Goodfellas Soundtrack: Every Song In The Movie
Sophia Edwards Goodfellas features a relentless soundtrack full of Italian crooners, American standards, and several pop rock classics. Here's every main song.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Goodfellas features a relentless soundtrack full of Italian crooners, American standards, and several classic pop rock songs. As with most of Martin Scorsese's biggest hits, the featured music at once provides a sense of familiarity while underscoring thematic elements and character personalities. Released in 1990, and currently streaming on Netflix, Goodfellas is based on Nicholas Pileggi's 1985 book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family, which documents the experiences of American gangster Henry Hill.
In Goodfellas, Hill (Ray Liotta) recounts 25 years of working for the Lucchese crime family. After learning the inner working of the organization, he proves himself to mob colleagues Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci in an Oscar-winning performance), but knows that he'll never become a "Made Man" due to his lack of pure Italian blood. And so Henry grinds it out by arranging heists and side deals, hoping to sustain a lavish lifestyle that affords him plenty of opportunities in New York City. Nominated for six Academy Awards, Goodfellas bears many thematic similarities to Scorsese's 2019 Netflix film The Irishman.
The official Goodfellas soundtrack includes 12 songs, all of which are mainstream recordings. But the film's credits sequence list the entire group of tracks that Scorsese uses from beginning to end, with many stylizing key sequences that involve stylish characters. Here's every featured song in Goodfellas.
"Rags to Riches" - Tony Bennett
"Can't We Be Sweethearts" - The Cleftones
"Sincerely" - The Moonglows
"Firenze Sogna" - Giuseppe di Stefano
"Hearts of Stone" - Otis Williams and the Charms
"Speedo" - The Cadillacs
"Parlami d'Amore Mario" - Giuseppe di Stefano
"Playboy" - The Marvellettes
"Stardust" - Billy Ward and His Dominoes
"It's Not for Me to Say" - Johnny Mathis
"This World We Live In (Il Cielo in Una Stanza)" - Mina
"I Will Follow Him (Chariot)" - Betty Curtis
"Them He Kissed Me" - The Crystals
"Life Is But a Dream" - The Harptones
"Look in My Eyes" - The Chantels
"Leader of the Pack" - The Shangri-Las
"Roses are Red" - Bobby Vinton
"Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye" - Written by Ernie Erdman, Ted Fiorito, and Gus Kahn
"Happy Birthday to You" - Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill
"Ain't That a Kick in the Head" - Dean Martin
"Pretend You Don't See Her" - Jerry Vale
"He's Sure the Boy I Love" - The Crystals
"Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" - The Shangri-Las
"Atlantis" - Donovan
"Baby I Love You" - Aretha Franklin
"Beyond the Sea" - Bobby Darin
"Wives and Lovers" - Jack Jones
"The Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Tony Bennett
"Monkey Man" - The Rolling Stones
"Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
"Frosty the Snowman" - The Ronettes
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - Darlene Love
"Danny Boy" - Written by Frederick E. Weatherly
"Bells of St. Marys" - The Drifters
"Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream
"Unchained Melody" - Vito and the Salutations
"Layla" - Derek and the Dominos
"Jump Into the Fire" - Harry Nilsson
"What Is Life" - George Harrison
"Memo from Turner" - The Rolling Stones
"Mannish Boy" - Muddy Waters
"The Magic Bus" - The Who
"My Way" - Sid Vicious
Goodfellas opens with "Rags to Riches" as Henry delivers the now-iconic line "As far back a I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." For De Niro's introduction as Jimmy Conway, "Speedo" scores the moment that references Joey Gallo (a character in The Irishman).
"It's Not for Me to Say" sets in during Henry's first date with Karen (Lorraine Bracco), and "Then He Kissed Me" plays over the famous tracking shot at the Copacabana. Once the couple marries, "Life Is But a Dream" is the featured song.
For Billy Batts' homecoming party, Scorsese uses "He's Sure the Boy I Love." And when Pesci orchestrates the character's murder, "Atlantis" plays over an extended sequence. "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" is also heard when the crew disposes of Batts' body.
As Goodfellas reaches its climax, "Gimme Shelter" scores a cocaine-themed sequence, while "Monkey Man" drops in as Henry becomes more paranoid. "Layla" plays during a montage of dead bodies, and "Jump Into the Fire" revs up various sequences involving a cocaine-influenced Henry. Goodfellas concludes with "My Way," a Frank Sinatra cover by punk rock icon Sid Vicious.
