and Chet Baker. There were even songs from Patsy Cline and Patti Page. I could go on and on, but here’s a link to a list of 63 of them. (And I wouldn’t guarantee there aren’t a few more around.)

With that many to choose from, I decided to include a song that seems very appropriate to the occasion.

Opera Angels – “Time To Say Goodbye (Con De Partiro)”