With the sad news of James Gandolfini’s passing the other day, I thought it fitting to do sort of a tribute to his amazing work as Tony Soprano in HBO’s wonderful hit series The Sopranos. I also think he should be remembered for all the other wonderful characters he has played in his tragically short life and the great work he did to help our veterans. His role as the head of the Soprano family was truly his best. It would be very hard to picture anybody else in that role. He was tough, menacing and a killer, but he also had a side that was sweet, dutiful and caring. He was, in a sense, a lot like all of us, navigating through a world we never chose and trying to make some sense of it. Pick your favorite tunes from the show and tunes from some of the other classic American mob movies.
The Sopranos – Soundtrack – Woke Up This Morning
“The Beast in Me” by Nick Lowe
Cecilia Bartoli, Vivaldi, Bajazet, “Sposa son disprezzata”
Rags To Riches – Tony Bennett
Donovan / Atlantis
Great choice for music thread, KT. Many people related to James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano who was essentially a baby boomer gangster (I’ll bet corporate and Wall Street CEO boomers related to him even more).
The magic of the Godfather movies and Goodfellas was the dichotomy of the humanity and sociopathy of such entertaining people who could turn around and do horrible things.
The Sopranos accomplished this remarkable feat too, thanks in large part to the depth of talent of Gandolfini.
Anyway, here are some of my picks from the songs that appeared on the series:
Living on a Thin Line – Kinks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uPKeijXurs
One of These Days – Pink Floyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgvAwBDbuIo
Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9iIdZDbbFg
Undercover of the Night – Rolling Stones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVJkfXeTs9Q
p.s. For other folks, here’s a list of songs that appeared on The Sopranos to pick from if desired: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_on_The_Sopranos
I’ll Take You There – The Staple Singers
Le Mepris （Contempt) – Theme De Camille
Miller’s Crossing by Carter Burwell
Frank Sinatra – Come Fly With Me
Pink Floyd-The Wall-Comfortably Numb
Elvis Costello – Complicated Shadows
Etta James – At Last
Howlin’ Wolf – Going Down Slow
Shawn Smith Leaving California
Dean Martin – That’s Amore
My Lover’s Prayer – Otis Redding
The Delfonics-Didnt I Blow Your Mind
Oh Girl – Chi Lites
Jimmy Roselli – Mala Femmena