Track 11: The Almost Famous Soundtrack

Battle of the Soundtracks, Part 1

Well gee, I was supposed to publish this on Thursday. Onward. Delving into some of my favorite movie soundtracks seemed like a fun idea. It sat at the edge of my brain until I was somewhere (a store, the gym, I can’t remember) and I heard the song Tiny Dancer by Elton John. It’s certainly a legendary song, but ever since I saw the movie Almost Famous, every time I heard the chorus, my mind flashes back to Penny Lane and William Miller sitting on the tour bus where William says “I have to go home” and Penny does this shimmery move with her hands and replies “you are home.” Every. Time. Without. Fail. Once that happened, I knew this series of posts had to become a reality, and Almost Famous had to be the starting point.

The irony is that this may end up being more of a love letter to the movie rather than the soundtrack. The fact that it’s built off Cameron Crowe’s own experience is beyond cool - I wish I had that kind of free spirit. So maybe we’ll think of it less as soundtrack more musical lore. Look at that, I’m already breaking my own rules. Please note - I’ll be talking plot points, but I think after 20 years the statute of limitations on spoilers has expired. So here are some of the best musical facts about Almost Famous and its soundtrack.

Tiny Dancer: See above.

Nancy Wilson: Half of that magical mystical rock duo called Heart, Nancy was married to Cameron Crowe at the time the movie was made. She herself has a song on the soundtrack but also wrote 3 of the 5 songs that Stillwater sings. Who wrote the other 2? Peter Frampton.

Led Zeppelin: The music is in the movie, and a cheeky reference to the band also plays out. Remember when Russell says “I’m a golden god!” - Robert Plant said that. But the other interesting tidbit about Led Zeppelin is that Cameron Crowe did a special screening of the movie in London for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. That resulted in them giving permission to feature 4 songs in the movie and 1 on the soundtrack. That was basically unheard of for them; they hadn’t granted such permission since Fast Times at Ridgemont High nearly 20 years earlier.

Simple Man: I honestly have no recollection of this song playing in the movie, but I assume it’s there somewhere. But it’s here because it’s a damn good song (it’s probably in my top 10 blast in the car songs). Plus the almost plane crash scene is a reference to the actual plane crash that is part of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s history.

Stillwater: The song Fever Dog is on the soundtrack and is probably the most recognizable of the Stillwater songs. It’s one of the songs Nancy Wilson wrote, which tracks because it’s actually a pretty good song! I always associate Jason Lee with Mallrats and the general Kevin Smith universe, so I was surprised that I bought him as a lead singer.

So that’s that. Go watch the movie again, you’ll be glad you did. Soundtrack #2 coming soon…