Filmed in the early part of 1968 and released in the summer of 1969, Easy Rider was a surprise box-office hit, pulling in over $19 million dollars (~111 million in 2010 dollars) in its initial run. Unafraid of stepping on the toes of conventionality, Dennis Hopper’s directorial debut certainly helped usher in a new approach to filmmaking. Much has been written about the film Easy Rider and its subsequent effect on Hollywood; however, little has been written on the film’s groundbreaking soundtrack. According to Hopper, Easy Rider was the first film to forgo the use of a traditional score. In eschewing a traditional film score, the film’s creators were able to musically narrate their film in a creative new way, opening a door to an entirely new method of scoring and music supervising films, while at the same time maintaining a tradition extending back to the earliest days of cinema.
Prior to the release of the Easy Rider soundtrack in 1970, the soundtrack genre could be neatly categorized into two types: musicals which concentrated mainly on the songs, such as Chicago, Singin’ In the Rain, and Rodgers and Hammerstein productions, and film scores showcasing the incidental and background music from non-musical films like Gone With the Wind, Star Wars, and The Godfather. Following the soundtrack’s release, a third category of soundtrack was developed – a collection of pop songs heard in the background of non-musicals that may or may not have been written specifically for the film. In other words, what we think of today when the term soundtrack is mentioned.
When modernist composers began incorporating musical elements from popular culture, including jazz (the pop music before rhythm & blues and rock & roll) and blues, audiences were able to make a connection to the films they were watching that was not necessarily present in the days of the more traditionally “classical sounding” scores. When rock & roll emerged in the early 1950s, many forward-thinking film and music makers sought for ways to use the new, popular and often controversial style in their films and scores. The first film to do so, 1955’s Blackboard Jungle, added legitimacy to the genre with its inclusion of Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock”. Haley had been struggling for over a year to gain any attention with the track, but after its presence in the film (featured four times in three different arrangements), the song shot to number one on the charts, demonstrating the effectiveness of film as a marketing tool for song (Elvis, anyone?). The door was now open for rock & roll pop songs to find their way into films and onto soundtracks.
When Fonda and Hopper set out to make Easy Rider, the last thing on their mind was probably the soundtrack. It seems likely that they were much too concerned about completing the project with the $365,000 that Columbia Pictures gave them to worry about the film’s score. In the early stages of editing, film editor Donn Cambern began playing with some of the film. “He assembled the riding footage and he put music over it. All the contemporary hit songs,” said Hopper. As Hopper and Cambern edited the film, the idea for a soundtrack began to take form. “It was his record collection and some of mine. That’s what it was,” said Fonda.
The role of a music supervisor may be broad; however, a good one takes care to choose the right songs for the right moments. In this sense, Hopper excelled in the role, saying, “I used music that best reflected the movie. It gave a literary commentary on what was happening while we were doing the rides.” Conscientious of rock’s lyrical power and storytelling potential, Hopper chose specific songs that would not only enhance his story but also help tell it.
As with the majority of soundtracks to musicals and stage plays, the songs on the Easy Rider soundtrack are track listed in the order that they are heard in the film (with the exception of “Wasn’t Born to Follow”, which is heard in two separate scenes but once on the album). This is notable because as with musicals, the songs in Easy Rider tell a complete story, but in this case not necessarily mirroring the film. Musicals have the advantage of the songs being specifically written for the story, whereas with Easy Rider the songs used by Hopper, with the exception of the final song, the pseudo-title track “The Ballad of Easy Rider”, were written independent of his story. As such, most of the songs chosen were done so for thematic purposes rather than literal interpretations of the visual.
Barring the initial set up and introduction of the two main characters, Easy Rider begins in earnest when Steppenwolf’s “The Pusher” begins to play upon the closing of a drug deal. The film’s targeted audience may have applauded him as a hero, making the big score, living the dream, while others may have found Fonda’s character morally corrupt and nothing more than a petty drug dealer. As the scene progresses, Steppenwolf’s song contributes to both sentiments, musically almost glorifying Fonda’s Captain America while at the same time lyrically condemning him.
As “The Pusher” ends and the two characters ready for travel, the sound of motorcycles revving kicks off “Born to Be Wild”, Steppenwolf’s second contribution to the film (and the only version with the motorcycle intro). Originally written as a ballad by proto-Steppenwolf band Sparrow, the rearranged song along with “The Pusher” found their way onto Steppenwolf’s 1968 self-titled debut. Released a full year before Easy Rider, the song was already a hit for the band, peaking at number 2; however, its use in the film helped elevate the song from simple roaring rock anthem to timeless rock classic. As the song plays, the film’s opening credits begin to role, and we are treated to a series of gorgeous landscape shots as Fonda and Hopper ride on. The ambiguity of sentiment in the earlier scene with “The Pusher” is not found here. Both the song’s lyrics and the film’s imagery are meant to infer a sense of independence and freedom, revolt and rebellion. Regardless, as the scene progresses, the question of the character’s morality is no longer an issue, and instead we find ourselves wanting to be on that open road with our own theme song playing.
Originally released on The Notorious Byrd Brothers, “Wasn’t Born to Follow” is a sweetly played song that beautifully blends American country songwriting with hippie sentimentality. In line with that, Hopper uses the song to cap two separate scenes, the first involving a farmer successfully living off the land, away from society and whose character Fonda’s Wyatt commends saying, “You’re doing your own thing in your own time. You should be proud.” Hopper uses the song a second time after meeting a commune of young hippies trying to do the same as the farmer, but effectively failing. This time, however, the song does not necessarily praise the individual spirit as it did with the farmer but rather speaks more to the carefree spirit stereotypically associated with hippie ideology.
Sandwiched between the Byrds, Hopper uses “The Weight” by the Band. “The Weight” has always had a sense of spirituality associated with it, despite no direct or literal reference to such in the song. Channeling that message, Hopper’s placement of the song references the scene through metaphor as the song is musically demonstrative of Wyatt’s and a hitchhiker’s mutual understanding, innate trustworthiness, and willingness to help each other out.
The song heard in the film is the original version as done by the Band and originally released on the album Music From Big Pink. On the soundtrack, however, the version recorded is by a band called Smith. When the decision was made to produce a soundtrack, most of the artists/labels agreed to license their material to ABC/Dunhill Records. Capitol Records, however, did not agree to license the Band’s material and as such ABC/Dunhill turned to Smith. A one-hit wonder with a cover of “Baby It’s You”, Smith was effectively an ABC house band consigned to record the song for the soundtrack.
The goofiness in the Holy Modal Rounders cosmic folk song “If You Want To Be a Bird” is reflected in the silliness of Jack Nicholson’s George providing for one of the few truly comic moments in the film. Despite literal allusions as Nicholson flapping his wings in a bird-like fashion, the song once again is a beautifully used metaphor representing the true freedom that Nicholson’s character is experiencing for the first time, a freedom broadened with his introduction to marijuana. As the three ride down the road on the wake of a cool buzz, the scene is bedded with the Fraternity of Man’s “Don’t Bogart Me”. Hopper’s placement of these songs around this set of scenes nicely encapsulates a moment of levity prior to the film’s dark turn.
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The sweet silliness of “Don’t Bogart Me” is immediately cut short when the soundtrack suddenly blasts forth with the trudging aggression of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “If 6 Was 9”. An acid fueled blues rocker, Hendrix’s tune is a literal reference to the underlying problems facing the counter-culture vs. the establishment. Lyrically, the song screams of independence and freedom and solidifies the freewheeling image we have of Wyatt and Billy. It also helps to establish an arc when the counter-culture comes crashing head on with the local establishment.
The Electric Prunes are most famous for their nugget “I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night”, a fuzz-toned lo-fi garage rocking psychedelic hit; however, on the band’s third album Mass in F Minor, the band set out to produce an extremely elaborate concept album. A religion-based rock opera, Mass in F Minor was written and arranged by David Axelrod, who, along with the band’s manager, felt that this album would propel the Electric Prunes into the stratosphere. Unable to handle the complexities of Axelrod’s compositions, studio musicians were brought in to complete the album and the original band dissolved.
“Kyrie” opens Mass in F Minor with distorted electric guitars, eerie tremolo, and a cosmic vibe resulting in a very creepy rendition of “Kyrie Eleison”. The psychedelic darkness inherent in the track helps to establish the direction the film is now taking. The religious nature of the song links the characters and audience with the death of George, while the psychedelic aspect prepares us for the extremely bad acid trip that the characters have in a New Orleans cemetery. The use of this track may also represent one of the truer modernist moments on the soundtrack.
The final two songs on the soundtrack are sung by Roger McGuinn, lead singer of the Byrds. The first, “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” is a Bob Dylan song. The second, “The Ballad of Easy Rider” is the only song written specifically for the film. The story behind these two songs is almost as entertaining as the movie itself.
If there was one song that Peter Fonda wanted in the film, it was Bob Dylan’s “It’s Alright Ma”. Fonda felt the song’s violence and tragedy paralleled his own personal tragedy of his mother’s suicide, and its use would be perfect for the scene. It was up to Fonda and Hopper to get the song. “In those days, because no one had ever used found music, all you had to do was ask the artist for permission. You didn’t have to pay the record company or anybody. It was amazing,” said Hopper when describing making the soundtrack.
Dylan was very reluctant to let Hopper and Fonda use his song. At first, he made excuses, like he didn’t like the way the harmonica sounded. For everything Fonda said to convince him, Dylan had another list of reasons why not to do it. Finally Fonda opened up and got personal. Fonda described the scene in the film where Wyatt is having a bad acid trip. During the scene, Wyatt begins to yell and cry about his dead mother, a behavior encouraged by the film’s director (much to the embarrassment of its star). As the actors were indeed on psychedelics during the scene, the emotion Fonda expressed was entirely real. This confession moved Dylan to give Hopper and Fonda his song, but only if McGuinn sang it.
When asked to pen the film’s theme “The Ballad of Easy Rider”, Dylan was once again hesitant. He was very much against the ending of the film. Upset that the main characters die, Dylan suggested re-shooting the end to have Wyatt ride his motorcycle into the villainous rednecks, killing them in an act of revenge. According to Hopper, Dylan “didn’t get it.” At the end of the discussion Dylan asked Fonda, “What does the end of the movie mean to you?”
As the camera pulls away from the two crashed motorcycles and rises above the scene, the road is shown to run alongside a river. With this in mind, Fonda answered Dylan, “The shot has a road, the road that man built; and a river, the road that God built. And you see what happens on the road that man built, so…” With this in mind, Dylan scribbled onto a napkin, “The river flows to the sea, wherever that river goes, that’s where I want to be…Flow, river flow.” He handed the napkin to Fonda and said, “Give this to McGuinn. He’ll know what to do with it.” Those became the opening lines to “The Ballad of Easy Rider”. When Dylan saw that he had been credited with co-writing the song with McGuinn he asked to have his name removed, for reasons that Dylan himself may only truly know.
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Easy Rider was the first movie to express a reality of the ’60s that had been neglected by contemporary cinema. The style and direction of the film would contribute greatly to filmmaking in the following decade, including creatively designed soundtracks. Easy Rider may have been the first film to scrap the use of a score in lieu of rock songs; however, as rebellious as the film’s creators were, a traditional score of sorts had been planned. One argument used against the creation of a film score was that the filmmakers would not have been able to afford it; however, Fonda and Hopper had planned to use Crosby, Stills and Nash, friends of the filmmakers. An agreement could have easily been reached between the musicians and filmmakers.
A more plausible reason comes from an interview with Fonda. He described bringing in CS&N to view the film. He gave them the option to watch the film with or without the music, which up to this point was being used more as placeholders than actual elements of the soundtrack. The band chose to hear the film with the music on. After the film completed, the three emerged and Stephen Stills said, “We can’t beat that. We can’t even get near that, we’re lost.”
However, Lee Hill, in an essay on the film, alluded that the score had already been commissioned and perhaps even completed when Hopper convinced his collaborators to drop the score. This might be true if you take into account Hopper’s point of view. Hopper stated that he was riding in a limousine with some of the members of CS&N when he stopped and looked over at them and said, “This isn’t gonna work. This isn’t gonna work because I’ve never been in a limo before, man, and anyone who drives in a limo can’t understand my movie. You understand what I’m saying?” At which point he violently exited the car.
No one will ever be able to say if a score would have been better than what was delivered, but regardless of what is true or not, the film benefits from the use of found music. The carefully chosen songs are intentionally coupled with specific scenes elevating the entire experience. Easy Rider was obviously not the first film to feature rock & roll or rock music, but it was the first to feature non-diegetic rock music in place of a score. Hopper proved that found music, and rock specifically, could be used as effectively to convey emotion as well as an entire orchestra.
With the success of the film, Columbia Pictures made the decision to release the music as an official soundtrack to the film. The album quickly shot to the top of the charts, ending the year as one of the highest selling albums. The success of the Easy Rider soundtrack demonstrated the lucrative nature behind the repackaging of catalog material, opening the way for an entirely new business surrounding music in cinema. Ironically, the success of the album made its arrival on compact disc a bit of a problem. The original licensing for the soundtrack was around $1 million (three times the film’s budget); however, by the arrival of the compact disc era, the cost had gone up dramatically. The labels were not so eager to license their material, and the album was allowed to go out of print, with the exception of an overseas release in 1993. In the summer of 2000, MCA successfully licensed and reissued Easy Rider on compact disc.
Filmed in the early part of 1968 and released in the summer of 1969, Easy Rider was a surprise box-office hit, pulling in over $19 million dollars (~111 million in 2010 dollars) in its initial run. Unafraid of stepping on the toes of conventionality, Dennis Hopper’s directorial debut certainly helped usher in a new approach to filmmaking. Much has been written about the film Easy Rider and its subsequent effect on Hollywood; however, little has been written on the film’s groundbreaking soundtrack. According to Hopper, Easy Rider was the first film to forgo the use of a traditional score. In eschewing a traditional film score, the film’s creators were able to musically narrate their film in a creative new way, opening a door to an entirely new method of scoring and music supervising films, while at the same time maintaining a tradition extending back to the earliest days of cinema.
Barring the initial set up and introduction of the two main characters, Easy Rider begins in earnest when Steppenwolf’s “The Pusher” begins to play upon the closing of a drug deal. The film’s targeted audience may have applauded him as a hero, making the big score, living the dream, while others may have found Fonda’s character morally corrupt and nothing more than a petty drug dealer. As the scene progresses, Steppenwolf’s song contributes to both sentiments, musically almost glorifying Fonda’s Captain America while at the same time lyrically condemning him.
The final two songs on the soundtrack are sung by Roger McGuinn, lead singer of the Byrds. The first, “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” is a Bob Dylan song. The second, “The Ballad of Easy Rider” is the only song written specifically for the film. The story behind these two songs is almost as entertaining as the movie itself.
