Ranking the big screen’s greatest film soundtracks of all time is hard. Finding consensus in the ultimate defining document of late-1960s counterculture is easy.Easy Rider, to be exact.
Even the BBC couldn’t resist the great American film’s rolling travelogue that encompasses acoustic folk and rock, hard rock and heavy blues, psychedelic and acid rock, as well as counterculture satire and novelty music, as BBC Music Magazine just ranked Easy Rider rock’s greatest soundtrack of all time.
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“Released in 1969, hedonistic biker flick Easy Rider introduced an authentic slice of the counterculture to the mainstream, a public who were barely prepared for such gritty realism,” the publication wrote. “In doing so, Easy Rider gave the movie industry in the U.S. a huge kick in the butt and opened the door for the ‘New Hollywood’ collective of young directors.”
The Easy Rider soundtrack revolutionized Hollywood, forgoing the prototypical orchestral original score in favor of a playlist of contemporary rock, serving as another member of the cast and setting a tone of rebellion and liberation.
“The accompanying album was equally pioneering,” the outlet added. “It was one of the first times in a movie that its soundtrack was made up of contemporary songs rather than an original score. What’s more, those songs were carefully selected to explicitly drive the film’s narrative rather than simply play out in the background.”
Key standout tracks include Steppenwolf’s iconic “Born to Be Wild,” The Byrds’ “Wasn’t Born to Follow,” Jimi Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9,” and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider.” View, listen to, and download the soundtrack in full at Apple Music.
Related: 1968 Era-Defining Anthem Called a ‘Fluke’ Became the Most Played Rock Song in Movies
Directed by co-star Dennis Hopper, the film was released in July 1969, famously premiering months earlier at the Cannes International Film Festival, where the late Hopper won the award for Best New Director. Made on a shoestring budget, it was a massive box office success, raking in around$60 million worldwide.
The unprecedented profitability helped usher in the New Hollywood era, convincing studios to give greater creative freedom to a new generation of independent filmmakers.
Released by ABC-Dunhill Records in August 1969, the soundtrack peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and was officially certified gold by January 1970. Its use of ready-made music inspired films including American Graffiti (1973), Mean Streets (1973), and Apocalypse Now (1979), per Ultimate Classic Rock.
About two bikers—played by Hopper and Peter Fonda—who finance a cross-country motorcycle trip to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans with the proceeds of a drug deal, the film has earned its legendary status over the decades. Thanks in large part to its groundbreaking soundtrack, which continues to resonate with generations of music fans.
Related: 1996 Film That Inspired One of Alternative Rock’s Most Haunting Ballads Became a Cult Classic
