Forrest Gump Soundtrack

Forrest Gump Soundtrack

Tom Hanks won his second Oscar for his portrayal of the title character in “Forrest Gump”. The film, which won for best picture, also produced a top selling 2-disc soundtrack featuring a number of classic and memorable songs. The following is what you can expect to hear!

Disc 1

Song Title Artist

1. “Hound Dog” Elvis Presley

2. “Rebel Rouser” Duane Eddy

3. “(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do” Clarence “Frogman” Henry

4. “Walk Right In” The Rooftop Singers

5. “Land Of 1000 Dances” Wilson Pickett

6. “Blowin’ In The Wind” Joan Baez

7. “Fortunate Son” Creedence Clearwater Revival

8. “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” The Four Tops

9. “Respect” Aretha Franklin

10. “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” Bob Dylan

11. “Sloop John B” The Beach Boys

12. “California Dreamin’” The Mamas And The Papas

13. “For What It’s Worth” Buffalo Springfield

14. “What The World Needs Now Is Love” Jackie DeShannon

15. “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” The Doors

16. “Mrs. Robinson” Simon & Garfunkel

Disc 2

Song Title Artist

1. “Volunteers” Jefferson Airplane

2. “Let’s Get Together” The Youngbloods

3. “San Francisco

(Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)” Scott McKenzie

4. “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)” The Byrds

5. “Aquarius” / “Let The Sunshine In” The Fifth Dimension

6. “Everybody’s Talkin’” Harry Nilsson

7. “Joy To The World” Three Dog Night

8. “Stoned Love” The Supremes

9. “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” B. J. Thomas

10. “Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man)” Randy Newman

11. “Sweet Home Alabama” Lynyrd Skynyrd

12. “It Keeps You Runnin’” The Doobie Brothers

13. “I’ve Got To Use My Imagination” Gladys Knight & The Pips

14. “On The Road Again” Willie Nelson

15. “Against The Wind” Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

16. “Forrest Gump Suite” Alan Silvestri

My Take:

The music compilation for “Forrest Gump” has to be one of the best movie soundtracks available. The variety of classic songs spans several decades. Disc One starts with a classic rocker in Elvis’ “Hound Dog” and into the instrumental “Rebel Rouser” by Duane Eddy. This is followed by the jazzy love song “(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do” by Clarence “Frogman” Henry, the upbeat ‘50’s feel of “Walk Right In” by the Rooftop Singers and the classic dance beat of Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 Dances”. The mood changes for the live version of Joan Baez’s folksy “Blowin’ In The Wind” and the angry rocker “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The tempo slows for the classic songs “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” by The Four Tops and “Respect” by Aretha Franklin. Bob Dylan delivers a bluesy feel with “Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35” followed by the slower tempo “Sloop John B” by the Beach Boys. More ‘60’s style rock follows with the haunting “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas And The Papas, the folksy “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield and the slower paced ballad, “What The World Needs Now Is Love” by Jackie DeShannon. This leads into the straight up, harder edged rocker “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” by The Doors before ending with the Simon & Garfunkel ‘60’s feeling classic “Mrs. Robinson”.

Disc Two starts off rockin’ with the psychedelic feel of Jefferson Airplane’s “Volunteers”. This leads into the slower, melodic feel of “Let’s Get Together” and “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)” by The Youngbloods and Scott McKenzie, respectively. Some of the most memorable songs from the era are represented by the classic song “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)” by The Byrds and the medley of “Aquarius” and “Let The Sunshine In” by The Fifth Dimension. This is followed by the country feel of “Everybody’s Talkin’” by Harry Nilsson before the rockin’ classic “Joy To The World” by Three Dog Night kicks in. The pace stays upbeat for the Supremes’ “Stoned Love” and slows for the melodic “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” by B.J. Thomas and “Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man)” by Randy Newman. The ‘70’s are in full swing with classic, southern rock of “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the melody of the Doobie Brothers’ “It Keeps You Runnin’”. Next is the funky beat of “I’ve Got To Use My Imagination” by Gladys Knight & The Pips followed by the country traveling song “On The Road Again” by Willie Nelson. The classic “Against the Wind” by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band is next before ending with the piano/orchestra instrumental “Forrest Gump Suite” by Alan Silvestri.

Best Track:

What wasn’t there to like about this soundtrack? I think the song selection had a something for just about everyone. From Disc One, some of my favorite included Elvis’ “Hound Dog” - classic rock at its best; “Land of 1000 Dances” by Wilson Pickett - a great beat that makes you want to get up and move; CCR’s “Fortunate Son” - raw, emotional vocals; “Respect” by Aretha Franklin - who doesn’t sing along with this one when they hear it?; “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas and The Papas – the way the vocals blend together is wonderful; and, “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” by The Doors – the band really meshed together on this one with sound and vocals! Disc Two also had some real standouts including: “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)” by The Byrds – great vocals and sound; “Joy To The World” by Three Dog Night – it’s just a good, rockin’ song; “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd – every time you hear that guitar rift, you know which song it is!; “On The Road Again” by Willie Nelson – I really liked the vocals and the acoustic guitar solo, plus it was a good change of pace; and, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s “Against the Wind” – great vocals by Seger!

Click below to visit Amazon.com and listen to clips of each song: