The Business of Placing Country Music In Film

The Business of Placing Country Music In Film

By Mark Crawford

Hollywood hasn't gone enough Country - yet. But 2005 experienced a rise in Country Music on movie soundtracks plus hot artists such as CMA Entertainer of the Year Keith Urban and CMA Vocalist of the Year Gretchen Wilson are making music supervisors in the film industry take a more serious look at Nashville.

Even though the popularity of Country Music is high, it's still behind rock, pop and jazz when it comes to soundtrack cuts. Less than five percent of soundtrack music in movies is Country. However recent years show promise.

In 2005, The Charlie Daniels Band, Montgomery Gentry and Willie Nelson were featured on the soundtrack for "The Dukes Of Hazzard." The soundtrack for "Must Love Dogs" featured Ryan Adams, Stephanie Bentley, Rodney Crowell, Susan Haynes and Linda Ronstadt. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon provided the singing voices for Johnny Cash and June Carter on the soundtrack for "Walk The Line." Lila McCann recorded "I'm Amazed" for a CD accompanying the DVD release of Disney's "Cinderella." Patty Griffin and Ryan Adams contributed songs to the "Elizabethtown" soundtrack. The soundtrack for "Brokeback Mountain" featured songs from Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Nelson and Ronstadt. Harris also contributed to the "Because Of Winn-Dixie" soundtrack. The "North Country" soundtrack featured a song by The Bellamy Brothers. Dolly Parton contributed a song that ran over the closing credits of "Transamerica." "The Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack S pecial 50th Anniversary Edition" featured a song by Martina McBride. The "Grand Champion" soundtrack featured Asleep at the Wheel, Robert Earl Keen, Nelson, Charlie Robison and George Strait. Shania Twain, Sara Evans, McBride, LeAnn Rimes and SHeDAISY recorded classic songs for the all-women soundtrack to the hit ABC show "Desperate Housewives." Rascal Flatts' "Feels Like Today" was included in the soundtrack for the TV series "Smallville." Lyle Lovett and June Carter Cash had songs on the soundtrack to the HBO series "Deadwood."

In 2004, Cash songs were featured in "Starsky & Hutch" and "Kill Bill Vol. 2." Kristyn Osborn of SHeDAISY had a cut on "Raising Helen" and Tim McGraw sang "Wherever The Trail May Lead" in "Home On The Range." Asleep at the Wheel, the Dixie Chicks, Nelson and Strait contributed songs to "Grand Champion."

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Cash, Tammy Cochran, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Montgomery Gentry and Rascal Flatts contributed songs for the Mel Gibson movie "We Were Soldiers." "The Rookie" included recordings by Adams, Guy Clark, Earle, Duane Jarvis, Nelson and Allison Moorer. A Billy Gilman tune was in "Stuart Little 2" and "Lilo And Stitch" spotlighted Wynonna's cover of "Burning Love." "Sweet Home Alabama" included a song by SHeDAISY and a cut by Steve Holy was in "Angel Eyes."

"O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "Cold Mountain" and "Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood" were perfect outlets for Alison Krauss. Faith Hill's songs were featured in "If I'm Not In Love," "Chasing Liberty," "Pearl Harbor" and "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas." Marty Stuart composed much of the soundtrack for the 2000 movie "All The Pretty Horses."

"Sure, there have been some good placements of Country Music," said Alan Brewer, an independent producer and President of Brewman Music & Entertainment (BME) in Nashville and Los Angeles.

Nearly every decision about what music goes into films is made by music supervisors in Los Angeles and New York. "Their personal listening tastes greatly affect the choices they make," Brewer said. "It's natural for people to lean toward what they are familiar with, what they enjoy. Many of these music supervisors know very little about Country Music."

But that's getting better, largely because of new Country stars like Big & Rich, who have a renegade reputation of being on the edge of Country with a sound that's a blend of Country, rock and hip-hop that appeals to a younger audience. Also artists with crossover success, including Hill and Shania Twain, have more Hollywood appeal.

"Whenever there's a lot of media focus on Country Music, music supervisors start looking for Country material," Brewer said. "Increased media attention creates a greater awareness of Country Music as a genre in Hollywood."

Country artists rarely get directly involved with their soundtrack contributions. Occasionally they might sing an original song that was created for the film, or possibly a different version of one of their hits.

Maureen Crowe is an independent music supervisor in Los Angeles who has worked on several films and soundtracks, including "Chicago" and "Fame." She landed Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" for "The Bodyguard," which became a huge hit for Whitney Houston.

For the movie "Con Air," producer Jerry Bruckheimer wanted a song by a female rock artist. Because there were none available that seemed to fit the mood of the scene, Crowe suggested Nashville. "At the time LeAnn Rimes was really hot with the beautiful song 'How Do I Live?," Crowe said. "Jerry really wanted the song but felt that LeAnn was too young. So instead he got Trisha Yearwood to cut it and both versions were out at the same time - LeAnn on radio and Trisha in the movie."

Rimes has since been featured on the "A View From The Top" soundtrack and provided the theme song to "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde."

Crowe says most supervisors recognize that some of the best songwriting talent is in Nashville. "If supervisors need something specially written for a film, they'll usually tap into Nashville writers to get it done," she said.

Brewer stresses that pitching songs to Hollywood is different than pitching songs in Nashville. "In Hollywood, the story line of the song isn't that important. It's the mood that counts. It's all about vibe and mood," he said.

Jewel Coburn, Co-owner of Ten Ten Music, is one of the music publishers in Nashville who has mastered the Hollywood pitch. "My husband Barry and I go to L.A. to meet with music supervisors and directors," Coburn said. "We also attend many of the film festivals around the country. It's not easy getting access to music supervisors - it's all about networking and building relationships."

Coburn landed Urban's "Somebody Like You" in "How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days."

Even though it's a tough market, getting a Country song into a movie soundtrack is definitely worth the effort. "There is a payoff," Coburn said. "If you can get a cut on a major soundtrack album, that song will earn as much money as a Top 5 single, not to mention boosting album sales for the artist. And exposing Country Music to a wider audience is always a good thing."

February 15, 2006