Pulp Fiction (soundtrack)

Music from the Motion Picture Pulp Fiction is the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction. No traditional film score was commissioned for Pulp Fiction. The film contains a mix of American rock and roll, surf music, pop and soul. The soundtrack is equally untraditional, consisting of nine songs from the movie, four tracks of dialogue snippets followed by a song, and three tracks of dialogue alone. Seven songs featured in the movie were not included in the original 41-minute soundtrack.

Music from the Motion Picture Pulp Fiction
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedSeptember 27, 1994
Genre
Length41:11
LabelMCA
Quentin Tarantino film soundtrack chronology
True Romance
(1993)		 Music from the Motion Picture Pulp Fiction
(1994)		 Four Rooms
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rolling Stone(favorable) [2]

The album reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, while Urge Overkill's cover of the Neil Diamond song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3]

Composition

Tarantino used an eclectic assortment of songs by various artists. Notable songs include Dick Dale's now-iconic rendition of "Misirlou", which is played during the opening credits. Tarantino chose surf music for the basic score of the film because, "it just seems like rock 'n' roll Ennio Morricone music, rock 'n' roll spaghetti Western music."[4]

Many of the songs on the soundtrack were suggested to Tarantino by musician Boyd Rice through their mutual friend Allison Anders, including Dick Dale's "Misirlou". Other songs were suggested to Tarantino by his friends Chuck Kelley and Laura Lovelace, who were credited as music consultants. Lovelace also appeared in the film as Laura the waitress.

In addition to the surf-rock rendition of "Misirlou", other notable songs include "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang, Dusty Springfield's version of "Son of a Preacher Man", "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers and "Bustin' Surfboards" by The Tornadoes, from 1962, which had been one of the first instrumental surf songs to hit the United States music charts after notables such as "Walk--Don't Run" by the Ventures.

Excerpts of dialogue include Jules' "Ezekiel 25:17" speech and the "Royale with Cheese" exchange between Jules and Vincent.

A two-disc collector's edition of the album was issued in 2002 — the first disc contained the songs, including four additional tracks; and the second disc was a spoken-word interview with Tarantino.

Woody Thorne's 1961 song "Teenagers in Love" and Link Wray's 1965 single "Rumble" are two of the three songs missing from the collector's edition soundtrack. The last song is unique to the movie: it is Ricky Nelson's "Waitin' In School" as performed by the actor Gary Shorelle, which plays as Vincent and Mia enter Jackrabbit Slim's.

Influence

The soundtrack reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, and at the time, went platinum (100,000 units) in Canada alone.[5] By November 12, 1994, total sales of more than 1.6 million were reached[6] and by 1996 over 2 million units had been sold.[7] In 1995 the soundtrack reached No. 6 on the charts according to SoundScan.[8]

The soundtrack helped launch the band Urge Overkill, which covered Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (produced by Kramer) in 1993, into a mainstream market. Sony "received a nice sum" for "Son of a Preacher Man"[8] and Kool & The Gang enjoyed a resurgence when "Jungle Boogie" was released on the soundtrack.[9]

The Orange County Register described why the soundtrack of Pulp Fiction stood out from all the others: "Unlike so many soundtracks, which just seem to be repositories for stray songs by hit acts regardless of whether they fit the film's mood, Tarantino's use of music in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction exploded with a brash, Technicolor, pop-culture intensity that mirrored the stories he was telling."[10] Karyn Rachtman was the music supervisor on both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.[11]

Analyzing the success of Tarantino's marketing, Billboard chalked up MCA's compilation to identifying the market niche: "Pulp Fiction...successfully spoke to those attuned to the hip, stylized nature of those particular films." The eclectic "mix-and-match strategy" is true to the film. "In some cases, like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, which were not geared toward any specific demographic, the soundtracks were still very focused albums," said Kathy Nelson, senior VP/general manager at MCA Soundtracks. "In both cases, the body of work — both the music and the film — has a specific personality."[12]

In 1997, Gary Thompson of The Philadelphia Inquirer said that Pulp Fiction "reinvigorated surf rock".[13] That statement would be defining for Del-Fi Records, owned by legendary producer Bob Keane; the Pulp Fiction soundtrack contained two songs that were originally released on Del-Fi: Bullwinkle Pt II by The Centurions, and Surf Rider by The Lively Ones. Del-Fi Records released a compilation CD in 1995 entitled Pulp Surfin' featuring songs by those bands plus sixteen other surf tracks from the vaults. The cover artwork was yet another parody of the Pulp Fiction movie poster.

Inspired by the soundtrack, advertisers started to use surf music in their commercials "to help sell everything from burritos to toothpaste", making surf music hugely popular again.[14]

More than two years after the film was released, the influence and monetary success was still being felt in the industry. "Mundane commercials using Dick Dale '60s surf licks, the kind made popular again by the Pulp Fiction soundtrack...following a trend — in this case, a two-year-old hit movie."[15]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Artist(s)Length
1."Pumpkin and Honey Bunny/Misirlou"Quentin Tarantino/Fred Wise, Milton Leeds, S. K. Russell, Nicholas RoubanisTim Roth, Amanda Plummer/Dick Dale & His Del-Tones2:27
2."Royale with Cheese (dialogue)"TarantinoSamuel L. Jackson, John Travolta1:42
3."Jungle Boogie"Ronald Bell, Kool & the GangKool & the Gang3:05
4."Let's Stay Together"Al Green, Al Jackson Jr., Willie MitchellAl Green3:15
5."Bustin' Surfboards"Norman Sanders, Leonard DelaneyThe Tornadoes2:26
6."Lonesome Town"Baker KnightRicky Nelson2:13
7."Son of a Preacher Man"John Hurley, Ronnie WilkinsDusty Springfield2:25
8."Zed's Dead, Baby/Bullwinkle Part II"Tarantino/Dennis Rose, Ernest FurrowMaria de Medeiros, Bruce Willis/The Centurions2:39
9."Jack Rabbit Slims Twist Contest/You Never Can Tell"Tarantino/Chuck BerryJerome Patrick Hoban, Uma Thurman/Chuck Berry3:12
10."Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon"Neil DiamondUrge Overkill3:09
11."If Love Is a Red Dress (Hang Me in Rags)"Maria McKeeMaria McKee4:55
12."Bring Out the Gimp/Comanche"Tarantino/Robert Hafner (sax solo by James Gordon)Peter Greene, Duane Whitaker/The Revels2:10
13."Flowers on the Wall"Lewis C. DeWittThe Statler Brothers2:23
14."Personality Goes a Long Way"TarantinoSamuel L. Jackson, John Travolta1:00
15."Surf Rider"Bob Bogle, Nole "Nokie" Edwards, Don WilsonThe Lively Ones3:18
16."Ezekiel 25:17"TarantinoSamuel L. Jackson0:51

Collector's edition

A collector's edition version of the soundtrack was released in 2002. It features remastered versions of the original sixteen tracks, along with five bonus tracks, including an interview with director Quentin Tarantino. There are single and two-disc releases of this version, with the track listings being identical; the two-disc version has the Tarantino interview on the second disc. The additional tracks are:

Songs not on the soundtrack releases
  • "Waitin' in School" performed by Gary Shorelle (not commercially available)
  • "Ace of Spades" performed by Link Wray and His Ray Men
  • "Teenagers in Love" performed by Woody Thorne. * “Comanche” performed by The Revells.

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[16] Platinum 60,000^
Australia (ARIA)[17] 3× Platinum 210,000^
Belgium (BEA)[18] Platinum 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[19] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[20]
sales since 2011 		4× Platinum 80,000
France (SNEP)[21] Platinum 300,000*
Italy (FIMI)[22] Gold 25,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[23] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[25] Gold 25,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[26] Gold 10,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[27] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[28] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] 3× Platinum 900,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] 3× Platinum 3,500,000[31]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[32] 3× Platinum 3,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pulp Fiction - Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  2. "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  3. Charts & Awards, Allmusic (December 26, 2006).
  4. Groen, Rick (October 14, 1994). "Crime Rave". The Globe and Mail.
  5. Billboard; 1/28/95, Vol. 107 Issue 4, p62, 1/2p
  6. Billboard, 00062510, 9/9/95, Vol. 107, Issue 36
  7. Billboard, 00062510, 4/20/96, Vol. 108, Issue 16
  8. Christian Science Monitor, 08827729, 9/8/97, Vol. 89, Issue 198
  9. Charlotte Observer, The (NC), Sun Jun 21 19:48:50 1998
  10. Orange County Register, The ( Santa Ana, CA), Tue Dec 16 06:08:50 1997
  11. Coleman, Jonny (2017-03-30). "Catching Up With Karyn Rachtman, the Woman Behind the Best Soundtracks of the '90s". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  12. Billboard, 00062510, 4/29/95, Vol. 107, Issue 17
  13. Philadelphia Daily News, The (PA), Thu Dec 11 06:11:36 1997
  14. SHOOT v36.n15 (April 14, 1995): pp31(5)
  15. SHOOT, 10745297, 07/19/96, Vol. 37, Issue 29
  16. "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  17. "ARIA Top 50 Vinyl Albums for 2020". Aria Charts. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  18. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1995". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  19. "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Pulp Fiction (O.S.T.)". Music Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  20. "Danish album certifications – Soundtrack – Pulp Fiction". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  21. "French album certifications – B.O.F. – Pulp Fiction" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  22. "Italian album certifications – Artisti Vari – Pulp Fiction (O.S.T.)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved May 10, 2017. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Pulp Fiction (O.S.T.)" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  23. "Japanese album certifications – Artisti Vari – Pulp Fiction (O.S.T.)" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved August 5, 2020. Select 1996年2月 on the drop-down menu
  24. "New Zealand album certifications – Soundtrack – Pulp Fiction (O.S.T.)". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  25. "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  26. "Polish album certifications – Soundtrack – Pulp Fiction" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  27. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 939. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  28. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  29. "British album certifications – Original Soundtrack – Pulp Fiction". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 10, 2017. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Pulp Fiction in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  30. "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Pulp Fiction". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 10, 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  31. Donahue, Ann (5 September 2009). "The Billboard Q&A: Quentin". Billboard. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  32. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2001". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
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